Veterans Day: ‘Honoring those who serve’

All across the nation America’s veterans were honored and recognized for their service on Veterans Day.

In Princeton, on the campus of Princeton University inside the university’s chapel, a joint ceremony was held to commemorate Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

“May God Bless our veterans for their sacrifice and service to our great nation,” said Richard Kertatos, president of Princeton Student Veterans, who opened the observance ceremony.

Veterans Day began initially as Armistice Day, which marked the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, and was dedicated to those who fought.

After Nov. 11 was made a federal holiday, it evolved into Veterans Day recognizing and honoring all veterans in all of the country’s wars and the servicemen and servicewomen currently serving in America’s military.

For Princeton, the observance of Veterans Day has been a combined event for four years with the Spirit of Princeton and university’s Office of the Vice President for Campus Life, the Office of Religious Life, Human Resources, the Office of Community and Regional Affairs, the Princeton University Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), the Rutgers-Princeton University Naval ROTC and Air Force ROTC, alumni and Friends of Princeton University ROTC, the Princeton Veterans Alumni Association, the Military and Service Veterans Resource Group and the Princeton Student Veterans Alliance.

“I’d like to thank all our veterans, past and present, and remind all of us if we see a veteran, we know a veteran, please thank them for their service,” Mayor Mark Freda said. “Thank their families for supporting them. We owe a lot to all of them.”

Freda introduced the keynote speaker of the observance Capt. Kelley Jones, who is the U.S. Navy’s 2023 Arthur S. Moreau Scholar at Princeton University, working on her Ph.D. in security studies.

“She is a Navy surface warfare officer and native of Alexandria, Virginia. Capt. Jones has commanded patrol coastal crew Mike in the USS Typhoon, in which deployed in the Arabian Gulf,” he added.

“In addition to multiple senior staff roles, she has served as personal aide to the Secretary of the Navy and on the Joint Staff Strategic Plans and Policy, J5 Directorate in the Joint Operational War Plans Division.”

Jones explained that Veterans Day serves as a moment to reflect upon the sacrifices made by both living and deceased veterans who have dedicated their lives to the service of our nation.

When she was invited this summer to speak at the Veterans Day Observance, Jones said her speech topic became clear – Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro’s exoneration of 256 defendants who were court martialed following the 1944 Port Chicago explosion.

“Can you imagine the nation’s then segregated military in 1944 during World War II, Blacks were not allowed to serve on the frontlines, but were limited to duties of cooking, cleaning and loading munitions as service members,” Jones relayed

“These black sailors were not qualified or trained to understand how to handle ordinance. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, on the evening of July 17, 1944, disaster struck.”

The explosion in California took place at Port Chicago Naval Magazine injuring 400 people and killing 300. Two ships and a train had been destroyed as well as damage was done to the town of Port Chicago.

“Two cargo ships, SS Quinault Victory and SS E.A. Bryan are on the same pier. With E.A. Bryan being loaded with the same munitions, close to 4,600 tons of anti-aircraft ammunitions, aerial bombs, high explosives and smokeless powder,” Jones explained.

“According to a witness statement, and I quote – at 2200 (10 p.m.) a dull clang possibly caused by a falling cargo boom and a sound of splintering wood preceded a blinding flash and heavy detonation on the pier. Following within seconds by a smaller detonation and massive explosion of E.A. Bryan. The ship, most of the pier, all structure within a thousand-foot radius, and many of the flat cars disintegrated.”

According to the U.S. Navy, following the explosion, a hardship leave was given to white supervising officers, but the surviving African American sailors were ordered back to work.

“What is often overlooked is that the enlisted Black sailors were told to cleanup and pick up their fellow sailors killed while the white officers were put on leave,” Jones said. “The very same Black sailors who saw their peers and friends killed in the explosion demanded training and those sailors refused to resume ammunitions handling.”

Some 258 African American sailors refused to continue ammunition handling without further safety training or any clarity on the explosions that occurred.

Even though after threats of disciplinary action, 208 sailors returned to work. They were still convicted for disobeying orders. Each had been sentenced to bad conduct discharge and had to forfeit three months’ pay. The discharges were later suspended, forfeitures reduced, a conviction had been set aside for insufficient evidence.

After the 208 sailors, the remaining 50 sailors continued to refuse to return to work and were charged with mutiny.

They were convicted at a mass general court-martial and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, 15 years confinement at hard labor, and forfeitures of their pay. In a later review the dishonorable discharges were suspended, confinement had been reduced to 17 to 29 months, and one conviction was set aside due to mental incompetency.

“As a former commanding officer of a patrol coastal ship and U.S. Destroyer, I understand the critical importance of diligence in every phase of ammunition handling,” Jones said. “Each operational ammunition is meticulously briefed and I, as the commanding officer, I ensure that firefighting support is strategically positioned to prevent mishaps or mitigate the spread of an incident. History teaches us to ensure that an incident of this magnitude is never repeated.”

This summer when Jones found out about the exonerations, she texted her father and would come to find out that her great uncle was one of the sailors who lost his life in the explosion.

“My uncle Joe’s certificate reads – In grateful memory of Joe Clarence Preuitt who dies in the service of his country at U.S. Naval Base Port Chicago, California, 17 July 1944,” Jones said. “He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die so freedom might live and grow and increase its blessings. ‘Freedom lives and through it he lives in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men’ signed the President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

Jones noted over the past 80 years, civil rights advocates, alongside government officials have diligently endeavored to prevent the reoccurrence of incidents rooted in discrimination and that the military continues to examine overt expressions of racism, but the battle remains ongoing, underscoring the need for calling out negative behavior.

“My thoughts are that my Uncle Joe would not have been able to command in the Navy during his time of service, Uncle Joe would not have been a service warfare officer who has had the pleasure to command the 03 Lieutenant level, 04 Lieutenant Commander level, 05 Commander level, and now as I head back out to sea, the 06 Major Command level to the Middle East in December much like his great-niece,” she said.

The U.S. Navy has come far but there is still work to be done, Jones said.

“This Veterans Day marks the inaugural occasion of which the families of the 256 exonerated sailors will formally be perceived in new light,” she said. “Their service is officially recognized as honorable and loyal to this nation.

“Although my Uncle Joe was dually recognized for his sacrifice and service to this nation, it is imperative that we do not overlook other numerous sailors and service members who were unjustly convicted and still grappling with a quest for justice having made significant sacrifices for this country.”