The Mysteries of History (July 17 Edition)
Spanish Civil War; Port Chicago Explosion; Potsdam Conference; Disneyland; Eric Garner; Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana, 1905
1936 — Spanish Civil War Begins
public domain image from wikimedia commons
A few years before World War 2 began, the Civil War in Spain started in Spain on this date in 1936, and served as a sort of warmup to the global bloodbath soon to come. The revolution against Spain’s government was led by its military, particularly General Francisco Franco.
By 1937, Franco’s fascist forces overcame the opposition, comprised primarily of workers and peasants. Germany and Italy aided Franco and his faction; the Soviet Republic backed the other side. An “International Brigade” also fought against Franco’s fascists, including such notables as Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” about the conflict; Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950, aka George Orwell, author of “1984” and “Animal House”), and who wrote about the Spanish Civil War in Homage to Catalonia; and Chilean Pablo Neruda (1903-1973), among others.
As many as a million people lost their lives, mostly at the hands of their countrymen, during the war. Franco became the dictator of Spain in 1939 (the year World War 2 began), and remained on that throne until his death in 1975.
Questions: What sort of government now holds sway in Spain? Have you ever been to Spain? Have you heard the song Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night? Which non-member of Three Dog Nights wrote the song (hint: he also wrote Joy to the World, a song covered by Ringo Starr, also a song covered by Steppenwolf, and his mother co-wrote Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel [Elvis also covered Never Been to Spain, so he covered both mother and son’s songs in different stages of his career])?
1944 — Ammo Explodes at Port Chicago, California
public domain images from wikimedia commons
Much of the story is told in these two plaques:
So, what can be added? Let me state it in a nutshell, first in one word, then in one sentence, then in one paragraph:
One word: Tragedy
One sentence: Over three hundred people were killed when ammunition they were loading onto a ship exploded.
One paragraph: A lack of proper training and sloppy protocol led to a disaster of epic proportions on July 17th, 1944, when sailors loading munitions onto a ship in Port Chicago north of San Francisco touched off massive explosions that were felt as far away as Nevada and killed 320 people, mostly those workers on or near the ships being loaded.
Additional thoughts: most of those killed were African-American sailors, making up 15% of the members of that race who were killed during World War 2. When the loading of ships was resumed less than a month later, but still without the sailors having received any training, many of them refused the work assignment, resulting in the court martial (for “mutiny”) of 50 of their number, while many others were given dishonorable discharges and docked pay. Of the 50 “mutineers,” they were sentenced to between eight and fifteen years of hard labor, but were given clemency after two years (at which time the war was over).
A year ago, in 2024, the surviving men who had been court martialed were exonerated by the government, eighty years after the event.
The following is what I wrote about the Port Chicago explosion in my book Still Casting Shadows: A Shared Mosaic of U.S. History — Volume 2: 1914-2006:
In spite of what may seem obvious, Port Chicago is not in or anywhere near Chicago, Illinois—unless you consider the West Coast and the Great Lakes to be in the same neighborhood. Port Chicago is north of San Francisco. A massive explosion rocked that small town on July 17th of this year. The blast was not the result of an enemy attack, nor was the cause sabotage. Kevin Starr reports on this event in his book Embattled Dreams, California in War and Peace 1940–1950:
As the tempo of shipments of ammunition from Port Chicago to the Pacific increased, so did the risks. On the night of Monday, 17 July 1944, shortly after ten o’clock, a horrendous explosion rocked Port Chicago as two Liberty ships, a fire barge, and a loading pier disappeared in a blast that was equivalent to five kilotons of TNT, which is to say, an explosion comparable to that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima thirteen months later. An Army Air Force crew flying overhead at the time reported a fireball that covered approximately three miles and sent metal fragments nine thousand feet into the air. Three hundred and twenty men—202 of them black enlisted stevedores—lost their lives in an instant.
Questions: Have you ever been asked to do something that you knew to be unsafe? If so, how did you respond? What factors do you have to weigh in a situation such as that? How would you react if someone under your authority refused to do something out of fear of being killed or maimed?
1945 — Potsdam Conference (U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union Meet to Divvy up the Conquered World)
public domain image from wikimedia commons
The United States, Britain, and Russia had been allies during World War 2, but as they war was winding down, and these “Big Three” powers (France was not represented among the “top dogs”) met to hash out who would get which pie slices when all was said and done. Tension was palpable between especially the Anglo-American world power (Britain and the U.S.) and Russia. In fact, General George Patton (1885-1945) as well as British bulldog Prime Minister Winston Churchill wanted to attack Russia in a pre-emptive move against the danger they foresaw that Country posing to the West.
Patton died at the end of 1945 after being involved in a bad automobile accident.
Harry Truman (1884-1972) for the U.S., Joseph Stalin for Russia (1878-1953), and Churchill for Britain (1874-1965) met on this date in 1945, about a month before the war officially came to a close following Japan’s surrender after being A-bombed a few days following this conference.
Questions: Have you seen the 1970 movie Patton starring George C. Scott? How might things have turned out differently had the U.S. and Britain attacked Russia?
1955 — Disneyland Opens in Anaheim
image generated using Google Gemini
Disneyland opened on this date 70 years ago, on a site that had been an orange grove, southeast of Los Angeles.
Other “Disneylands” eventually opened in Florida, Japan, France, and Hong Kong.
The following is what I wrote about Disneyland opening in my book Still Casting Shadows: A Shared Mosaic of U.S. History — Volume 2: 1914-2006:
Disneyland opened in an erstwhile orange grove in Anaheim, California, this year. At the time, Anaheim was a suburb of Los Angeles. Today it is smack dab in the middle of that great gray monstrosity, which has spread outward to engulf everything within miles.
Questions: Have you ever been to Disneyland? If so: How many times have you been there? When was your most recent visit? What is your favorite ride or attraction?
2014 — Peacemaker Killed by NYC Policeman
public domain image from wikimedia commons
Eric Garner was known as a peacemaker — one to defuse potentially violent situations rather than incite them. In fact, he had reportedly broken up the fight that police were responding to when they arrested him for the illegal selling of (conventional) cigarettes.
While restraining him with a chokehold, Garner told them several times, “I can’t breathe,” a plea for help that became well-known among the “Black Lives Matter” movement after Garner was choked to death, the medical examiner ruling his death a homicide caused by suffocation.
Video of the event circulated, riling up those in the community who disapproved of police brutality and misconduct. The cries for change and demonstrations only grew louder and spread further when the officer guilty of the homicide was not indicted (although he was fired from the police force and lost his pension).
It later came out that the responding/choking officer had been investigated for for misconduct seven times in the five years (an average of once every nine months).
Questions: Why is there more white-on-black police violence than vice-versa? What has been done about it? Is a virtual Jim Crow situation “alive and well” in many places, even outside the South?
2014 — Russian Separatists Down Passenger Plane
public domain image from wikimedia commons
On this date in 2014, Russian separatists in Ukraine shot down a passenger plane from the Amsterdam that was on its way to Malaysia. All 298 victims were citizens of the Netherlands (aka Holland).
When the missile exploded near the cockpit, that section of the plane was torn off and the pilots instantly died. The rest of the plane remarkably flew for another five miles before breaking apart.
Although investigators concluding it was a Russian-made missile and that Russia was responsible for the devastation, they have not admitted it, instead blaming the downing of the plane on Ukraine.
Questions: On a scale of -2 (not at all) to 17 (very), how scared are you when you fly in a plane? Are you more worried about 1) mechanical problems with the plane, 2) bad decisions by the pilot[s], or 3) being shot down by a military or paramilitary group? In what mode of transportation do you feel the safest? Which mode of transportation IS the safest (based on deaths per 100,000 miles traveled)?