Bill would make site of WWII explosion into a national park (CA)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The site of a World War II explosion that killed 320 people -- more than 200 of them black sailors -- and sparked enough outrage about the treatment of the black survivors to fuel a movement to desegregate the military could become part of the National Park System under a new bill.
The measure, announced by U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., on Friday, would make Port Chicago Naval Magazine in the eastern San Francisco Bay eligible for federal funding to operate a visitor center, hire educational rangers and maintain aging facilities.
The base is currently affiliated with the national parks, but the new status would give the site increased visibility, Miller said of the bill, announced Thursday. A Saturday ceremony will commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the blast that crippled the West Coast's main WWII port on the Pacific.
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The measure, announced by U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., on Friday, would make Port Chicago Naval Magazine in the eastern San Francisco Bay eligible for federal funding to operate a visitor center, hire educational rangers and maintain aging facilities.
The base is currently affiliated with the national parks, but the new status would give the site increased visibility, Miller said of the bill, announced Thursday. A Saturday ceremony will commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the blast that crippled the West Coast's main WWII port on the Pacific.