Friday’s Daily Shipmate remembered the anniversary of the Port Chicago disaster that resulted in the deaths of 320 sailors and civilians, making it one of the deadliest incidents in U.S. naval history during World War II.
In the wake of the disaster, 50 African American sailors were charged with mutiny after refusing to return to work under unsafe conditions. A total of 256 African American sailors were court-martialed and found guilty.
While serving as General Counsel of the Navy, our classmate Sean Coffey (15th Co.) initiated the review that led the SECNAV to set aside the convictions of all 256 African American Sailors wrongfully convicted. His extraordinary investigative and legal work led to the exoneration of all these Sailors, who had been given sentences up to 15 years hard labor and bad conduct discharges.
In 2025 Sean was honored by the Friends of Port of Chicago National Memorial as its 2025 Commemorative Hero.
As Paul Harvey used to say, ‘and now you know the rest of the story.’
