Eight Decades On: Families Reflect on Port Chicago Explosion and Push for Recognition of the ‘Port Chicago 50’ as Heroes
San Francisco, CA — Eight decades have passed since the catastrophic Port Chicago explosion, a dark episode of World War II that continues to resonate with families of the victims and underscore historical discussions about racial segregation and military justice. The 1944 explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in northern California was the deadliest home front disaster of the war, claiming 320 lives, the majority of whom were African American sailors. At the time, …