"THE PRICE OF FEAR"
                treatment by William C. Martell

    On July l7th, 1944, at 10:19 pm. the Navy Munitions Base at
Port Chicago, California and the town of Port Chicago more than a
mile away, were blown off the face of the earth.  322 people were
killed, more than 400 more were seriously injured.  It was the
largest state-side disaster of World War II, making headlines in
every paper across the United States.
   But the incidents following the explosion never made the
headlines.  208 of the survivors were Court Martialed by the
Navy.  The remaining 50 were charged with Mutiny, punishable by
death.  Because they spoke out about unsafe working conditions...
and they were Black.  What follows is the true story of the
largest Mutiny Trial in Navy history.  An event which led to the
desegregation of the United States Armed Forces.

        FIFTY BLACK MEN in hand cuffs and leg irons, looking more
like slaves than Navy Enlisted Men, are escorted by White armed
guards down a narrow hallway to the jail cells. 
     A smart-looking Black man in his mid-thirties, well dressed,
watches through the barred window of an interrogation room.  He
turns to the White Navy defense lawyer next to him and says, "The
one they call the 'ring-leader'..."  "Leroy Randell?"  "Yeah. I
want to talk to him."  The Defense Lawyer nods.
        When Leroy Randell is escorted into the interrogation
room, the well dressed Black man asks the Marine Guards to remove
the hand cuffs and leg irons.  The Guards argue that Randell is a
dangerous man, accused of a capital crime.  But the well dressed
Black man gets his way. 
        Randell is a twenty two year old kid dressed in ripped 
prison denim.  He eyes the well dressed man suspiciously.  "Who
are you?"  "I`m a lawyer." "Navy doesn't have any Negro lawyers."
"I'm not with the Navy. I'm with the NAACP.  My name is Thurgood
Marshall. Why don't you tell me what happened?" "Where do you
want me to start?" "How about the day before? July l6th?" Randell
nods, sits back in the hard wooden chair, and tells his story.
"It was hot. Over a hundred and ten degrees, and nobody could
sleep. The officers had swamp coolers, but they'd only give us
Negroes an old electric fan we had to keep fixing to make it
work..."
          THE OLD ELECTRIC FAN sputters in the dark barracks as
the day shift workers try to sleep.  But the reveille trumpets
blow their five o'clock wake up call, and the men begin rolling
out of bed.
    As Randell and the men fall in for roll call, it's noted that
one man, JIM is missing.  A pair of white officers go into the
barracks and drag him out of bed, calling him a "lazy nigger" for
sleeping through reveille.  Jim gets dressed without a fight and
falls in, not wanting to be denied meal privileges.
    There are new recruits at Port Chicago today, including
KENNY, a fresh faced sixteen year old kid.  Randell notices AL, a
twenty year old enlisted man, has returned to Port Chicago.
    AT BREAKFAST, Randell talks to Al, as Kenny listens in.  Al
had tried to get out of the dangerous and physically hard work of
loading ammo at Port Chicago by retraining as a ship's gunner.
Although he graduated head of his class at Great Lakes Naval
Training Center, he was sent back to Port Chicago to load ammo.
Since the Navy is segregated, and there are no 'Negro Ships',
Blacks can either load ammo or do cooking and janitorial work at
a base. "Join the Navy, see the world... Unless you're a Negro,
then all you see is Port Chicago."  Randell calls AL 'Boomerang',
and everyone laughs.
    When the men fall in for work at 6:45, one man, LOUIS,
refuses to load ammo, saying that it is dangerous work.  When the
(White) Lieutenant, DeNATTO, tells Louis the work is perfectly
safe, "You should try it sometime", Louis asks "If it's so safe,
why aren't there any White divisions loading ammo in the Navy?"
Lt. DeNatto answers by having Louis thrown in the brig without
meals for 24 hours.

         RANDELL, BOOMERANG AL, KENNY, and the rest of the men
are packed in 'cattle cars', shoulder to shoulder.  The 'cattle
cars' are pulled by a tractor from the base to the docks, while
the Officers drive down in their Jeeps.  In the 'cattle car',
Kenny asks Randell what they're supposed to do... There was no
training in ammo handling. Al reply is "Hard work".  Randell's
answer is "Pray we don't get any 'hot loads'."  Shells with the
detonators installed.
    The OFFICER driving the tractor/cattle cars, gets into a race
with DeNatto's Jeep and has to slam on the brakes when they get
to the pier. 
     Inside the "cattle car' men are smashed into each other from
the jolting stop, receiving bruises and cuts.  One man has a
broken finger, but when the doors to the cattle car are opened,
he is ordered to load ammo with everyone else. 
     THE DOCK AT PORT CHICAGO is Y shaped, and can service two
ships. Bombs, missiles, and shells are brought in by train; each
train car parked in 'blast proof' bunkers until the cargo is
loaded by wheel barrow and hand into the ships. The bombs weigh
as much as 1,000 pounds, and are muscled into place by hand.
     As the men put on their gloves to work, Lt. DeNatto makes a
$50 bet with Lt. TOLAN that his division can load more tonnage.
The bet made, each Lieutenant tells his division that they'll be
denied movie privileges and punished with extra work details on
their 'duty day' if their work does not meet the 'new quota' of
tonnage. The men are then put to work loading the E.A.Bryan
"Liberty Ship".

    THE WORK IS HARD.  Slave labor, according to Al.  One group
of men unload the ammo from the box cars onto wheel barrows and
dollies.  Another group races the ammo to the pier, where it is
dumped.  At the pier, Randell and the other winch operators, use
the ship's winches to pick up nets filled with six tons of shells
and lower them into the cargo hold of the ship, where another
group of men unload the nets and stack the ammo.  The two
Lieutenants yell at the men, calling them "Niggers, Jungle
Bunnies, Jigs, and Goons" and order them to work faster.  After
four hours of back breaking work, a short lunch break is given,
where the men can drink water and eat sandwiches.

     AFTER LUNCH, Kenny asks Randell how he learned to be a winch
operator.  Randell says "They ordered me to do it, so I did it".
No one gets any training at ammo loading, and the Navy doesn't
even have a training book.  But since only Black enlisted men do
the work, what does it matter? "We're expendable".
    An hour after the men go back to work, the winch Randell is
using breaks down from over-use.  When Randell tells DeNatto they
have to stop loading, DeNatto forbids it. "The winch will be
repaired tomorrow, until then, get some men and lower the cargo
by hand." As the men begin lowering the cargo by hand, DeNatto
moves behind a bunker in case of accidental explosion.  Small
shells are 'poured' into the hold out of the wheel barrows.
     A train car of 16" battleship shells is unloaded next.  When
a net full of shells being lowered into the ship's hold gets
loose, more than a thousand pounds of shells rain down on the
crew in the hold.  One of the shells lands on its nose.
     BLAM!  There is a minor explosion, as the paint bomb (used
to target subsequent projectiles) showers the hold with blue
paint. The men in the hold scream, trying to crawl out of the
hold and away from the explosion.
    When they crawl out of the hold, covered with blue paint,
some "old timers" laugh at them. "It's just the paint bombs,
nothing to worry about." DeNatto orders the men back to work  
denying them time to wash off the blue paint. "We've got to make
our quota."

           THAT NIGHT, when Randell gets out of the 'cattle car'
back at the base, he asks DeNatto if there's any danger that a
paint bomb could set off the TNT in another bomb.  DeNatto tells
him there's no danger; but Randell presses it, using logic to
make his point. DeNatto asks Randell if he wants to spend his
life in the brig like Louis, and Randell backs down.
    DINNER for the enlisted men is fried eggplant.  No meat, no
chicken, no fish.  But as AL says, before he joined the Navy, he
was lucky to get one meal a day, let alone three.  The Depression
was still going on in the Black community in 1944.  The men tell
of their various reasons for joining the Navy ("I was drafted",
Randell says.) and their homes and loved ones.  Kenny tells the
others he's married, and shows them a silver plated ring his wife
gave him. Randell and the others admire the ring, and take Kenny
under their wing.

      IN THE OFFICER'S MESS, Lt. DeNatto eats his chicken dinner
and asks the base commander, Captain KINEY, if it's possible that
a paint bomb could set off the TNT in a shell.  Captain Kiney
says it's never happened before.  "But is it POSSIBLE?" DeNatto
asks. Cpt. Kiney responds, "I don't know.  What do I know about
explosives?  I was an engineer in civilian life.  I never saw a
bomb before I was called up."

          THE NEXT MORNING, a civilian REPAIRMAN works on the
broken winch as Randell watches.  When the men run up with their
wheel barrows of shells and begin 'pouring' them into the hold,
the Repairman gets the jitters.  Randell tells him there's
nothing to worry about, but the Repairman doesn't believe him  "I
don't like the looks of things around here."  He finishes his
work quickly and leaves the base.
     Randell tries out the winch, and is satisfied with the
results.  Work resumes.

      A COAST GUARD INSPECTOR approaches DeNatto, and asks him
about the equipment failure yesterday.  DeNatto tells the
Inspector that it has been repaired.  The Inspector would like to
check out the winch, and oversee the working and safety
conditions, but DeNatto holds him back. "This is a restricted
area. You gotta have permission from Commander Gross, l2th
District Navy Operations." After the Inspector reluctantly
leaves, DeNatto and Tolan have a laugh. "We'd never make the
quota if we had to load while that guy was around."
      DeNatto sees Kenny taking an unscheduled break from loading
the 60 pound shells and reprimands him.  AL and Jim stand up for
Kenny, but it does little good. Kenny is reassigned to graveyard
shift, beginning that night.  When DeNatto leaves, Kenny thanks
the two men for trying to help.

          THE WORK continues, with the officers ordering them to
work faster to make up for yesterday's lost time.  Jim comments
that he thought slavery had been abolished. "Not in the Navy," is
Randell's reply.
     The men begin talking about their frustrations as they work.
Randell tells about the letter they wrote to the Navy a year ago.
The enlisted men of Port Chicago asked the Navy to consider
rewarding hard working men with officer status, or shipboard
duty.
     Many of the men had advanced training for ship operations,
and if the Navy would create a Negro Ship, the men at Port
Chicago would have something to work towards. 
     But the Navy never replied to their letter.

     BY THE END OF THE DAY, the E.A.Bryan is loaded. Randell
tells Kenny that he may have lucked out.  There may be no work
for the graveyard shift to do.  But then a ship moves towards the
pier, the Quinalt Victory, a brand new cargo ship.
     "It never ends" Jim says.
                     
      THAT NIGHT, the men go to bed, joking with Kenny who's just
getting up after a four hour nap between shifts.  After Kenny
slips out with the graveyard shift, the men drift off to sleep.
     "Less than twenty minutes after we fell asleep," Randell
tells Thurgood Marshall, "the first explosion hit."
                             
                         ACT TWO
           THE MEN ARE ASLEEP  when  the  first explosion hits,
knocking them out of their bunks and across the room. "What
happened?" "The Japs!" "Air raid!" Randell and the men scrambling
to their feet in panic as the second explosion rips through.
     The second blast sends flames in a three mile diameter,
shooting fire and debris more than 9,000 feet into the air.
     Night turns into daylight.
     THE WORLD TURNS INTO HELL.
     The barracks disintegrate, and the men are hurled a hundred
yards across the base.  Flying glass slices a man's leg clean
off.  A 16" ship shell flies through the side of the recreation
room.  Jeeps FLY past, crashing into buildings.  Flames shoot
through the base, burning some men and leaving others untouched.
The fireball is so bright, it blinds some men permanently.
       Shells, parts of train cars and ships, and broken glass
rain down on the base, adding to the destruction from the blast.
    Windows are broken twenty five miles away by the force of the
concussion.  A 300 pound iron section of the E.A.Bryan's deck
lands on a suburban street two miles away, sinking six inches
into the pavement.  Smaller debris, like ten pound shell casings,
rain down on farms more than four miles away.  A thirty foot wall
of water presses through the San Francisco Bay, capsizing ships
in its path.

     THE BASE IS COMPLETELY DESTROYED, some buildings on fire.
Leroy Randell pushes out from under debris and gets to his feet.
All around him, men are moving to their feet. "You all right?"
"You okay?"  "You alright?" For a few moments, the men stand in
shock, feeling over their bodies for injuries and finding
surprisingly few.
     "Was it the Japs?" one man asks.
     Randell shakes his head, turning to look at the fireball.
"The ships."

     FLAMES begin racing from one shattered building to the next.
"We gotta get that fire out!" Jim yells.  He and AL organize a
bucket brigade.  While this group puts out the fire,  Randell 
and another group begins administering first aid. Many men have
glass cuts, some are blind, some have broken arms and legs, a few 
have severed limbs.  Belts are used as tourniquets, bed linens
turned into make shift stretchers and bandages.  Randell makes a
splint for a kid  called 'TEX' who has a broken arm.
     Lt. Tolan grabs the phone and tries to call for outside
help, but the phone is dead. So  is the power and water.  A man
is sent by Jeep into town to get help.
     Seriously wounded men are taken by Jeep, and by a
commandeered Greyhound bus to the Concord Community Hospital
several miles away, later transferred to Mare Island Navy
Hospital.

          CAPTAIN KINEY grabs Randell, "Get some flashlights."
Randell races to what's left of the P.O. and grabs an arm load of
flashlights.  Kiney and Tolan swing by in their Jeep, and Randell
climbs in and hands the flashlights to Kiney.
     As they drive down the road to the docks and the shrinking
fireball, Kiney loads batteries into the flashlights. "We've got
to help the men on the pier."  Randell nods and checks
flashlights.    Suddenly, Tolan stops the Jeep. "What are you
stopping for? It's another half mile to the pier." Tolan replies:
"There's no more road, sir." In the Jeep's headlights, they see
the pavement has come to an abrupt stop, and a crater begins. 
The crater is filling with bay water and an oil slick.
     "We'll walk down," Randell suggests.
     "No. There'll be shells scattered all over. They might
explode."                                
     Randell realizes he handled those shells every day.
     "We'll wait until morning.  And get some bomb experts out
here to handle them."
     They drive back to the base, to help with the injured men.

         THE NEXT MORNING, Randell, Jim, Louis, and AL are part
of the crew sent out to the pier to search for survivors.
    But there isn't any pier.  Wood pilings stick out of the oily
water like fingers, broken off at irregular intervals.  The
destruction, here, is unbelievable.  Sections of the Quinalt
Victory float in the water, train cars are turned upside down,
foundations are all that survive of buildings.
      Randell, Jim, Louis, and Al search for bodies, but find
only parts.
      Lt. DeNatto reports to Captain Kiney. "All dead, sir." "How
many?" "Don't know.  We could only identify 51 of the bodies
sir." DeNatto begins to break down. "And most are only parts. 
Ben Jackson, we only found his head, sir. Floating on the water.
No body.  Just the head.  But he's one we could identify.  The
others... They're  gone."
       DeNatto begins crying, and Kiney grabs the man's shoulder.
"Take it easy." DeNatto wipes his tears and gets back to work.
     Jim spots a hand and arm protruding from some debris. On one
finger is a silver plated wedding band. "Randell! Al! I got
Kenny!"  The men run over and help Jim pull away the debris.  But
they don't find Kenny.  The arm ends at the elbow.  That's all
that's left of Kenny.
     Jim goes into shock and starts screaming.

         Randell TURNS TO MARSHALL, "Jim was one of the four men
sighted for bravery in fighting the fire.  Admiral Wrightson
called us heroes.  Said so in the papers.  The next day they
bussed us across the bay to Mare Island Navy Shipyard."

      ON THE BUS TO MARE ISLAND, the men don't talk with each
other.  They're in a state of shock.  When the bus backfires
going up a hill, every man hits the dirt... Including Lt. Tolan.

     AT MARE ISLAND, the men are painting barracks.  Louis
complains that his mom's house hasn't been painted in fifteen
years, and here he is painting a building painted less than a
year ago.  Randell says it's better than loading ammo.  All of
the men say they won't load ammo ever again.  Jim is concerned
when he finds out Mare Island has taken over ammo loading while
they rebuild Port Chicago. "The docks are opposite the Parade
Grounds you know? Where the road turns left?" Jim doesn't want to
be within a hundred miles of ammo. "I'd rather do combat duty. 
Even on the frontline, they give you a gun.  You can shoot back.
You can see the enemy." "And if you die," Louis says, "They give
you a medal."

     A  few of the men ask about the 30 days survivors leave due
them.  It's been two weeks...  Randell says, "We'll get our
leave... eventually.  It's the Navy.  Place where it takes three
weeks to get a new blanket if you lose yours.  You've just got to
be patient."

       THE OFFICERS leave Mare Island to testify at the Navy's
Inquiry.  The question which comes up over and over is "Where
were the Coast Guard Inspectors? They're supposed to be on base
at all times." Each one of the officers testifies that the Coast
Guard men were removed from the base more than a year ago because
they created a schism in command of the enlisted men, and their
safety standards were impractical.  Captain Kiney testifies that
his quotas had no impact on safety. "I made sure all safety
regulations are available, but most of the enlisted men can't
read."
    The Judge finds no evidence of sabotage, and pins the blame
on "Colored enlisted personnel intellectually incapable of
handling high explosives." Case closed.

         A FEW DAYS LATER, the men fall in, ready to repaint
another building. Lt. Tolan issues them all work gloves. "What
are these for?" "Maybe we're hauling lumber today."  But Randell
just stares at his gloves, knowing what they're for.
     Lt. Tolan marches the men across the base to a T in the
road.  To the right, the Parade Grounds and a possible painting
job.  To the left, the docks and a ship waiting to be loaded with
ammo.  When Lt. Tolan orders them to march to the left, the men
stop moving.  Tolan orders them again to march left, but nobody
moves.  Tolan goes up to Randell, "What's the meaning of this?"
"I'm not going to load ammo, sir." Other men in the group echo
this. "I'll do anything except load ammo, sir" Randell explains.
Tolan doesn't know how to handle this, but finally orders the men
to march to the right... to the Parade Grounds.
     Tolan asks if any of the men will load ammo.  
     No one speaks up.
     CHAPLAIN FOWLER moves onto the grand stand to address the
men.  He asks why they won't load ammo, and Randell answers,
"Less than three weeks ago, our friends were killed.  It could
have been us. We'll do anything, but load ammo." The Chaplain
tells them there's a war on, and 'our brave boys' need you men to
do this. "Why don't you do it, sir?" a voice calls out. "My
duties are here.  But I'll go out with you men for a few hours,
if it will help."
     None of the men believe this.  The Chaplain singles out
Randell, and asks him why he won't follow orders. "I'll follow
any order, sir, except to load ammo." "Why?" "I'm afraid, sir.  I
never thought I'd admit to being afraid of anything, sir.
Especially not in front of a crowd of people.  But I'm afraid
that what happened at Port Chicago could happen again."
     The Chaplain looks at the men. "I'm going to give you men a
few days to think about this." He has Tolan, DeNatto, and some
Shore Patrolmen escort the 258 men to a small barge at the pier.

     THE 258 MEN are crammed onto the barge, shoulder to
shoulder, and kept under guard for three days.
     One of the younger men begs the Shore Patrol Officer to let
him off the barge. "I'll go back to work, I'll do anything."  But
the Officer shakes his head, "Too late, Nigger.  Had your chance,
now you hang with the rest of them."

     By the second day, tempers are flaring among the men.
Randell  breaks up a fight between two men, then makes a speech.
He tells the men they have to stand tall and stand together.
"Knock off the fighting.  That's just what they want us to do.
Fight each other so they can throw us in the brig.  If we stick
together, they can't do anything to us. Obey their orders. If
they want us to clean toilets, we clean toilets. Don't give them
any reason to give us trouble." The men applaud the speech.  
     AL thinks if they stick together, maybe the Navy will give
them a ship.
      Later that day, Louis shows Randell a petition most of the
men have signed.  A petition against loading ammo.  Randell reads
the petition, then tears it up. "We don't want anything on paper.
They'll give us dishonorable discharges if we do that.  Nothing
on paper."
     Louis nods.

        AT THE END OF THE THREE DAYS, the men are escorted by
armed guard to the baseball diamond on base.  There are more
guards present than ever before, and Randell is worried.
     Admiral Wrightson addresses the men.  He tells them they
will NEVER have the chance for shipboard duty if they won't load
ammo. "I don't believe any of you have the guts for shipboard
duty." Then he threatens them, "I want to remind you men that
mutiny in time of war carries the death sentence.  You will be
facing a firing squad if you continue to refuse orders."
      Randell and the men are confused. "Mutiny? You gotta be on
a ship for that, don't you?" "You can't shoot us. You need an Act
of Congress before you can shoot three hundred men."
     "I'm not gonna load. You can't shoot me for doing what's
right."
     The Admiral again states than anyone not following orders
will be shot. "I'll follow any order, except loading ammo, sir,"
Randell says. "Then you'll be shot. Disobeying one order is the
same as disobeying all orders." "I don't follow that, sir."
DeNatto nudges Randell with his gun butt, "It's because you're an
ignorant Nigger."

       The Admiral orders the men to separate into two groups.
Those who will load ammo, and those who will be shot for mutiny.
       AL turns to Randell, "I can't let them shoot me, man.  If
I'm gonna die, it's not going to be with a blindfold over my
eyes."  "It's one blindfold or another, Al. They aren't giving us
any other choices." "I can't do it," AL says.  Randell nods, and
shakes the man's hand.  The two men go to opposite sides of the
baseball field.  Louis sees all of the men headed towards the
'loading' side and starts whispering to them. "They aren't going
to shoot us.  They can't.  It's a bluff, don't you see?  If we
work they don't have to call white boys to do the job.  If we
don't stand together, now, it'll never change."  But most of the
men, 208 of them, choose to load ammo.
    Forty four men refuse to load ammo.  Randell and Admiral
Wrightson lock eyes. "Last chance, men." Randell shakes his head,
"You don't give us any chances, sir."
     The Admiral orders the 44 men taken to the brig and held
under armed guard, twenty four hours a day.  Pending trial for
Mutiny... and the firing squad.

                         ACT THREE
     THE FORTY FOUR MEN are locked in four cells as they await
trail.  The second day of captivity, six men are added to the
group.  Two are company cooks, who, when asked if they would load
ammo, answered "I'm just a cook."  Two men are fresh releases
from the hospital, one is Tex, who has a broken arm.  When asked
if Tex would load ammo, he answers, "I have a broken arm, I
can't."  Two more were late to roll call, and being charged with
Mutiny was their punishment.

      "There were fifty of us, crammed into those four cells,"    
Randell tells Marshall. "At first I felt sorry for the six guys,
the 'randoms', but then I realized we were all in that cell for
the same reason.  You got more than three hundred people killed,
and somebody has to take the blame, somebody has to take the
punishment.  It wasn't going to be the Brass taking it for
dangerous working conditions. So it had to be the worker's
fault."
     Marshall tells Randell the fate of the 208 men who said
they'd load ammo.  They were Court Martialed, given dishonorable
discharges, and denied all veterans benefits.  This doesn't
surprise Randell at all.
      "A couple days later, they put me in solitary and brought
in the other men for interrogation.  One by one."

      THE INTERROGATIONS are headed by Lt. Commander JAMES
CONNERS, the lawyer who will prosecute the case. "Now, you've got
nothing to fear from Randell.  He'll be in solitary until the
trail," he tells one of the men. "So feel free to speak your
mind. I mean, why should you get the firing squad like him? He's
the ring leader, you were just doing what you were told."
      With each of the men, the interrogators try to collect
evidence against Randell. "Somebody's gotta be the leader,
everybody needs a leader."  "We didn't need a leader. Anybody who
was there, at Port Chicago, knows enough to make his own
decision."
     To Louis: "We heard there was a meeting on the barge.  That
Randell organized all of you against us."  "Randell told the men
to quit fighting, sir, that's all." "Then why did you refuse to
obey orders?"  "I was scarred.  I saw my friends blown apart, I
didn't want it to happen to me."  "A big guy like you afraid?" "A
man would be a fool not to be afraid, sir."
     To Tex: "We want to know what happened on the barge." "I
don't know anything about a barge, sir." "Randell talked to you
men, organized you." "I wasn't on a barge, sir." "Then why are
you here, Nigger?" "I don't know, sir." "You refused to work,
didn't you?" "My arm's broke, sir." "If you testify against the
ring leaders, we won't have to shoot you."
     Same offer to another man: "Ring leaders, sir? I don't know
anything about ring leaders. Did the circus come to town?" For
this, he gets slapped with a gun butt.

     None of the men acknowledge any sort of conspiracy.  They
all say they decided on their own not to load ammo.
     After the interrogation, the men are given typed statements
to sign. "What's it say? I can't read." "Just says what you told
me." The man signs. Louis reads over his statement. "This isn't
what I said." "Sure it is. You saw the man taking notes, didn't
you?" "This isn't what I said. You can't make me sign it." The
Interrogator turns to the clerk. "Note that he refused to sign
the statement. That he was uncooperative." He turns back to
Louis, "Refusing to sign, boy, that was your death warrant."

     Conners handles Randell's interrogation personally.  The two
men square off.  Conners tells Randell that other men testified
that Randell organized the mutiny.  Randell calmly says they are
lying. "We've got signed statements." "What? From men who can't
read?" Conners continues to brow beat Randell, but can't get him
to change his story.

          THE TRIAL IS HELD IN A MAKE SHIFT COURTROOM.  A
tribunal of seven Navy Officers, all white, serve as jury, with
an ADMIRAL as judge.  There are five defense lawyers, each
responsible for ten of the men.
       Before the opening arguments, one of the DEFENSE LAWYERS
approaches the tribunal with a brief.  He contends that since the
men only disobeyed an order, and did not attempt to take control
of the base, they should not be tried for Mutiny.  Prosecutor
Conners disagrees, and submits his own brief.  The tribunal sides
with Conners, and the Mutiny charges remain.
     The first witness is Lt.Tolan.  He relates how the men
refused to load ammo, and refused to march to the dock.  He spoke
to several of the men at the Parade Grounds, and they said they
were afraid to work.
     Under cross examination, Tolan admits that he can not
remember if the men were actually ORDERED to load ammunition.  If
a formal order was ever given.  The men simply stopped marching
when they were told to march to the dock.  He further states that
the men obeyed all other orders given to them, and were not
riotous or disrespectful.
     DeNatto is the second witness.  He states that the men were
told a day in advance that they would be loading ammunition,
giving them plenty of time to organize.  DeNatto says when the
men fell in for duty on August 9th, he overheard one man say
"Don't go to work for those white motherfuckers" but doesn't know
which of the men said it. 
     The DEFENSE lawyers attempt to strike this as hearsay, but
it remains. DeNatto then relates the events at the Parade Grounds
and later at the baseball diamond.  DeNatto says he overheard one
man at the baseball diamond say "Let's run over those
motherfuckers, they won't do anything to us," but again doesn't
know which man said it.  The Defense again moves to strike, but
is overruled.
     Under cross examination, DeNatto admits that many of the men
voiced their fear of loading ammo.  That the men agreed to follow
all orders, with the exception of loading ammunition.  When asked
about Tex, DeNatto says that after he was released from the
hospital, he was asked if he would load ammo, and he refused.
"But his arm's in a cast." "There's plenty of things a guy with
one arm can do on the docks.  He could have worked if he wanted."
      They recess for the rest of the day.

     THE REST OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES relate similar
stories:
     The Chaplain tells of his speech at the baseball diamond.
But admits the men were very respectful.
     Cross examined, he doesn't remember if any of the men
actually said they would refuse the order to load ammo.  He only
remembers them saying they were AFRAID to load ammo.  He also
states he saw no evidence of an organized conspiracy.  "All of
the men seemed afraid of the prospect of loading ammunition. 
Some of them felt they deserved survivor's leave before being
ordered back to work."

     AFTER A RECESS, Thurgood Marshall files in with the few
members of the gallery and observes the Prosecution's case.

     THE NEXT PROSECUTION WITNESS is one of the 208 men not
charged with mutiny.  He admits that BEFORE the orders to load
ammo on August 9th, some of the men had voiced their opinions
that they'd "Never touch ammo again, even if ordered."  He
testifies that a "don't work" petition was circulated on the
barge, but doesn't know what happened to it.  He also testifies
that Randell made a speech, telling the men to stick together.
"By 'sticking together', you mean 'Organize against the
officers'?" "No, sir. He meant not to fight amongst ourselves."
"I have your statement, here. You said 'Randell told us to stick
together, that we had the officers by the balls'." "That's not
what I said." "Are you perjuring yourself, now? I have a signed
statement, here." "That's not what I said."

     ANOTHER OF THE 208 admits to signing the petition. "What did
it say?"  "It said, we the undersigned men are willing to work,
but don't want to handle ammunition." "That means you'd refuse to
handle ammunition, right?" "I guess. We didn't want to do it. We
were afraid it'd blow up again." "But there WAS a petition, there
WAS an organized effort to disobey the orders to load ammunition,
is that correct?" "I guess so, sir."
       "The Prosecution rests."

      THAT NIGHT, Thurgood Marshall holds a press conference. "I
see no reason why these men should be charged with Mutiny, a
capital crime, instead of insubordination.  The Prosecution has
not even proven that a direct order to load ammunition was ever
given to these men.  These are brave men, who were willing to go
to jail in order to get a change of duty, because they were
afraid of handling dangerous and highly explosive ammunition only
a few weeks after an accident claimed the lives of their
co-workers.  But not one man had any idea that their verbal
expression of this fear constituted mutiny."  He goes on to sight
the Prosecutor, Mr. Conners, as being prejudiced. "This is not an
individual case.  This is the NAVY on trial for its whole vicious
policy towards Negroes.  Negroes in the Navy don't mind loading
ammunition.  They just want to know why they are the only ones
doing the loading." Why are they doing the dangerous work? "Why
are they segregated, and don't ever get promoted?"
       The next morning, Marshall finds that his press conference
didn't make most of the papers.  The San Francisco Chronicle
didn't carry it.  Only the Black papers found it fit to print.

         THE DEFENSE begins with a minor victory.  The tribunal
rules that testimony from Prosecution witnesses will only apply
to those defendants named by the witnesses.  Marshall doesn't
think it means anything, as the 50 are being tried as a unit, not
individually.
       The Defense calls the 50 men, one by one, to testify.

       EDDIE, the first man on the stand: "They gave us the
gloves, and I thought we'd be hauling lumber.  We'd done that a
couple of other days.  Then they marched up out to the T in the
road.  When the Lieutenant told us to march left, we all just
stopped.  To the left was the ships, the ammo loading.  None of
us wanted any of that." Later, when asked if he would obey all
lawful orders, he answered, "Yes, but I'm afraid to load
ammunition." "So if you HAD received a direct order to load
ammunition, you would have?" "Yes." "Later, at the baseball
field, you were asked again if you'd load ammunition, weren't
you?" "Yes. And I said I was afraid, and they told me to stand
against the wall. When I realized the guys against the wall were
the ones they were going to shot, I went up to the Lieutenant and
said they put me in the wrong group.  He told me, 'It's too late,
Nigger'."

     CROSS EXAMINED BY Conners, Eddie says Randell's speech on
the barge was to keep people from fighting.  Conners reads
passages from Eddie's statement, and asks if they're true. "I
never said that," Eddie replies. "But it's in your statement. You
signed it." The Defense asks that the statements not be used as
evidence, and wins the point.
     The next witness is named Ollie, and is one of the 6 added
to the group later.  He tells of his medical condition which
prohibits him from heavy work.  When asked if he would load
ammunition, he replied that he COULDN'T, and was added to the
'mutiny' group.
     The last witness for the day is LOUIS. Under cross
examination, Conners brings up that this isn't the first time he
refused to load ammunition. "Yes, sir. But the other times, they
only threw me in the brig." "You're saying you willfully
disobeyed an order?" "There was never a direct order, sir." "The
Lieutenant testified that he gave you a direct order." "He must
be mistaken, sir." Conners gives up. The Admiral asks if Louis
has anything else to say. "I have a few things to say, sir. The
reason I'd rather spend my time in the brig than loading ammo at
Port Chicago was the quotas and conditions, sir.  The officers
had all of the men racing around, trying to see who could load
the most tonnage.  We had to toss around bombs like they were
baseballs.  If we didn't work fast enough, we'd get punished.
Sir, you throw around bombs long enough, sooner or later one's
going to go off.  It happened once at Port Chicago, and there was
no reason it wouldn't happen again at Mare Island."
     Conners jumps to his feet and asks that these statements be
struck from the record.  The Defense DOESN'T object.
     But the press has heard enough, and the next day, the
question of working conditions gets play in the papers... Along
with a denial from the Navy.  A man on trial for his life is apt
to say anything.

          THE PRESS ARE THERE IN FORCE WHEN Randell IS CALLED TO
THE STAND.  Randell relates his conversations on the baseball
field, admitting "I told him I would obey any order, EXCEPT the
order to load ammunition.  I tried to explain why, but the
Lieutenant said, 'Against the wall, Next'." "Explain now." "I was
afraid, sir.  The ammunition was dangerous.  At Port Chicago,
whenever I voiced my belief that it was dangerous, they told me
that I was wrong.  Ignorant." He relates the incidents on the
barge, and his speech.  How he was just trying to keep the peace.

    CONNERS and Randell face off for the cross examination.
Conners finds slight differences in Randell's statement and his
testimony, and tries to make him change his testimony.  Randell
hangs tough.  When Randell doesn't call Conners 'sir', Conners
lights into him, calling him disrespectful of a superior.
"Superior OFFICER, you mean, sir."  Conners asks about
organization BEFORE August 9th, and Randell answers "Nobody
wanted to ever load ammunition again. But we never discussed it.
Sir, our friends were killed loading ammunition.  That's enough
reason.  We didn't need to organize."
     JIM concurs.  When he is asked about his statement, he said
he was told by Conners when interrogated that if he didn't tell
the truth about Randell 'organizing the mutiny' he'd be shot.
"Cpt. Conners threatened to shoot you?" " Yes, sir.  For trying
to escape."
     Conners and the Defense lawyer get into an argument. 
Conners denies ever threatening anyone with shooting.
     The Admiral breaks up the argument: "Since the Defendant
WASN'T shot, could we continue with the trial?"

     THE NEXT WITNESS is a Navy Psychiatrist who testifies that
as a result of the Port Chicago explosion, the fear within the
men would be so great that they may not be ABLE to load
ammunition. "Once burned, twice shy."

      AT THE RECESS, Randell and Marshall talk for a few minutes,
before Marshall talks to the press.

     MARSHALL calls for a formal investigation into the explosion
at Port Chicago.  Including: 1) The Navy's policy of restricting
Black Navy enlisted men REGARDLESS OF TRAINING OR QUALIFICATIONS
to be laborers in segregated divisions.  2) The unsafe manner
ammunition is handled, and the lack of training of enlisted men
AND officers in basic safety procedure.  3) Why the Navy
disregarded official safety warnings from the Coast Guard, and
the waterfront unions about the way they handled ammunition.  4)
Why the men were given quotas and punishments.  5) The haphazard
manner the 50 men were chosen to be tried for mutiny, when others
were not charged... Including 100 men who refused to load ammo at
Port Chicago BEFORE the explosion, claiming it was dangerous.
These hundred men were farmed out as cooks and laborers to other
divisions.

          ONE OF THE 208 testifies that there was no advanced
notice that they'd be loading ammunition that day, so when ALL of
the men refused to march to the docks, it came as a surprise.
     The defense calls one of Conners' officers, who admits that
statements were often changed from what had actually been said.
Sometimes 'unimportant' statements made by the men were deleted.

     THE CLOSING ARGUMENT FROM THE DEFENSE ties it all together.
"If the men talked of fear of loading ammunition before August
9th, so what? They had just survived an explosion of that ammo.
We would do the same thing. People in towns near Port Chicago
claim to being afraid of slamming doors, even now.  When the men
talked of their fears, that wasn't mutiny.  As for the petition,
what was it for? They didn't want to handle ammunition... It only
follows they were petitioning for a change of duty.  If they were
joining a mutiny, they wouldn't need a petition.  Should these
men be punished for following what they had known to be the
democratic way of life, which incorporates the right to petition,
and freedom of expression?"
    After the closing arguments, Marshall goes up to Randell. "I
think congratulations are in order." "You're wrong. They're going
to shoot us.  They were all along.  They had to give us a trial,
just to make it look right," Randell says. "They're going to find
us guilty."

         SIX WEEKS OF HEARINGS, almost 1,500 pages of trial
transcripts, and a hundred witnesses... The seven Officer jury
returns from lunch 80 minutes later with a verdict.
     Guilty.

     All fifty men found guilty of mutiny.  Because of the
Prosecution's failure to prove they were ever in violation of
direct orders, they will serve 15 years in prison, rather than be
shot.
    Randell looks at Marshall and smiles. Marshall tells Randell
he'll appeal it.  They won't have to serve any time.

     WASHINGTON, D.C. Navy Appeals Court. Thurgood Marshall makes
his appeal before the Navy Judge Advocate General.  He is told
that his appeal brief is in good company... Eleanor Roosevelt had
asked the Secretary Of The Navy to look into the Port Chicago 50
Trial.  But civilian law, and civilian causes, are not Navy
concern.  Marshall is told that the verdict stands.
     Marshall gives an impassioned speech, stating that "The
accused were made scapegoats in a situation brought on by a
combination of circumstances.  I can't understand why, whenever
more than one Negro disobeys an order, it's automatically a
mutiny."  These men are HEROES.




               WHERE THEY ARE NOW:
     One month after Thurgood Marshall's appeal, the Navy
integrated.  When Port Chicago was rebuilt, both whites and
blacks were given the task of loading ammunition.
     One year after the War was over, forty seven of the men were
released from prison, but remained on probation.
     Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court in
1967.
     James Conners has made a career of prosecuting black
activists, including the Black Panthers.
     Port Chicago is now called the Concord Naval Weapons Depot.
It is the West Coast's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and
a danger to the surrounding community.
     In 1987, a Navy munitions train ran over protester Brian
Wilson, severing both of his legs.
     Leroy Randell is a composite character, but...
     TO THIS DAY, the survivors of Port Chicago have been denied
all veteran's benefits and are STILL branded mutineers. The
guilty verdict in the mutiny trial has never been overturned.

                        THE END

"THE PRICE OF FEAR" a treatment by William C. Martell.
c 1986 by William C. Martell

AUTHOR'S NOTE: All characters are composites, names were changed
to protect the innocent, and certain scenes were dramatized. 
This treatment is based on newspaper accounts, tours of the Navy
Base, stories told to me by survivors and my own family members
(area residents) who witnessed many of the events, and materials
from a 1984 TV documentary which I narrated and co-produced.

To buy this property... E-mail me! Wcmartell@scriptsecrets.net

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