Congressional Recognition for the Montford Point Marines

On October 25, the House of Representative voted 422-0 to award the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress.

While the story of the Army Buffalo Soldier or the Tuskegee Airmen has been told countless times, the story of the men who integrated the Marine Corps during World War II has largely been ignored. That is, until the current Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James F. Amos, decided that the Marine Corps would no longer hide from its past.

On 26 August 2011, General Amos honored the surviving Montford Point Marines in a formal salute at the Marine Barracks Washington Evening Parade. Last year, Congress declared August 26  as ‘Montford Point Marine Day’ to honor the anniversary of the first African American recruits’ arrival for basic training at Montford Point, N.C., in 1942.

The Marine Corps also plans to teach all Marines next year about Montford Point, the base near the coastal town of Jacksonville, N.C., that the Corps set up for blacks to keep them separate from white Marines. It operated from 1942 to 1949.

“Every Marine — from private to general — will know the history of those men who crossed the threshold to fight not only the enemy they were soon to know overseas, but the enemy of racism and segregation in their own country,” Amos said.

Amos has spent the year lobbying Congress to grant Montford Point Marines the civilian medal, which was given to the Tuskegee airmen in 2006. “It’s long overdue,” Amos recently told the last remaining Montford Point Marines. This bill for recognition is expected to pass the Senate this year and will be signed by President Obama.

My thoughts on this are simple. Better late than never and I’m glad General Amos did not allow this part of Marine Corps history to be lost or worse, forgotten. Today, African Americans comprise roughly 11 percent of the Marine Corps. These Marines wouldn’t be serving today in the leadership roles they have without the groundwork laid by these first black Marines who enlisted and trained at Montford Point from 1942 to 1949.  This recognition is long overdue.