“We don’t want a pardon,” Small said, “because that means, ‘You’re guilty but we forgive you.’ We want the decisions set aside.”
Representative George Miller, whose district includes Port Chicago, continued pressing the Navy to review the case. Finally, naval officials agreed.
The Navy finished its review in 1994, conceding in its report that, “racial discrimination did play a part in the assignment of African-American sailors to load ammunition [at Port Chicago], and that African-American sailors were subjected to segregated living and working conditions.”
The report went on to conclude, however, that “racial prejudice and discrimination played no part in the court-martial convictions or sentences, and that there was nothing unfair or unjust in the final outcome of any of the Port Chicago court-martials.”
The mutiny convictions stood.
Joe Small died in 1996, at the age of seventy-five.
Freddie Meeks, who was in declining health, decided it was time to seek a presidential pardon, if only to keep the story alive for future generations. “After all these years, the world should know what happened at Port Chicago,” he said.
Another of the surviving fifty, Jack Crittenden, decided not to ask for a presidential pardon, explaining that he refused to ask forgiveness for a crime he didn’t commit.
In December 1999, President Bill Clinton signed a pardon for Freddie Meeks.
“I knew God was keeping me around for something,” Meeks told a newspaper reporter. “But I’m sorry so many of the others are not around to see it.”
Family members and activists are still working to convince the Navy to exonerate the men, but it’s far from certain the Navy will ever agree to reopen the case.
All of the Port Chicago fifty have died.
All fifty remain convicted mutineers.
* * *
Was it worth it?
The men from Port Chicago had the rest of their lives to ponder this question. Looking back at the events of 1944 from the distance of old age, the men could see that they’d played a key role in ending segregation in the military. But that had to be balanced against the heavy price they’d paid for defying authority.
“I think it was worth the effort,” Percy Robinson concluded. “It was worth the effort, showing that whatever you believe in, you at least tried to back it, the best you knew how.”
Percy Robinson poses with his military journal on July 20, 2007.
“Well, I don’t know whether it was right or wrong,” said Freddie Meeks. “Maybe we shouldn’t have,” he began, since, after all, they were sailors in the U.S. Navy and had a duty to obey orders. “But then again,” he reasoned, “maybe we should—to try to bring out the wrongs in the Navy, the way they treated us, the way they treated the blacks at that time.”
Martin Bordenave never second-guessed his refusal to return to loading ammunition after the Port Chicago explosion. “I’m glad I did it, you know. I feel that I did something for the black race.”
Bordenave knew there were no statues of the Port Chicago fifty—he and the others were not seen as civil rights heroes by the nation. It was enough for him to know he’d helped to make the country a better place for his children and grandchildren. “Everything we’ve gotten, we’ve fought and suffered for,” he said. “You gotta holler loud, you know.”
Joe Small had decades to think about that decisive moment at Mare Island, when he’d gotten the “Column left” command. But no matter how many times he relived the scene, he couldn’t see responding to Lieutenant Delucchi’s orders any other way.
“If I had consented to go back to duty, I would not only be betraying myself, I would’ve been betraying them,” Small said of other men of his division.
“I was fighting for something,” he added. “Things were not right, and it was my desire to make things right. I have never felt ashamed of the decisions that I made. I did what I thought was best, and I did it in the best way I knew how.”
SOURCE NOTES
My goal with this book was to tell the Port Chicago story largely from the point of view of the participants—the young sailors. This could not have been done without a set of oral histories of the men collected by Dr. Robert Allen in the late 1970s. With a combination of relentless detective work and an unlimited-mileage Greyhound bus ticket, Allen tracked down Joseph Small and many of the other Port Chicago sailors, crisscrossing the country to record their stories. Allen generously shared those interviews with me, and they are by far the most important sources for this book.
Also key are other interviews of the Port Chicago sailors done for books, articles, documentaries, and radio programs. The court-martial chapters are based largely on the trial transcript, a 1,400 page document I was able to acquire on a single CD by filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the Navy. To fill in additional background information, I relied on dozens of books, articles, and government records. Below are the sources for the quotes and other details included in this book, organized by chapter.
First Hero
Dorie Miller biographical information was found in: “Dorie Miller,” Ebony, 132–133; Miller, Messman, 286.
“Japanese are attacking”: “Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack, USS West Virginia.” Online document collection. Washington, DC: Department of the Navy, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/pearl/survivors.htm
Miller’s Pearl Harbor action is described in: “Dorie Miller,” Ebony, 132–133; Miller, Messman, 286–292; Reddick, Negro in the U.S. Navy, 204.
“It wasn’t hard”: US Navy, “Cook Third Class Doris Miller, USN.” Online exhibit about Doris “Dorie” Miller. Washington, DC: Department of the Navy, Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq57-4.htm
“Abandon ship”: US Navy, “Reports by Survivors of Pearl Harbor Attack.”
“For distinguished devotion”: US Navy, “Cook Third Class.”
“This marks the first time”: US Navy, “Cook Third Class.”
Navy’s segregation policy: Nalty, Strength for the Fight, 186–190; MacGregor, Integration, 58–67.
The Policy
“We are now fighting”: Address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, delivered by radio from the White House, December 9, 1941. President Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/firesi90.html
“Patriotic, red-blooded”: Reddick, Negro in the U.S. Navy, 207.
For background on African Americans in U.S. wars, see: Dalfiume, Desegregation, 5–21; Nichols, Breakthrough, 23–32; MacGregor, Integration, 3–8.
“Poor Negroes”: Dalfiume, Desegregation, 14.
“This policy has proven”: Dalfiume, Desegregation, 39.
Information on Secretary Knox and the Navy’s segregation policy was found in: MacGregor, Integration, 58–66.
“To go the whole way”: MacGregor, Integration, 64.
A description of the Navy’s new policy was found in: MacGregor, Integration, 58–66.
“In its abrupt announcement”: The Crisis, May 1942, 161.
“It is difficult”: The Crisis, May 1942, 161.
“All our men are facing”: Crittenden interview.
“The feeling was”: Robinson interview.
“We felt patriotic”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“If you sign for me”: Routh interview.
“What branch of the service”: Small interview.
“You give me your axe”: Small interview.
“Small, you have natural”: Small interview.
Port Chicago
“We were so young”: Routh interview.
“Most of us”: Robinson interview.
“The first thing”: Jameson interview.
“There were two lines”: Robinson interview.
Details about the black-only training camp were found in: Allen, Port Chicago, 30–31; MacGregor, Integration, 67–68.
A description of th
e military’s blood segregation policy was found in: Dalfiume, Desegregation, 107.
“Negro sailors”: Edwards interview.
“When I first enlisted”: Bordenave interview.
“See, when I come”: Sheppard interview.
“Most of us”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“We had expectations”: Frank Productions, Port Chicago Mutiny.
A description of Port Chicago and its surroundings is found in: Allen, Port Chicago, 38–40; I was able to visit the still-active military base in July 2011.
“Strange thing”: Routh interview.
“Big open place”: Robinson interview.
“Dumpy looking place”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Most of the men obtainable”: Allen, Port Chicago, 42.
“Ship us anywhere”: Routh interview.
“The first time I saw”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
A description of officers being trained to work with explosives is found in: Allen, Port Chicago, 41.
“They just brought you”: Meeks interview.
“I didn’t know”: Soublet interview.
The detail of civilian stevedores offering training is found in: Allen, Port Chicago, 42.
“Boy, I’ll never make it”: Sikes interview.
Work and Liberty
“All right, buddy”: Small interview.
“My father didn’t believe”: Small interview.
“You think you can move”: Small interview.
“You got a license”: Small interview.
“I put a good whipping”: Small interview.
“I demanded”: Small interview.
Delucchi background is described in: Allen, Port Chicago, 96.
“Now hear this”: Allen, Port Chicago, 2.
“He looked like”: Robinson interview.
“He spent half the day”: Sheppard interview.
“Very hot-tempered”: Small interview.
Working conditions on the Port Chicago pier are described in many of the interviews, and in: Allen, Port Chicago, 46–49.
“We’d open the boxcar”: Small interview.
“You’d hear this”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“And that would”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Oh, no, don’t worry”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Won’t concussion blow”: Small interview.
“You’d build yourself”: Allen, Port Chicago, 47.
“We were all afraid”: Small interview.
“Hey! Where’s the winchman”: Small interview.
“So whenever they needed”: Small interview.
“He should have been”: Sheppard interview.
“Look, you got a petty”: Small interview.
“And that just put”: Small interview.
“It was just a one-street”: Routh interview.
“Other streets we were”: Small interview.
“Let’s go over”: Frank Productions, Port Chicago Mutiny.
“What happened”: Frank Productions, Port Chicago Mutiny.
“Where’s the freedom”: Edwards interview.
The Lawyer
“Here on the post”: McGuire, Taps, 64.
Stories of segregation on American military bases were found in: McGuire, Taps, 11–27; Morehouse, Jim Crow Army, 94–109; The Crisis, April 1943, 116–118.
Trimmingham’s letter to YANK is printed in: Best from YANK, 212–213.
Marshall biographical information and childhood stories were found in: Columbia: Marshall Oral History; Ball, Defiant Life, 13–17; Williams, Thurgood Marshall, 15–24.
“I gave them someplace”: Marshall interview.
Rieves Bell story, including, “Where’d you get that”: James, Root and Branch, 180.
“Don’t push in front:” Williams, Thurgood Marshall, 15.
“Anyone calls you”: Ball, Defiant Life, 17.
“It was worth it”: Williams, Thurgood Marshall, 16.
“Before I left”: Ball, Defiant Life, 18.
Marshall’s war-time work is described in: Ball, Defiant Life, 55–69; Williams, Thurgood Marshall, 122–129.
The Nora Green story was found in: White, A Man Called White, 222.
The Edward Green story was found in: Long, Marshalling Justice, 133.
“I hope you can realize”: Long, Marshalling Justice, 133.
“The urgency of the war”: Dalfiume, Desegregation, 84.
“Negro soldiers are damned”: The Crisis, September 1944, 289.
“Things are slowly coming”: McGuire, Taps, 72.
Hot Cargo
“I have never felt”: Allen, Port Chicago, 44.
“It was as fast”: Robinson interview.
“It was pressure”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Efforts were made”: Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry, 6.
“We were pushed”: Small interview.
“If he decided”: Chronicle Broadcasting, Port Chicago Mutiny.
“I think in the minds”: Sikes interview.
“There was no discrimination”: Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry, 7.
“We used to talk”: Bordenave interview.
“You didn’t see”: Gay interview.
“Damn, man”: Sheppard interview.
“You had ten, twelve guys”: Robinson interview.
“How are things going”: Small interview.
Port Chicago Personnel: Allen, Port Chicago, 46.
“The 17th of July”: Routh interview.
Albert Carr story and quotes: Allen, Port Chicago, 27.
“Sikes! Telephone!”: Sikes interview.
Ships at Port Chicago pier: Allen, Port Chicago, 56.
“Operations were proceeding”: Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry, 16.
“I had pimples”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“But naturally that never”: Small interview.
The Explosion
“Oh my God”: Chronicle Broadcasting, Port Chicago Mutiny.
“The sky lit up”: Chronicle Broadcasting, Port Chicago Mutiny.
“All these tremendous”: Routh interview.
“It was like someone”: Gay interview.
“My left arm”: Robinson interview.
“Men were screaming”: Sheppard interview.
“First thing I thought”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Get out of the barracks”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Hey! Come and get me”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“And then darkness”: Allen, Port Chicago, 61.
“It seemed to me”: Allen, Port Chicago, 63.
Details about the Port Chicago movie theater are from: Allen, Port Chicago, 65.
“We hadn’t been sitting”: Rich interview.
“All military personnel”: Sikes interview.
“What happened?”: Jameson interview.
“There was no appearance”: Allen, Port Chicago, 61.
“Fellows were cut”: Small interview.
“I want to volunteer”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
“Go on down!”: Sheppard interview.
The Inquiry
“And the right eye”: “Port Chicago 50” radio broadcast.
The extensive damage to the base is described in: Allen, Port Chicago, 65–66; articles in Oakland Tribune, People’s World, New York Times.
“Man, it was awful”: Crittenden interview.
“Very seldom you’d find”: Jameson interview.
“As we walked”: “Blast at Port Chicago,” People’s World, July 19, 1944.
“We wouldn’t want to go”: “Blast at Port Chicago,” People’s World, July 19, 1944.
“Their sacrifice could not”: “At Least 350 Dead,” New York Times, July 19, 1944.
Court of Inquiry details were taken from: Allen, Port Chicago, 68–72; Navy’s Record of
Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry.
“The consensus of opinion”: Allen, Port Chicago, 70.
“We had no idea”: Small interview.
“You knew all of these”: Sikes interview.
“I just don’t believe”: Meeks interview.
“Everybody was scared”: Allen, Port Chicago, 72.
“It made a ‘RRRRR’”: Small interview.
Compensation bill: Allen, Port Chicago, 67.
“What did they die for?”: “Port Chicago Heroes,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 5, 1944.
Purdie Jackson’s story can be found in: Sullivan, Lift Every Voice, 272.
“We must not be delayed”: Sullivan, Lift Every Voice, 295.
“The only thing we knew”: Small interview.
“Put me on a ship”: Allen, Port Chicago, 73.
“I was instrumental”: Small interview.
“If these are for handling”: Allen, Port Chicago, 80.
“What you gonna do?”: Sheppard interview.
“I was a winch operator”: Small interview.
“So I came to the conclusion”: Small interview.
Column Left
“Division Four, turn to”: Testimony of Ernest Delucchi, Trial Transcript, 40.
“There was a bit of milling”: Testimony of Ernest Delucchi, Trial Transcript, 40.
“Okay, move ’em out”: Small interview.
“Column left”: Small interview.
“Will you go back”: Small interview.
“Oh no we ain’t”: Robinson interview.
“Small, will you return”: Terkel, The Good War, 396.
“What’s the trouble?”: Testimony of Jefferson Flowers, Trial Transcript, 103.
“We told him”: Gay interview.
“You can fight back”: Allen, Port Chicago, 99.
“You men have given me”: Testimony of Ernest Delucchi, Trial Transcript, 45.
“You have been ordered”: Testimony of Joseph Tobin, Trial Transcript, 18.
“You know, all this stuff”: Robinson interview.
“I order you to load”: Testimony of Carleton Morehouse, Trial Transcript, 113.
“Many men from the other”: Testimony of James Tobin, Trial Transcript, 122.
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