Race Riots within the military! My Story ( the moderator )

In 1964, President Johnson signed the civil rights Act. Not long after, I saw a black sailor get murdered in an Enlisted Man's club ("The Sky Club") at Subic Bay, PI. I didn't know who the black sailor was but the white sailor who stabbed/slashed him in the throat bunked right across from me. All hell broke loose on board the aircraft carrier I was attached to, the Bon Homme Richard CVA 31. A fight erupted in the club and mushroomed into a severe riot that moved aboard ship. The Marines and Shore Patrol were called out but were unable to gain control until the early morning. During that time, the EXO was knocked out in hanger bay 1 as gangs of blacks and whites were hunting each other below decks. I have spent the last 38 years with the vision of this horrible event. What was the family of the black sailor told? Would the murderer ever be brought up on charges?

While researching this Aug 64 death and riot, I discovered other riots that happened in 1966 and 1967 where two other black sailors were murdered. Another shocking and well documented of these riots was the "Kitty Hawk Incident" in 1972. All of these events started in that same EM club in Subic Bay, PI.

The incident I witnessed, to my knowledge, has never been made public but I have provided proof that it did from other shipmates.

The intent of this site is to create a place for others to step forward with their stories. I am in the process of writing about my experience and would like other veterans stories to add to it. I call it "The War within the War"