Re: [californiadisasters] 1944 Port Chicago Disaster, 7/17/2013, 10:00 pm

Laura,

You joined us in 2008 and it's great to finally hear from you! Thanks for the interesting family anecdotes regarding this historic event that had not only safety implications but also quite significant race relations overtones and implications that went on for years following and entered the political arena.

On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 10:13 PM, Laura Riggs <ldriggs5@gmail.com> wrote:

 

My husbands Grandfather had a power boat tied up in a marina very near Port Chicago, not a broken window.  However the house in Martinez had several broken windows from the explosion.  No proof, but I believe that underground water flow was altered by the explosion.  The basement of that house leaked in heavy rains after the explosions.  We moved into that house in 1984 andI lived there for 18 years, there was a sump pump in a well in the corner of the basement and that pump would run every time it rained.  

- Laura

now of Hanford, CA

On Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 9:55 PM, <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Reminder from:		californiadisasters Yahoo! Group
Title:		1944 Port Chicago Disaster
Date:		Wednesday July 17, 2013
Time:		10:00 pm - 10:00 pm (GMT-08.00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Location:		Contra Costa County - Suisun Bay
Notes:		At 10:18 PM this day in 1944 a mishap involving boom or winch loading ordnance on one of two Liberty ships being loaded simultaneously on opposite sides of a dock at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine triggered a smaller explosion and resulting fire. Several seconds later a catastrophic explosion featuring a 3-mile diameter fireball rose from the site killing all 320 personnel on the docks and ships and injuring 390 others nearby, many of whom were seriously burned. The SS E.A. Bryan where the disaster began was completely destroyed while the adjacent SS Quinault was torn in pieces and thrown in various directions several hundred feet away. The US Coast Guard fire boat CG-60014-F was lifted 600 feet into the air and dumped into the bay sinking immediately and killing its 5-person crew. Chunks of glowing shrapnel were thrown 12,000 feet into the air. Due to work conditions at the time of the disaster and in the aftermath, the infamous Port Chicago Mutiny would occur a few weeks later.

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