Small Talk Volume 9, Issue 2
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July, 2017 Small Talk Volume 9, Issue 2 Official Newsletter of the USS Ernest G. Small Association A NEW LOOK FOR SMALL TALK At the conclusion of the 2009 Ernest G. Small reunion in Indianapolis, IN, we met for our business meeting and determined our best interests would be served by arranging and facilitating our future reunions in place of the ex- tant commercial reunion services that had arranged and facilitated the previ- ous sixteen reunions. Our goal was to select affordable reunion locations central to our city of choice, with amenities in the immediate area which offered food, sightseeing and entertainment for scheduled group events and for exploring by smaller groups during unscheduled free-time. This year we are looking forward to the eighth consecutive reunion of the USS Ernest G. Small Association. The first seven were well attended and en- joyed by all. Since assuming the role of Reunion Coordinator in 2014, John Inside this issue Lewis has delivered three excellent reunions in Pensacola, FL, Long Beach, William Ross Letter ................. 2 CA, and last year in Branson, Mo. We expect to enjoy another great reunion Port Chicago Disaster .............. 2 this October in Galveston. Port Chicago (Cont.) ................ 3 We also assumed the publishing of the Small Talk newsletter and published 2017 Reunion Update .............. 3 our first issue of Small Talk in November, 2009 with a new masthead design. E.G Small Final Cruise ............ 4 This year we have given the Small Talk a facelift. Hopefully you will find it -5 to your liking. General Quarters ..................... 6 -7 We will be making other changes in our news service this year. Starting this August, Chuck James (STG2, 1962-1966) will assume the duties of Small Talk Statement of Publication ......... 8 Editor. Chuck will compose and edit the future issues of Small Talk while I step aside to allow myself more time to add new features to our website/ blog, www.ussernestgsmall.org. Our news, Small Talk and the USS Ernest G. Small website are dependent on your participation. We rely on your input and stories from your experience on the Small. I have heard many good sea stories while attending our reun- ions, yet few have made their way into print. Don’t worry about your spelling or grammar. If you think you have a story worth telling, please send it to us and we will dress it up...if needed. Dennis Vinson - ST1, 1962-1966 William Ross at Queen Mary Reunion Registration My name is William Ross. I attended the Ernest G. Small reunion in Long Beach, CA in 2015. During World War II, I was stationed at Port Chicago, CA ; assigned as an am- munition handler, loading transport ships bound for the Western Pacific war zone. On July 17, 1944 a massive explosion ripped through the Navy ammunition depot at Port Chicago, California. In an instant, 320 sailors were killed—most of them segregated black troops tasked with loading munitions onto ships bound for the Pacific Theater. I want to visit Port Chicago once again, as I am now ninety-one years old. I am aware you do not have any ties with something that happened in a different age and time, but it was an experience that I will never forget. Thank you for giving me a little time and space William Ross PORT CHICAGO DISASTER The Port Chicago Mutiny involved African American enlisted men in the U..S. Navy who refused to return to loading ammunition after a disastrous explosion at Port Chicago, California on July 17, 1944 that destroyed the Liberty ship SS E.A. Bryan. Sailors and dock workers were pressured by time and their superiors and were also using unsafe unloading methods. These methods, all common practice on muni- tions docks at the time despite their danger, led to a munitions ship explosion that killed all the Navy men on the E.A. Bryan and many Na- vy dock workers on shore. All told, 320 sailors, 202 of whom were Afri- can Americans, were instantly incinerated in the explosion. The blast PORT CHICAGO wave was so powerful it could be felt as far away as Boulder City, Neva- The Naval magazine at Port da, 430 miles to the south and caused damage 48 miles away in San Chicago—a sleepy town some 30 Francisco. The force of the explosion launched massive chunks of de- miles north of San Francisco— bris, some of which fell almost two miles from ground-zero. The fall- was first constructed in 1942, after a base at nearby Mare Is- ing debris injured another 390 people. The Port Chicago explosion was land was unable to keep up with by far the worst disaster on home soil during World War II. the demand for munitions for the war effort. From the port’s When Navy replacement sailors were asked to return to loading muni- main pier, sailors toiled day and night transferring bullets, depth tions a month later, 258 African American enlisted personnel refused charges, artillery shells and to follow the order. They wanted Navy officials to change load proce- mammoth 1,000 and 2,000- dures to enhance safety. When the Navy refused to amend its proce- pound bombs from train cars dures, the sailors declared they would not load the ships. Those who into the holds of waiting ships. refused the order to load ammunition said that they would follow any 2 2017 ERNEST G. SMALL REUNION UP- DATE The preparations for the 2017 Ernest G. Small Reunion in Galveston, TX have been finalized. The Reunion will be held this year in Galves- ton, TX ; commencing on Tuesday, October Damage at Port Chicago, looking North from pier. 24th and ending on Fri- day, October 27th. Our host this year will order, save the one to do unsafe work under these conditions. Naval be the Hilton Galveston officials declared a mutiny and had most of the men arrested. Island Resort as noted Two hundred eight of these men were court-martialed, sentenced to in earlier electronic an- bad conduct discharges, and the forfeit of three month's pay for dis- nouncements and news- obeying orders. Fifty of them men, however, were charged with out- letters. right mutiny, a crime punishable by death. They would be known as The official Registration the Port Chicago 50. No Port Chicago sailor convicted of mutiny was Forms with full infor- sentenced to death; however, most were sentenced to eight to fif- mation regarding teen years of hard labor. In January of 1946, however, all of the ac- events, tours and meals cused were given clemency and were released from prison. was posted on electron- ic mail and by way of As the war came to a close, changes to the loading procedures finally hard copy July 7, 2017. came, ironically mostly due to the Port Chicago explosion and sub- sequent protest. The Navy recognized that its black sailors per- formed the vast majority of ammunition ship loading and unloading in segregated units with low morale and often led by bigoted or in- competent officers. The vast majority of these sailors, according to National Asssociatiion for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) investigators, saw themselves as little more than expenda- ble laborers working under egregious conditions. These revelations prompted Navy officials to start to work towards full desegregation of their personnel by 1945, three years before President Harry Tru- man issued Executive Order 9981 which integrated the Armed Forc- es. The Port Chicago explosion and mutiny proved to be a pivotal point for the decision made within the Navy to desegregate its ranks. In 1994 the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial was dedicated to those who lost their lives in the disaster. Originally published at www/blackpast.org 3 JOHN LEWIS—1970 E.G. SMALL WEST PAC 47 years ago the USS Ernest G. Small and her crew set prepared to get underway at any time"!!! We all seemed to take sail from Pearl Harbor Naval Station on what would be that news in stride, we are used to screw-overs now; and prepared her last WestPac cruise, as a warship in the US Navy. I for liberty. Liberty call went about 1300HRS and those that were salute that great and decorated fighting ship and her able hit the beach. John Byrd and I had duty, but we went to the crew!!! base exchange and each bought a Canon 35MM camera. I then met Terry Lunn (QM), John Reed( SM), John (Christy Spiro) Rob- 10APR70 - Friday: Detached from YS, at 2104HRS steaming to- inson (QM) and John Knocke (BM), that's a lot of John’s, at the wards Sasebo for a scheduled 11 day period (yes, right - stay base gym. We played basketball until 1700HRS, they all had liber- tuned!!). Yesterday was spent in search of plane crash survivors - ty and headed for town and I returned to the ship. As I was setting started at 0730HRS search called off at 1730HRS. No survivors down to the evening meal, quarters were called and the great news reported (we didn't find any). The plane was a E-2-A Radar Dome that we were to get underway asap was announced!!! We were prop, crew of 4, one body reported recovered along with helmets, underway by 2300HRS, leaving several shipmates behind, includ- life jackets and various other pieces of clothing, gear and equip- ing Lunn, Reed and Robinson. We headed towards Okinawa with ment. Several parts of plane also recovered. It was reported that the Parsons. As of Sunday, we were 55 days out of Pearl, 52 days at there was an onboard fire......one of the many non-combat related sea, of which 39 were consecutive - to say the mood of the crew accidents/deaths that occur every day in the military......