Sept 6th was the 25th anniversary of my reporting to the Concord Weapons Station for duty. Four days earlier the United States Navy had tired to murder peace activist Brian Willson by running him over with the weapons train. When word got out as to what had happened the protest quickly grew to over five thousand people.
As the government issued van I was in pulled up to the base main gate, I had my face plastered to the window wondering what in heavens name I had been put into the middle of. I tried to argue my way out of the orders. I was a medic, but needs of the Navy stated that they could put me where ever they wanted to so I was placed into a Construction Battalion, or more famously known as a Sea Bee unit. I did not think to ask why a Sea Bee unit was being sent to the West Coast’s largest weapons depot. Was to soon learn what the mission was, but right now back to what happened when we pulled up to the main gate. As I had my face plastered to the window a female protester saw me and waved. I waved back and instantly started getting yelled at by a senior ranking enlisted. I was told in no uncertain terms was I to have anything to do with the protesters. Then the van was cleared to enter the base and on we went.
A major explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in 1944 resulted in the Navy making the decision to separate the bunkers from the piers along the harbor. The Navy went 2 miles inland, rebuilt the bunkers and 6 weeks later the Concord Naval Weapons Station was opened. The weapons would be assembled and transported the two miles by Navy owned railcars. The Sea Bee Unit I was put in was tasked with building framing in the railcars to keep the weapons from rolling while the trains were moving. It was soon noticed it was a indeed a mistake putting me into the Sea Bee unit so I was pulled off the line and spent my days going with a civilian contractor, as he went to pick up daily reports. I remember going out to the bunkers. One of the bunkers held a rocket booster and we had to go out a couple of times a day to check humidity and temperature gauges in that bunker. I had one civilian contractor tell me and I quote, “ A dam Vietnam hippie protester did not attempt to get off the tracks and dam well deserved what he got.” By the time my two weeks of duty was done all I wanted to do was go home and forget the base even existed.
For 23 ½ yrs I did forget. Buried the memories so deep I did not give it any thought. Thing is suppressed memories will come back and they came back in force at an event April of 2011. My partner Malcolm and I had just started dating and had gone to a fundraiser for a veterans run coffee shop called Coffee Strong. A simple comment triggered all the memories of Concord. I told Malcolm I remembered being told about a protester that had been hit by the weapons train just days before I reported. Imagine my surprise when Malcolm points to a man on two prosthetic legs and says the protester is standing right over there and his name is Brian Willson. A month later I sat down with Brian and we talked. He showed me the pictures of him desperately trying to get off the tracks. He told he how the weapons train was going 12 miles over the stated speed limit and had it been going the speed it should have been he could have gotten off the tracks in time. It was then I realized the Navy had tired to murder him. His only crime was to have been declared by the FBI to be a terrorist.
It was upon learning this I became a dues paying member of Veterans For Peace. I cannot undo what has been done, but in learning the truth, I pray that in my speaking up I can use my experience to promote peace. Also, it is helping me to heal. When I learned the truth I hit a very dark depression. It is a very hard reality to deal with when one learns the government they were raised to think was so great would not hesitate to try to kill one of their own citizens. The nightmares about all the bombs I saw in the bunkers are, with time coming further and farther in between.
Sidebar: Four days ago I learned through Face book who the women was that waved to me all those years ago. It was Holley Rauen. Holley was Brian’s partner at the time of the attempt on his life. She and her son were standing right next to the train tracks and watched Brian get run over by the train. In spite of that she still had the heart to wave to me. 25 yrs later she is still active in non-violent protest.