How Black Shipyard Workers in Marin Helped Win World War II

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Bay Area is full of World War II history, even if it isn't always obvious. Listener Lise Ciolino stumbled on some in her Sausalito neighborhood when she learned that during the war there was a huge shipyard there. She wants to know "how the Liberty Ships produced in Sausalito affected the outcome of World War II." Additional Reading How Black Shipyard Workers in Marin Helped Win World War II Rapping About the WWII Black Shipyard Workers in Marin "A Way Out of No Way" on Spotify Reported by Pendarvis Harshaw and Marisol Medina-Cadena. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Ceil Muller, Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From K-QED.
0:02.0	Hi everyone, I'm Katrina Schwartz in for Olivia Allen Price, and you're listening to Bay Curious.
0:09.0	The Bay Area is full of gorgeous places to hike.
0:12.0	It's one of my favorite things about living here.
0:14.7	But many of my favorite spots from the Marin Headlands to Sweeney Ridge on the peninsula
0:19.9	lived a less tranquil life during World War II.
0:23.4	In fact, there are remnants of war all around us,
0:26.4	even if it's not obvious.
0:28.4	Take the northern end of Sausalito's waterfront.
0:31.2	It used to be a huge shipyard during World War II. Now businesses and
0:37.4	restaurants operate out of the warehouse spaces.
0:39.7	Three months after Pearl Harbor, a wire from the U.S. Maritime Commission started the
0:45.6	W-A-Becto Company and five affiliates building a new shipyard, nestled of the foot of beautiful Mount Tamil Pius on the shores of San Francisco Bay.
0:57.0	This $17 million shipyard in Sausalito would become known as Marin ship. Workers there built over... ship
1:03.0	and workers there built over 90 vessels.
1:05.0	We're talking huge cargo boats,
1:08.0	known as Liberty ships,
1:10.0	and tankers that carried gasoline and oil overseas.
1:13.2	These were the ships which turned the tide of war.
1:16.2	Our question asker this week, Lisa Chalino, ran smack into this wartime history
1:20.4	while exploring her neighborhood.
1:22.3	I'm new to Saus Lidoido and I wanted to know how the
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