Agana race riot

The riot was one of the most serious incidents between African-American and white military personnel in the United States Armed Forces during World War II.

A race riot erupted on Christmas Eve 1944 when rumors spread that another African American sailor had been shot and killed by a white Marine.

[3] On December 24, a group of nine African American Marines from the 25th Depot Company had been given 24-hour holiday passes (for exemplary service) to go into Agana, Guam.

Eventually, tensions were calmed after a military police officer informed the black Marines that the missing man was found safe and returned to the 25th's camp.

After midnight on the early morning of December 26, a jeep with white Marines opened fire on the African American depot.

Walter Francis White, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was in Guam and participated in fact-finding during the investigation.

[3][5] 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.