December 24, 1944: The Agana Race Riot

Black sailors at Guam

December 24, 1944: The Agana Race Riot breaks out in Agana, Guam. It was one of the most serious incidents between African-American and white military personnel in the U.S. armed forces, segregated during World War II.

The U.S. Marine Corps retook Guam from Japan in July 1944, and then used it as a station for the 3rd Marine Division. Racial tensions heightened in late August when the African-American Marine 25th Depot Company arrived to start loading operations at the newly constructed naval supply depot. White Americans of the 3rd Marine Division, some new to the area, tried to prevent African-American Marines from visiting nearby Agana and its native women.

Over the next 3 months, racially-motivated incidents and a pervasive pattern of discrimination caused tensions to rise between the two groups. A white American sailor shot and killed a black Marine of the 25th Depot Company in a quarrel over a woman; and a sentry from the 27th Marine Depot Company reacted to harassment by fatally wounding his tormentor, a white Marine. Both men were eventually court-martialed for voluntary manslaughter.

A race riot erupted on Christmas Eve, when rumors spread that an African-American sailor had been shot and killed by a white Marine. There was fighting throughout Christmas Day, and it was finally put down by Military Police on December 26.

A total of 43 Marines were court-martialed, convicted, and received prison terms of several years. The NAACP later successfully campaigned with the Department of the Navy, and ultimately the White House, to have the black Marines' guilty verdicts overturned, and they were released from prison in 1946.

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December 24, 1944 was a Sunday. Daniel Johnson Jr., who, like his father Daniel Sr. and his brother Pierre-Marc, would serve as Premier (Governor) of Quebec, was born.

Baseball was out of season. College football was between the end of the regular season and the New Year's Day bowl games -- no games on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The NFL season had ended a week earlier, when the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. One game was played in the NHL: The New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 3-3 at the old Madison Square Garden.