Bob McEwan World War II Part 2: Ammunition Carriers and Port Chicago Explosion
Summary:
In this segment recorded on July 17, Bob McEwan, interviewed by Tom Smith and Russ Taggard, recounts his time serving aboard the Yugoslavia Victory, one of the late-model Victory ships used as combat ammunition carriers in the final stages of World War II. He describes the process of loading and delivering ammunition in the South Pacific, using DUKW amphibious trucks (“ducks”) to ferry cargo directly from ship to shore and up into mountainous jungle terrain, including action around Peleliu.
Bob details the logistics of ammunition delivery—how ships carried multiple ammunition types like a floating “drugstore,” and how cargo officers coordinated real-time resupply to the 1st Marine Division during combat. He recalls working at nearly every ammunition export point on the U.S. West Coast, including Los Angeles Pier Extension 9, Indian Island near Port Townsend, Clatskanie, and Mukilteo, but notably not Port Chicago, which suffered a catastrophic explosion in 1944. Bob reflects on how that disaster killed hundreds and led to a mutiny by Black Navy workers, who were later pardoned after refusing to resume work under unsafe conditions.
Click on picture to view video which is about 9 minutes long.
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