Sponsored by:Sally C
Freddie Meeks Veteran
1919 – 2003 Rose Hills Memorial Park
Photo added by Sally C
- Birth
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Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, USA
- Death
- 19 Jun 2003 (aged 83)
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
- Burial
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Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, USA Add to Map
- Plot
- Garden of Affection, Gate 1, Section 26, Lot 5019, Grave 1
- Memorial ID
- 108644681 View Source
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WWII Veteran & Port Chicago, California, Explosion Survivor
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AMERICAN HERO. Charged with mutiny for refusing to load munitions after the Port Chicago Explosion (California). Freddie Meeks & 49 other brave men stood against segregation in the military. Freddie Meeks stand lead to desegregation of US Military forces and better working conditions for all involved.
Pardoned by Presidential Order. Freddie Meeks is a Hero fighting not only for our freedom in WWII but for Human Rights at home.
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From the Veteran's Memorial Page, Veterans Administration
Mr. Meeks was one of 50 black sailors convicted of mutiny fearing for their safety and refusing to return to duty following a mass casualty explosion at Port Chicago. He and others were imprisoned for 18 months before the sentence was commuted to time served.
On July 17, 1944, two explosions occurred equivalent to five kilotons of TNT at Port Chicago that was approximately the same magnitude as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The explosion killed 320 men, 202 who were black and injured approximately 390 other Military servicemembers and civilians.
The event led to a controversial mutiny trial of sailors, which was widely publicized by the Navy in an effort to discourage further insubordination. However the public awareness exposed the segregation and discriminatory practices. Port Chicago also brought to light inadequate training of black sailors, who were the primary crew to load the live ammunitions.
On July 26, 1948, Executive Order 9981 issued by President Harry S. Truman abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. In December 1999, Freddie Meeks was pardoned for the Port Chicago mutiny by President William Clinton. Freddie Meeks is interred at the Private Cemetery, Rose Hills Memorial Park.
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Freddie Meeks, who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton 55 years after being court-martialed for mutiny for refusing to return to work after the cataclysmic Port Chicago explosion, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 83.
Mr. Meeks had been in increasingly poor health for the past several months and died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles, his son, Daryl Meeks, said Friday.
When two ships loaded with 10,000 tons of ammunition exploded at Port Chicago near Concord on July 17, 1944, 320 servicemen were killed and nearly 400 others were injured. It was the worst stateside disaster of World War II.
Mr. Meeks was one of 50 black sailors who were convicted of mutiny because, fearing for their safety, they would not return to duty at Port Chicago. He and others were imprisoned for 18 months before the sentence was commuted to time served.
For decades, Mr. Meeks refused to speak about the incident, even to his own children.
"He was not ashamed of what he did," said Daryl Meeks, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's lieutenant. "He was ashamed of it in the sense that he didn't want it to affect our careers."
Mr. Meeks' children found out about the mutiny conviction after a professor interviewed him in the mid-1980s for a book on the explosion. In the 1990s, U. S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, pushed for a presidential pardon for Mr. Meeks, the only survivor who sought a pardon. Miller also fought for the Port Chicago National Monument at the site of the catastrophe.
Miller lauded Mr. Meeks on Friday for his "triumph over injustice."
"By his service to our nation during World War II, and through the role he played in the tumultuous Port Chicago story, Freddie Meeks helped educate us not only about racism in the military during World War II, but also about how courage, perseverance and dignity ultimately are honored," Miller said in a statement.
Mr. Meeks returned to Port Chicago in 1994 for the dedication of the memorial.
"That was the first time he had returned to the site," Daryl Meeks said. "That was a very emotional time for him."
Even more overwhelming was Clinton's signing of the presidential pardon in December 1999.
"I don't think President Clinton ever fully understood when he signed his name what it meant for my father," the son said. "You could see the emotional state he was in -- the tears -- after it was granted. It was more than just a piece of paper exonerating him.
"It was this burden that was lifted from him," Daryl Meeks continued, "having to live 50 years of silence, having to go through his entire employment stage hoping that no one found out about the Port Chicago incident."
Mr. Meeks worked for Los Angeles County for 16 years, and then worked for CBS studios as a security officer. In the mid-1970s, when black guards were kept in behind-the-scenes menial jobs, Mr. Meeks wrote to the president of CBS in New York to complain, prompting a change in policy allowing blacks the more coveted front security positions.
Mr. Meeks was married for 63 years to his wife, Eleanor, who survives him. Along with his son Daryl, he also is survived by a daughter, Cheryl Jackson; son Brian Meeks; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Bethesda Apostolic Community Church in Los Angeles, followed by a private burial.
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Parents
Alice Morris (possibly Arenna)
Henry Meeks Jr.
Wife of 62 years
Eleanor
Children
Daryl Meeks
Brian Meeks
Cheryl Meeks Jackson
5 Grandchildren
2 Great-Grandchildren
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Thank You to all who leave a Flower & Kind Words for American Hero Freddie Meeks.
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Special Thank You
To Graver David Young for the Veteran's Designation on Freddie Meeks page.
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Anyone with information and/or photographs, please feel free to email me or use the suggestion button on this page. I am very willing to update this hero's page.
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WWII Veteran & Port Chicago, California, Explosion Survivor
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AMERICAN HERO. Charged with mutiny for refusing to load munitions after the Port Chicago Explosion (California). Freddie Meeks & 49 other brave men stood against segregation in the military. Freddie Meeks stand lead to desegregation of US Military forces and better working conditions for all involved.
Pardoned by Presidential Order. Freddie Meeks is a Hero fighting not only for our freedom in WWII but for Human Rights at home.
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From the Veteran's Memorial Page, Veterans Administration
Mr. Meeks was one of 50 black sailors convicted of mutiny fearing for their safety and refusing to return to duty following a mass casualty explosion at Port Chicago. He and others were imprisoned for 18 months before the sentence was commuted to time served.
On July 17, 1944, two explosions occurred equivalent to five kilotons of TNT at Port Chicago that was approximately the same magnitude as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The explosion killed 320 men, 202 who were black and injured approximately 390 other Military servicemembers and civilians.
The event led to a controversial mutiny trial of sailors, which was widely publicized by the Navy in an effort to discourage further insubordination. However the public awareness exposed the segregation and discriminatory practices. Port Chicago also brought to light inadequate training of black sailors, who were the primary crew to load the live ammunitions.
On July 26, 1948, Executive Order 9981 issued by President Harry S. Truman abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. In December 1999, Freddie Meeks was pardoned for the Port Chicago mutiny by President William Clinton. Freddie Meeks is interred at the Private Cemetery, Rose Hills Memorial Park.
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Freddie Meeks, who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton 55 years after being court-martialed for mutiny for refusing to return to work after the cataclysmic Port Chicago explosion, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 83.
Mr. Meeks had been in increasingly poor health for the past several months and died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles, his son, Daryl Meeks, said Friday.
When two ships loaded with 10,000 tons of ammunition exploded at Port Chicago near Concord on July 17, 1944, 320 servicemen were killed and nearly 400 others were injured. It was the worst stateside disaster of World War II.
Mr. Meeks was one of 50 black sailors who were convicted of mutiny because, fearing for their safety, they would not return to duty at Port Chicago. He and others were imprisoned for 18 months before the sentence was commuted to time served.
For decades, Mr. Meeks refused to speak about the incident, even to his own children.
"He was not ashamed of what he did," said Daryl Meeks, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's lieutenant. "He was ashamed of it in the sense that he didn't want it to affect our careers."
Mr. Meeks' children found out about the mutiny conviction after a professor interviewed him in the mid-1980s for a book on the explosion. In the 1990s, U. S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, pushed for a presidential pardon for Mr. Meeks, the only survivor who sought a pardon. Miller also fought for the Port Chicago National Monument at the site of the catastrophe.
Miller lauded Mr. Meeks on Friday for his "triumph over injustice."
"By his service to our nation during World War II, and through the role he played in the tumultuous Port Chicago story, Freddie Meeks helped educate us not only about racism in the military during World War II, but also about how courage, perseverance and dignity ultimately are honored," Miller said in a statement.
Mr. Meeks returned to Port Chicago in 1994 for the dedication of the memorial.
"That was the first time he had returned to the site," Daryl Meeks said. "That was a very emotional time for him."
Even more overwhelming was Clinton's signing of the presidential pardon in December 1999.
"I don't think President Clinton ever fully understood when he signed his name what it meant for my father," the son said. "You could see the emotional state he was in -- the tears -- after it was granted. It was more than just a piece of paper exonerating him.
"It was this burden that was lifted from him," Daryl Meeks continued, "having to live 50 years of silence, having to go through his entire employment stage hoping that no one found out about the Port Chicago incident."
Mr. Meeks worked for Los Angeles County for 16 years, and then worked for CBS studios as a security officer. In the mid-1970s, when black guards were kept in behind-the-scenes menial jobs, Mr. Meeks wrote to the president of CBS in New York to complain, prompting a change in policy allowing blacks the more coveted front security positions.
Mr. Meeks was married for 63 years to his wife, Eleanor, who survives him. Along with his son Daryl, he also is survived by a daughter, Cheryl Jackson; son Brian Meeks; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Bethesda Apostolic Community Church in Los Angeles, followed by a private burial.
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Parents
Alice Morris (possibly Arenna)
Henry Meeks Jr.
Wife of 62 years
Eleanor
Children
Daryl Meeks
Brian Meeks
Cheryl Meeks Jackson
5 Grandchildren
2 Great-Grandchildren
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Thank You to all who leave a Flower & Kind Words for American Hero Freddie Meeks.
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Special Thank You
To Graver David Young for the Veteran's Designation on Freddie Meeks page.
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Anyone with information and/or photographs, please feel free to email me or use the suggestion button on this page. I am very willing to update this hero's page.
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Family Members
See more Meeks memorials in:
- Maintained by: Sally C
- Originally Created by: Stuart Strout Woodside Skolfield
- Added: Apr 16, 2013
- Find a Grave Memorial ID:
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108644681/freddie-meeks: accessed ), memorial page for Freddie Meeks (24 Oct 1919–19 Jun 2003), Find a Grave Memorial ID 108644681, citing Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by Sally C (contributor 47027722).
