 Mike Murillo, WTOP News. The Navy is exonerating more than 250 black service members who were reprimanded in 1944 for their actions following a deadly explosion. At Port Chicago Naval Weapons Station near San Francisco, 5,000 tons of munitions detonated, killing 320 personnel and injuring 390. Black sailors concerned for their safety refused to return to loading bombs without training on how to safely handle the munitions. The Navy punished them.