Broome, Johnnie Lee, F1c

On July 17, 1944 the largest domestic wartime disaster in American history occurred. An explosion ripped through the Port Chicago area, killing more than 300 and injuring another 350 workers. Two ships, the S.S. Quinault Victory and the S.S. E.A. Bryan were shredded. Windows as far as fifty miles away were shattered while one ship’s anchor was tossed nearly one-half mile. Eyewitnesses reported a “shining white flash” and a “great doughnut of flame.” The former gold rush town was decimated. Across the bay in San Francisco, many feared a major earthquake had just occurred. Reports stated that many of those present at the time of the explosion simply just “ceased to be.”