From the June 29th Chicago Tribune "First African-American Marines honored."
The nation's first black Marines were in Washington D.C. to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for their World War II service even in the face of huge descrimination back then. They received their name from the segregated camp at which they trained in North Carolina by Camp Lejeune.
Those still living attended the ceremony along with family members held Wednesday in the Capitol Visitor Center's Emancipation Hall. Along with these pioneers, former and present Marines attended, including Marine Corps Commandant Gen, James Otis, who supported legislation for the award.
The Montford Point Marines participated in three of the bloodiest World War II battles: Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Roughly 400 survivors of the 20,000 who trained there attended.
They are now among several groups of WWII veterans that lawmakers have honored, including the Tuskegee Airmen and the Navajo Code Talkers.
The Tuskegee Airmen are definitely better known of these groups. Until recently, I was unaware of the Montford Point Marines. The fact that these men risked their lives to fight for a country that denied them equality is worthy in itself.
A Well-Deserved Honor. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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