CONCORD, CA – Representative George Miller (D-Martinez) will join survivors of the Port Chicago explosion and their families at a ceremony tomorrow morning to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the disaster. The ceremony also marks the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the Port Chicago National Memorial created by Congress under legislation sponsored by Miller.

The Port Chicago explosion, which resulted in the military’s worst home front loss of life during World War II, killed 320 soldiers. Over 200 of them were black sailors who were used exclusively for loading the ships with munitions. Fifty sailors who survived the explosion were court-martialed when they refused to return to work under similar unsafe conditions. In 1999, one of the surviving sailors, Freddie Meeks, received a pardon from President Clinton at Miller’s urging.

The text of the remarks that Miller plans to deliver at tomorrow’s ceremony is below.

For those of you who were here on July 17, 1944, at this place, it must seem almost impossible what occurred 60 years ago tonight. Even six decades later, and after nearly twenty years of efforts to educate our nation, the enormity of the tragedy is still difficult for me to fully appreciate.

We are here today to commemorate those who served, and those who died, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine.

Ten years ago, many of us gathered here to dedicate the National Memorial that marks the spot of the greatest explosion in human history up to that time, and the greatest Home Front loss of life during World War II. The names of the brave men who gave their lives in defense of their nation are forever etched onto that Memorial.

A few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., on the 60th anniversary of D-Day, we belatedly dedicated a memorial to all the men and women who served this nation during the greatest war. For far too long, we failed to recognize and commemorate those members of the Greatest Generation who served and who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of this nation.

Fortunately, we were able to recognize those who were lost at Port Chicago ten years earlier, and over the past decade, this Memorial has played a large role in focusing national attention on this nearly forgotten piece of American history.

I am so grateful to the veterans who are here today with us, and to their spouses and widows, their children and grandchildren – some of whom only know a photograph or a letter from a distant relative lost 60 years ago.

I am grateful to the historians and activists like Ray Adkins of Texas, who lost the father she never knew that night, and who is devoting her retirement to compiling a directory of Port Chicago veterans.

I am grateful to the Black Navy Veterans of Great Lakes, who have helped to tell the story, and to the newspaper reporters and editorial writers, the documentary makers and screenwriters who have spread that story widely.

I am grateful to the men who served and sacrificed, and in their twilight years, helped educate a nation about a dark chapter in our history that has now been brought into the light.

I am so grateful to the young students from California and Texas whose History Day projects on Port Chicago in recent years have won state championships and gone on to the national finals, helping to educate students and teachers from across the nation about the events of June 17, 1944.

Today, I want to pay special tribute to Spencer Sikes, Sr., and Morris Soublet, Sr., both Port Chicago veterans who have passed away in the last few months. They attended past commemorations here, and we mourn their passing.

And of course, I want to offer a special remembrance to Freddie Meeks who passed away last June – the only one of the Port Chicago 50 to receive a pardon, which he generously accepted from President Clinton on behalf of his 49 fellow sailors.

These men and hundreds more lived most of their lives without adequate recognition for their service during World War II. I am so pleased that they were able to see this Memorial during their lifetimes, and know that their experience has become the subject of books, papers and films.

But with all this accomplished, the Port Chicago story continues to thrive. Just a few weeks ago, a treasure trove of new, unpublished letters from Robert Rendleman, who served here during the time of the disaster, were uncovered and will serve as a valuable source of first hand information.

We have more to do.

We need to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding between the Army, Navy and Park Service without further delay. I had asked that it be completed and unveiled at this ceremony so that veterans, school children, family members, and others can arrange to visit this site. All of those services are represented here today, and I call on them to resolve all remaining issues and implement this agreement this summer. No one should be prevented from visiting this site, and learning these lessons of history, because federal agencies cannot complete a simple agreement Congress directed them by law to execute a decade ago.

We want to help restore the Chapel which has suffered great neglect and deterioration in recent years.

We want to find ways to coordinate this site with the recently dedicated Rosie the Riveter/Home Front National Park in Richmond, created by my legislation in 2000 and linked in many ways to actions here at Port Chicago.

And we are continuing to explore the possibility of having a U.S. stamp issued honoring the men who lost their lives in the largest stateside tragedy of World War II.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you for participating today and for helping a nation remember the brave sailors, black and white, who served and sacrificed at this base. Because of them, our country continues to serve as a beacon of freedom; because of you, we will never forget their service to our nation.

To read more about Port Chicago, go to: http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/ptchicmain.html.