Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
USA /
California /
Clyde /
World
/ USA
/ California
/ Clyde
World / United States / California
memorial, Second World War 1939-1945, military, seaport
Site of the largest homeland disaster during World War II.
The Naval Magazine, Port Chicago was established in 1942 at Suisun Bay, California, as an ammunition trans-shipment facility. During the first part of World War II, it was rapidly built up to support the heavy explosives demands of the Pacific War. Following this tragedy, Port Chicago was rapidly returned to service. It is now part of the former U.S. Naval Weapons Station, Concord.
Detachment Concord is home to a sad but fitting reminder that the consequences of war are not always confined to the battlefield. On July 17, 1944, at the peak of World War Two, a large explosion occurred at then Naval Ammunition Depot, Port Chicago. The blast destroyed both the original pier and two munitions ships, the S.S. E.A. Bryan and S.S. Quinault Victory, docked there. 320 people, many of them African-Americans working to load the ships, were killed. It was the largest stateside disaster of the war.
In 1994 a memorial was dedicated to the honor, courage & commitment of the Sailors, Marines, Merchant Mariners, and dock workers killed in the blast. The Memorial is open to the public, but reservations are required in advance; interested parties should contact the National Parks Service Memorial Superintendent at (925) 943-1531.
The Port Chicago Memorial is the only part of the National Park System that requires advance reservations, and as such is one of the least visited places operated by the NPS. In 2012, 533 people visited.
www.nps.gov/poch/
www.history.navy.mil/photos/pl-usa/pl-ca/pt-chgo.htm
The Naval Magazine, Port Chicago was established in 1942 at Suisun Bay, California, as an ammunition trans-shipment facility. During the first part of World War II, it was rapidly built up to support the heavy explosives demands of the Pacific War. Following this tragedy, Port Chicago was rapidly returned to service. It is now part of the former U.S. Naval Weapons Station, Concord.
Detachment Concord is home to a sad but fitting reminder that the consequences of war are not always confined to the battlefield. On July 17, 1944, at the peak of World War Two, a large explosion occurred at then Naval Ammunition Depot, Port Chicago. The blast destroyed both the original pier and two munitions ships, the S.S. E.A. Bryan and S.S. Quinault Victory, docked there. 320 people, many of them African-Americans working to load the ships, were killed. It was the largest stateside disaster of the war.
In 1994 a memorial was dedicated to the honor, courage & commitment of the Sailors, Marines, Merchant Mariners, and dock workers killed in the blast. The Memorial is open to the public, but reservations are required in advance; interested parties should contact the National Parks Service Memorial Superintendent at (925) 943-1531.
The Port Chicago Memorial is the only part of the National Park System that requires advance reservations, and as such is one of the least visited places operated by the NPS. In 2012, 533 people visited.
www.nps.gov/poch/
www.history.navy.mil/photos/pl-usa/pl-ca/pt-chgo.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 38°3'27"N 122°1'47"W
- Tulocay Cemetery 35 km
- San Francisco National Cemetery 48 km
- CalTrans Maintenance Worker Memorial Bridge 74 km
- Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park 85 km
- Donner Memorial State Park 208 km
- Branch Memorial Park 514 km
- Holy Sepulchre Cemetery 609 km
- Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens 623 km
- Kate O. Sessions Memorial Park 727 km
- Parker Cemetery 822 km
- Suisun Bay 1.5 km
- Military Ocean Terminal Concord 1.7 km
- Golden Eagle Refinery 4.5 km
- Bay Point, California 5.1 km
- North Concord 6.3 km
- Vine Hill, California 7.4 km
- Concord Naval Weapons Station 8.3 km
- Ygnacio Valley 9 km
- Suisun Marsh 11 km
- Los Medanos Hills/Pittsburg Hills 17 km
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