Whereas the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Contra Costa County, California, was a vital supply facility for the Navy during World War II, shipping ordinance for use in the Pacific Theater; Whereas, under the rules governing the Navy at the time, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine was operated as a segregated facility in which undertrained and poorly equipped African-American sailors, under the supervision of White officers, exclusively conducted the hazardous task of loading munitions aboard ships; Whereas there had been numerous complaints and warnings about the unsafe nature of the loading operations, including the conduct of contests by White officers to achieve the most rapid loading of ships despite the inherent dangers involved in such actions; Whereas, on the night of July 17, 1944, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine and much of the town of Port Chicago were destroyed by a cataclysmic explosion that killed 320 men, 202 of whom were African-American enlisted men; Whereas these losses on a single night represented one-fifth of all African-American naval casualties during World War II; Whereas, following the catastrophe, none of the African-American survivors was provided survivor leave or other recuperative services provided to the White personnel, including the officers; Whereas African-American survivors of the explosion were ordered back to the Port Chicago site to conduct cleanup operations; Whereas, on August 9, 1944, with no cause having been determined for the explosion and no additional training having been provided to the African-American loaders, 328 men from three divisions were ordered to the loading pier at the nearby Mare Island, which served as the Port Chicago replacement facility; Whereas many of the men expressed concern about the inadequacy of safety procedures and training, leading to 258 being arrested and confined for three days on a large barge tiered to the pier; Whereas the confined sailors were threatened with prosecution and potential execution, leading 208 to return to work