WASHINGTON -- On the eve of the 57th anniversary of the deadliest home front explosion of World War II, U.S. Congressman George Miller (D-CA) is leading a renewed congressional effort to win a presidential pardon for black sailors convicted of mutiny following the disaster.

Miller previously led a successful effort to secure a pardon for Freddie Meeks of Los Angeles, one of 50 black sailors convicted after the explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine east of San Francisco on July 17, 1944. Earlier, Miller had secured a Navy review of the case and won passage of legislation that created the Port Chicago National Memorial in 1992, honoring more than 300 victims of the blast. The conviction of another sailor was reversed in 1994 on medical grounds by the Navy in response to a congressionally ordered review of the cases.

Miller said that it remains a priority to see justice carried out despite the passage of time.

“The events surrounding Mr. Meeks’ pardon - including news coverage, television documentaries, and even a full length film - helped educate al of us about the travesty of justice that occurred in the segregated Navy of 1944,” said Miller.

“His pardon and the Memorial have helped the nation understand what happened in 1944 and how it helped pave the way for desegregation of the military and the society in general. But we have not cleared the record yet because 48 men still have an undeserved mark next to their names that should be removed.”

The letter, being sent on July 17th, urges President Bush, “based on the substantial evidence about the case developed in conjunction with the Meeks appeal, to use your presidential power to issue pardons or other appropriate Executive clemency to the remaining 48 sailors who should never have been tried for or convicted of mutiny in the first place.

“Such an action would help bring closure to the many members of the families of men who have passed away and to many more - including the relatives and descendants of those who perished at Port Chicago - who have come to see the elderly sailors’ burden as an important cause.”

Miller noted that the California Legislature unanimously passed a resolution urging pardons in the Port Chicago case, and that a similar resolution is working its way through the New York State Legislature now.

“The men are very old or long gone,” said Miller. “The traditional pardon application process just isn’t going to work in this case. The merits of the case were made evident in the Meeks appeal, and a comparable level of clemency should now be shown to the remaining sailors, and their families, who have borne this unjust burden throughout their lives.

“We are hopeful that President Bush will give quick consideration to our request and use this anniversary as an opportunity to set the historical record straight about Port Chicago,” Miller said.

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On December 23, 1999, in a widely reported and heralded event, Freddie Meeks of Los Angeles received a presidential pardon that was internationally viewed as righting a very old wrong. Mr. Meeks is one of the few surviving black sailors convicted by the Navy of mutiny following the catastrophic explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California in 1944. As Members of Congress who have long supported justice for the Port Chicago sailors, we are grateful to the Navy, the FBI, the Pardon Attorney, the Department of Justice, and all those who played a role in considering Mr. Meeks’ appeal and securing the well-justified pardon.

Now, we respectfully ask you, based on the substantial evidence about the case developed in conjunction with the Meeks appeal, to use your presidential power to issue pardons or other appropriate Executive clemency to the remaining 49 sailors who should never have been tried for or convicted of mutiny in the first place.

Such an action would help bring closure to the many members of the families of men who have passed away and to many more - including the relatives and descendants of those who perished at Port Chicago -who have come to see the elderly sailor’s burden as an important cause. The very extensive editorial, press and media coverage (including a feature film and two cable documentaries) of the Meeks case and the Port Chicago story in general, the active support of veterans and civil rights groups, and the broad bipartisan support demonstrated by a unanimous vote of the California Legislature in 1999, illustrates the popularity with which your Executive action would be greeted.

Even more importantly, it would establish for the historical record the inappropriateness of the prosecutions themselves for such an extreme and unsubstantiated charge as mutiny. For these men to carry the stigma of such a conviction, given the historical facts of the Port Chicago case, is a disgrace and can only be corrected by your action as President.

As all those who have reviewed the case now recognize, racism was a pervasive and humiliating feature of life at Port Chicago. Black sailors were not only exclusively assigned to the loading of munitions subject to the orders of white officers, but were housed, fed and drilled separately; they were not even permitted to use the same restroom facilities. Black sailors were given no training in the handling of the munitions, were not given any equipment (such as gloves), were misinformed about the nature of the hazards of the weapons, and were denied compassionate leave provided to white officers after the explosion that killed 320 of their fellow Navy men.

Nevertheless, most of those who were ultimately convicted by the court marital played a key role in the gruesome task of collecting body parts for which they earned commendations. Ultimately, the 50 sailors were individually convicted of mutiny -the most serious military offense possible -by judges who considered their fate in less than an hour and a half despite months of evidence and cross-examination. Pleas for leniency and reviews of the convictions from President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thurgood Marshall and others were ignored.

Mr. Meeks’ pardon in 1999 was a very important step in establishing a more balanced and compassionate historical view of the Port Chicago story. But most of those who were improperly charged with mutiny are no longer alive to request a pardon. Many, in fact, were so ashamed of their wrongful prosecution and imprisonment that they died without ever disclosing their past conviction, even to their closest family members.

The extensive research developed by the law firm of Morrison and Foerster as well as by the Navy, the FBI, and the Office of the Pardon Attorney and the Department of Justice in conjunction with the Meeks case provides invaluable evidence that such an action on your part is warranted. We would be delighted to provide your Counsel’s office with these and other supporting materials.

We appreciate your consideration of our request, and we would be pleased to work with you and the White House staff to help achieve our goal of a Presidential Pardon or other appropriate act of clemency for the Port Chicago 50.

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER
Member of Congress, 7th District

1. Charles B. Rangel
2. Bob Filner
3. Major Owens
4. Carrie P. Meek
5. Henry Waxman
6. Robert Wexler
7. Pete Stark
8. Earl Hilliard
9. Donna Christensen
10. Sam Farr
11. Eni Faleomavaega
12. Edolphus Towns
13. Karen Thurman
14. Lloyd Doggett
15. Barney Frank
16. James McGovern
17. Barbara Lee
18. Bernard Sanders
19. Lynn Woolsey
20. Maxine Waters
21. Marcy Kaptur
22. Nancy Pelosi
23. Zoe Lofgren
24. Corrine Brown
25. William Lacy Clay
26. Anna Eshoo
27. Gregory Meeks
28. Eddie Bernice Johnson
29. Phil English
30. Howard Berman
31. Karen McCarthy
32. Julia Carson
33. Jim McDermott
34. Loretta Sanchez
35. Jan Schakowsky
36. Tom Lantos
37. Robert Matsui
38. Donald Payne
39. Cynthia McKinney
40. Alcee Hastings
41. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
42. John Lewis
43. Juanita Millender-McDonald
44. James Clyburn
45. Harold Ford, Jr.
46. Barbara Boxer
47. Diane E. Watson
48. Eleanor Holmes Norton
49. Chaka Fattah
50. Bennie G. Thompson
51. Sheila Jackson Lee
52. Robert Brady
53. Michael Capuano
54. John Conyers, Jr.
55. Martin Frost
56. Albert Wynn
57. Robert Scott
58. Carolyn Kilpatrick
59. Sanford Bishop
60. Eva M.Clayton
61. Hilda Solis
62. Melvin Watt
63. Elijah Cummings
64. Lois Capps
65. Bobby Rush
66. Dennis Kucinich
67. Jane Harman
68. Stephanie Tubbs Jones
69. Grace Napolitano
70. William Jefferson
71. Xavier Becerra
72. Ellen Tauscher
73. Adam Schiff
74. Danny K. Davis
75. Michael Honda
76. Joe Baca