Montford Point Marines
In this week in military history, we explore the service, contributions, and legacy of the “Montford Point Marines” of World War II – the first African-Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps, awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on November 23, 2011.
In 1941, unfair labor practices were the norm across the United States. Black leaders fought for equal rights and pressed President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address these inequalities, including a threat by A. Phillip Randolph to march 100,000 African Americans on Washington to protest job discrimination. These actions forced the President’s hand into signing the June 1941 Executive Order 8802 which banned racial discrimination in recruiting across the defense sector.
By June, 1942 – just months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Marine Corps recruited and inducted its first Black recruits, and sent them for training at Montford Point, North Carolina under White Officers and NCO’s. By 1943 - Black NCO’s took over the training of Black Marine recruits at Montford Point; the first Black Officer in the Marine Corps wouldn’t be commissed until after the war in November, 1945. Despite the many challenges thrown at them - the Montford Point Marines overcame them - as they served with honor and distinction amid hellish combat in the Pacific Theater.
Black Marines of the 8th Ammunition Company and the 36th Depot Company landed on the island of Iwo Jima on D–Day, February 19, 1945. By D-Day +3 the units had established a foothold and unloaded much needed ammunition and supplies.
Some 2,000 African-American Marines took part in the seizure of Okinawa in the Ryuku Islands, the largest number of Black Marines to serve in combat during World War II. Overall, 19,168 Black soldiers served in the Marine Corps in World War II. Their actions earned them the Congressional Gold Medal decades later in 2011.
Through their collective courage and valor on and off the battlefield – the Montford Point Marines paved the way for the eventual total desegregation of the Marine Corps, and the rest of the Armed Services in the years following World War II.
Join us next time for another segment of this week in military history, with the Pritzker Military Museum and Library.