Concord Naval Weapons Station Concord Naval Weapons Station was a military base established in 1942 north of the city of Concord , California at the shore of the Sacramento River where it widens into Suisun Bay . The station functioned as a World War II armament storage depot , supplying ships at Port Chicago . The Concord NWS continued to support war efforts during the Korean War , the Vietnam War and the Gulf War , processing and shipping thousands of tons of materiel out across the Pacific Ocean . During World War II it also had a Naval Outlying Field at its southern edge of the base . It ceased being an operating airfield after World War II . The station consisted of two areas : the Inland Area ( ) , which is within the Concord city limits , and the Tidal Area ( ) . Because of changes in military operations , parts of the Inland Area began to be mothballed , and by 1999 the station had only a minimal contingent of military personnel and contained mainly empty ammunition storage bunkers , empty warehouses , and disused support structures . In 2007 the U . S . Federal Government announced that the Inland Area of the Naval station would be closed . The Tidal area of the base was not scheduled for closure . The 5 - member City Council of Concord , sitting as the Federally designated Local Reuse Authority , is in the process of formulating a Reuse Plan for the Inland Area that includes residential and commercial development while reserving approximately two - thirds for open - space and parks projects . City staff are assigned to manage this effort . The Reuse Plan is subject to approval by the Navy . Port Chicago disaster . In 1944 , thousands of tons of munitions aboard a Navy cargo ship exploded while being loaded , resulting in the largest number of casualties among African Americans in any one incident during World War II . On the evening of July 17 , a massive explosion instantly killed 320 sailors , merchant seamen and civilians working at the pier . The blast was felt 30 miles away . A subsequent refusal by 258 black sailors to load any more ammunition was the beginning of the Navy ' s largest - ever mutiny trial in which 50 men were found guilty . Future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall sat in on most of the proceedings and declared that he saw a prejudiced court . War protests . In 1982 , at the height of U . S . intervention in the Central American Crisis , Concord Naval Weapons Station was the site of daily anti - war protests against the shipment of weapons to Central America , including white phosphorus . On September 1 , 1987 U . S . Air Force veteran and peace activist Brian Willson was run over by a Navy munitions train while attempting to stop the train outside the compound gates . He suffered a fractured skull and the amputation of both his legs below the knee , among other injuries . In the days afterward , thousands participated by protesting the actions of the train ' s crew and the munitions shipment including Jesse Jackson and Joan Baez . During the demonstration , anti - war protesters dismantled several hundred feet of Navy railroad tracks located outside of the base , while police and U . S . Marines looked on . Billy Nessen , a prominent Berkeley - based activist , was subsequently charged with organizing the track removal , and his trial resulted in a plea bargain that involved no jail time . The authorities responsible for causing Willson ' s injury were never prosecuted in criminal court , but a civil suit was filed and an out - of - court settlement was awarded . Superfund cleanup site . The Concord NWS was listed as a Superfund cleanup site on December 16 , 1994 . 32 areas of the facility were identified as having been contaminated with heavy metals including zinc , copper , lead , cadmium , and arsenic , as well as semi - volatile organic compounds ( SVOC ) and organochloride pesticides . An area of great concern is the risk to the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and the California Clapper Rail . Environmental remediation is underway at the base with some sites having soil removed and others being capped to prevent spread of contaminants . Current operations . In 2008 control of the site was changed . The Inland Area became a Detachment of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach , pending ultimate closure . The Tidal Area was transferred to the U . S . Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command ( SDDC ) and is now known as Military Ocean Terminal Concord ( MOTCO ) . This facility was also used by the Diablo Squadron and Training Ship Concord of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps In popular culture . In the 1995 movie " The Rock " , the VX gas warheads are supposedly stolen from Concord Naval Weapons Station . The Station was not used for filming .