The Omaha guide., 1946-01-12
Now Eligible for
Honorable Discharge

| Eighty-three Negro sailors con-
victed in 1914 by court martial in
the Port Chicago mutiny and the
Guam rout cases have been gran
ted clemency, according to Off
cial word received from the Navy
Department by Lester B. Granger
Executive Secretary. National
Urban League. Information was
given to Mr.. Granger in his capa-
city as Special Adviser to Secre-
tary ForreStal.
Forty-seven Of the so men who
were charged with mutiny grow
ing out the Port Chicago explosion
in July 1914 have already been
released and returned to overseas
duty on probation. Of the three
remaining, two are in the hospi-
tai, and 3rd will not be released
because of bad conduct record. All
36 of the men charged with rout
in the Guam court martials in
December 1914 will be released by
January Is. Sentences for the 83
men ranged from five to twenty
years.
Eligible for Honorable Discharges
All of the men will serve until
their points make them eligible
for regular Navy discharge, Gran
ger stated, and assurance has been
given that at the end of their ser
vice they will be given honorable
discharges if their records are
satisfactory.
The Secretary's action, Granger
continued, in releasing practically
all of the Sc Negroes court mar
tailed in California and on Guam
closes a unhappy chapter in Navy
history. The wise policies the
Navy has adopted, and the siren
uous efforts being taken to make
these policies effective will, in the
future, result in smoother rela-
tions between personnel and in
greater Navy morale and efficien-
cy.
Granq-r Report Presented Appeal
The clemency action was taken
by Navy Secretary James Forre-
stal as part of procedure releasing
100 servicemen imprisoned for
various causes. Favorable action
on both cases had been urged by
the NAACP and other civic or
ganizations, and officially in spe-
cial reports presented by Mr..
Granger after visiting Port Chi
cago and Guam. Walter White,
NAACP Secretary, reported the
Guam arrests on his return from
a tour of the Pacific. Granger
visited Port Chicago last June and
Guam in October as a part of his
inspection of 81 Naval bases made
upon the Secretarys' request.
In urging that the Navy relax
the severe sentences impeded in
both cass, it had been pointed out
to the Navy Secretary that above
the enlisted mems guilt OF the
actual charges preferred, against
them, there was a background OF
unsatisfactory personnel conditions
which contributed to poor morale
among Negro service men, and
was a prime factor in promoting
their offenSeS.
The Port Chicago case began
July II, 1914, when the explosion
of an ammunition vessel wiped out
300 Negro enlisted men who were
loading it, together with five Of
their white commissioned officers.
Shortly afterwards, company OF
these Port Chicago personnel were
transferred to Mare Island where
they were assigned to identical
duty. The explosion-shocked Ne
groes, many 20 years or younger,
protested against allegedly unsafe
working conditions and refused
to load the vessels. The majority
subsequently went back to work,
but so continued to refuse and
were arrested and court martialed
on charges of mutiny.
In the Guam case 36 Negroes
were convicted and sentenced on
charges of rout and illegal posses
sion Of government property. The
men had been involved in series
of fights with white marine
guards and one of their number
had been shot and killed by a
white sailor. In desperation they
finally seized naval arms and
trucks to invade the Marine guard
barracks in revenge for the attack
committed against their own bar
racks.
MA CD ID ooo.,4e, AJo~o