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The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, United States. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and civilians and injuring 390 others. Most of the dead and injured were enlisted African-American sailors. A month later, unsafe conditions inspired hundreds of servicemen to refuse to load munitions, an act known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. Fifty men—called the "Port Chicago 50"—were convicted of mutiny and sentenced to long prison terms. Forty-seven of the 50 were released in January 1946; the remaining three served additional months in prison. During and after the trial, questions were raised about the fairness and legality of the court-martial proceedings.〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 130–133.〕 Due to public pressure, the United States Navy reconvened the courts-martial board in 1945; the court affirmed the guilt of the convicted men.〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 133.〕 Widespread publicity surrounding the case turned it into a ''cause célèbre'' among African Americans and white Americans; it and other race-related Navy protests of 1944–45 led the Navy to change its practices and initiate the desegregation of its forces beginning in February 1946.〔Center of Military History, Washington DC. Morris J. MacGregor, Jr. 1985. "(World War II: The Navy. A Segregated Navy )" in ''Integration of the Armed Forces 1940–1965''. Retrieved March 5, 2009.〕〔Wagner et al., ''The Library of Congress World War II Companion'', 295.〕〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 35–36.〕 In 1994, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial was dedicated to the lives lost in the disaster. ==Background== The town of Port Chicago was located on Suisun Bay in the estuary of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Suisun Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by San Francisco Bay. In 1944, the town was a little more than a mile from a U.S. Navy munitions depot, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine, which was later expanded and renamed the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The original magazine was planned in 1941 with construction beginning shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The first ship to dock at Port Chicago was loaded on December 8, 1942.〔Bell, ''Naval Mutinies of the Twentieth Century'', 198.〕 Munitions transported through the magazine included bombs, shells, naval mines, torpedoes and small arms ammunition. The munitions, destined for the Pacific Theater of Operations, were delivered to the Port Chicago facility by rail then individually loaded by hand, crane and winch onto cargo ships for transport to the war zones. From the beginning, all the enlisted men employed as loaders at Port Chicago were African American; all their commanding officers were White.〔History.com. Black History. (''The Port Chicago Mutiny.'' ) Retrieved March 5, 2009.〕 Each of the enlisted men had been specifically trained for one of the naval ratings during his stay at Naval Station Great Lakes (NSGL) but the men were instead put to work as stevedores.〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 32.〕 None of the new recruits had been instructed in ammunition loading.〔Allen, ''The Port Chicago Mutiny'', 41.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Port Chicago disaster」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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