The Port Chicago Disaster
The Port Chicago Disaster
On the 24 of July 1944, a memorandum was written from Captain W. S. Parsons, USN to Rear Admiral W. R. Purnell, USN. It was a report on the most destructive explosion on United States soil at that time. It was known as the Port Chicago Explosion. Captain Parsons worked in the Bureau of Ordnance as their Liaison Officer. So he was a prime candidate for the job. Rear Admiral Purnell was the head of the Military Policy Committee. This memorandum was not intended to incarcerate people, determine its cause, nor report defects in the design of munitions depots. Its sole purpose was to collect data from the damage done and to find the exact time when the explosion happened. Captain Parsons determined the exact time based on seismic activity. He determined the time of detonation occurred at approximately between 2218-2244 on the 17 of July, 1944. It was found that approximately 2000 tons of high explosion were present on the dock at the time of the explosion. He also determined that light damage extended approximately 1500 yards from the explosion. This was minor damage but significant none the less. From ground zero and out to approximately 1000 feet it was determined that there was total destruction. However, at 1000 feet there were 3 civilians that remained alive; these were the closest survivors to the blast. This horrible disaster could have been prevented, only if certain factors were addressed accordingly. Within the confines of the munitions depot at port Chicago, there was racism. Akers states: The general classification test employed at this time placed the black ratings at Port Chicago ‘in the lowest twelfth of the Navy’. According to their superiors, these men were unreliable, emotional, lacked capacity to understand or remember orders or instructions, were particularly susceptible to mass psychology and moods, lacked mechanical aptitude, were suspicious of strange officers, disliked receiving orders of any
On the 24 of July 1944, a memorandum was written from Captain W. S. Parsons, USN to Rear Admiral W. R. Purnell, USN. It was a report on the most destructive explosion on United States soil at that time. It was known as the Port Chicago Explosion. Captain Parsons worked in the Bureau of Ordnance as their Liaison Officer. So he was a prime candidate for the job. Rear Admiral Purnell was the head of the Military Policy Committee. This memorandum was not intended to incarcerate people, determine its cause, nor report defects in the design of munitions depots. Its sole purpose was to collect data from the damage done and to find the exact time when the explosion happened. Captain Parsons determined the exact time based on seismic activity. He determined the time of detonation occurred at approximately between 2218-2244 on the 17 of July, 1944. It was found that approximately 2000 tons of high explosion were present on the dock at the time of the explosion. He also determined that light damage extended approximately 1500 yards from the explosion. This was minor damage but significant none the less. From ground zero and out to approximately 1000 feet it was determined that there was total destruction. However, at 1000 feet there were 3 civilians that remained alive; these were the closest survivors to the blast. This horrible disaster could have been prevented, only if certain factors were addressed accordingly. Within the confines of the munitions depot at port Chicago, there was racism. Akers states: The general classification test employed at this time placed the black ratings at Port Chicago ‘in the lowest twelfth of the Navy’. According to their superiors, these men were unreliable, emotional, lacked capacity to understand or remember orders or instructions, were particularly susceptible to mass psychology and moods, lacked mechanical aptitude, were suspicious of strange officers, disliked receiving orders of any
Bibliography: Akers, Regina T. “The Port Chicago Mutiny, 1944.” In Naval Mutinies of the Twentieth Century: An International Perspective, edited by Christopher M. Bell and Bruce A. Elleman, 193-211. London: Frank Cass, 2003. Allen, Robert L. “Black Scholar Research Leads to Navy Review: Injustice upheld in Port Chicago Mutiny Trial.” Black Scholar 24 (1994). <http://search.ebscohost.com.>, 56-59. (30 November 2009). Allen, Robert L. “Final Outcome? Fifty Years after the Port Chicago Mutiny.” American Visions 9 (1994). <http://search.ebscohost.com.>, 14-17. (30 November 2009). Allen, Robert L. The Port Chicago Mutiny. New York: Amistad, 1993. Boudreau, John “Blown Away, Fifty Years Ago Today, Segregation in the Military Ended With a Bang and a Whimper,” Washington Post (Washington D. C.), 17 July 1994, sec. F4. Case of: Julius J. Allen, Seaman second class, U. S. Naval Reserve. Vol. 1 Courts Martial Records Relating to the Port Chicago Mutiny (General Court Martial September 16, 1944). Parsons, William S. “Memorandum on Port Chicago Disaster, Preliminary Data,” 24 July 1944, Box 671, World War II Command File, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC. Tuggle, Carl. "Q&A with Carl Tuggle, one of the sailors serving at Port Chicago in 1944." Interview. The Port Chicago Mutiny. http://portchicagomutiny.com/personnel/tuggle.html (accessed November 30, 2009).