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The Montford Point Marines

by mgysgtcarr on Feb 15, 2010

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A brief pictorial of the Marines of Montford Point. This story is further expanded on their respective National and Chapter websites. You are invited to learn our history and help support their efforts...

A brief pictorial of the Marines of Montford Point. This story is further expanded on their respective National and Chapter websites. You are invited to learn our history and help support their efforts.

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Introduction:Thank you – History document providedJoe Davis President Emeritus Curtis Moore Montford Point
As far back as the Revolutionary War to today’s deployment operations Men and women of color have served our nation. Recognition of the contributions by African Americans usually result in guarded topics of debate or selective omissions from history, publication, or media venues (movies and or documentaries) . Yet, there is evidence as the issue continues to be presented or uncovered that clearly shows these same proud individuals fought to defend the same ideals of the Constitution and the fabric of American democracy equal to thier counterparts.More than 1 million African Americans served in the U.S. armed forces during America’s participation in World War II from 1941-1945. This phrase as stated by Admiral Nimitz has become as much a testament to the African-American success in the military as it did for all others…… who served
Since the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers kept the frontier safe, Eleanor’s Roosevelt’s exploit’s with the Red Tails /Bird-men of Tuskegee overcame their plight to become the first African-American fighter pilots and shielded Allied planes on bombing runs into Germany. The Navy had Port Chicago, USS MASON, the Golden 13, Harlem Hellfighters of the US Army, By request of General Patton - The 761st Tank Battalion, the first African-American unit to go into combat, fought its way through France and into Germany and Austria, amassing a record of accomplishment that was eventually recognized with a Presidential citation. Until the recruits of Montford Point broke the color barrier, the Marine Corps did not accept African-Americans. Gen Holcomb’s (Commandant) personal views on the matter of integration into the Marie Corps were know in the inner circle of the military, but pressure from the White House forced his hand. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox – overrode the Commandant and by 1 June approximately 1000 African Americans were signed for Naval Service with another 900 which would be formed by the Marine Corps.
Assignment to oversee training of these men was (comprised of white officers and NCO enlisted) from Quantico, Parris Island, and other locations throughout the Corps. Some obviously brought there own values with them thereby adding additional strain to an already difficult situation. H& S Company along with Depot Companies, the 51st Composite Defense Battalion were activated at Montford Point and Col Samuel Woods was the Battalion Commander. With a estimated budget of approximately $750K, the camp was built with pre-fabricaed huts, surrounded by thick Pine, swamp land, and the usual cast of animals, snakes, mosquitoes and New River along the waterlineBut they – trained non the less ……History although limited will show that the Montford Point Marines went on to serve with distinction on the front lines in Guam, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and subsequent conflicts in Korea and Viet Nam…
Howard P. Perry - the first Negro to enlist in the Marine Corps Breaking a tradition of 167 years, the U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting Negroes on June 1, 1942, and is just one of the faces published in the annals of Marine History PFC Luther Woodard a member of the Fourth Ammunition Company, admires the Bronze Star awarded to him for `his bravery, initiative and battle-cunning.' ..." The award was later upgraded to the Silver Star. April 17, 1945. The talents of Arvin L. "Tony" Ghazlo and Ernest "Judo" Jones, proved as valuable as they were rare, for as a civilian he had given lessons in jujitsu & help teach unarmed combat at Montford Point.
The first African American commissioned officer in the US Marine Corps, Frederick C. Branch, died Sunday April 10, 2005 at age 82 in Philadelphia and is buried in Arlington CemeteryDrafted into the Marine Corps in 1943 Branch went to boot camp at Montford Point Camp, N.C., Branch served with the 51st Defense Battalion in the South Pacific. On November 10, 1945, the birthday of the Marine Corps, Branch was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant becoming the first African American to graduate from Marine Corps officer training. He made it to the rank of Capt before leaving the Corps in 1955. Branch went on to develop the science program at Murrell Dobbins High School in Philadelphia, where he taught for 35 years and was department chairman.
Pictured here with then Commandant MC Michael Hagee – were some of the General Officer who followed in the footprints pioneered by then Lt. Fredrick Branch.
Maj Gen Walter Gaskin Vice Director of The Joint Staff, Wash, D.C. From June 2006 - July 2008; served as CG 2d MarDiv at Camp Lejeune, NC and simultaneously served as the CG II MEF (Forward). This included deployment to Al Anbar Province, Iraq as the Commanding General of multinational Forces- West.Major General Leo V. Williams, III 's was the Deputy CG for Mobilization, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Virginia. Currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board, Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, member of the Board of Directors, U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, member of the Reserve Forces Policy Board. Previously, General Williams served as Chairman of the Board, Marine Corps Reserve Officers' Association. In civilian life, he is the Marketing Manager for the Ford Explorer and Sport Trac, Ford Motor Company. Maj Gen J. Gary Cooper is currently the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Commonwealth National Bank. He serves on the Board of Gen Corp, USX, Protective Life Corporations and the PNC Financial Service Group, Appointed Ambassador in 1994, President Clinton as the first African American to serve as the United States Ambassador to Jamaica, and in 1989 under Bush administration appointed, as the Assist Sec Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs. Major General Charles F. Bolden, Jrs'., last billet was as the Commanding General, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing. Throughout his career Major General Bolden has logged more than 6,000 hours of flying time in more than thirty models of fixed and rotary wing aircraft. He flew his first mission on board the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986, Piloted the Shuttle Discovery in 1990, Commanded Shuttle Atlantis 1992, and now is the head of NASA. He has logged more than 680 hours in space.Lieutenant General Frank E. Petersen was the former Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command Quantico, Virginia. With 2 tours in Korea,& Vietnam and He has over 4,000 hours in various fighter/attack aircraft and flown in excess of 350 combat missions
Two of the black Marines who overcame every challenge, Edgar R. Huff and Gilbert H. Johnson, became legends among the men of Montford Point. Gilbert H. Johnson earned the nickname "Hashmark" because he wore on the sleeve of his Marine Corps uniform three of the diagonal stripes, called hashmarks, indicating successful previous enlistments, having joined the Army in 1923 and served two three-year hitches with a black regiment, the 25th Infantry. In 1933, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a mess attendant. He received the necessary permission and reported to Montford Point on 14 November 1942, still wearing his steward's uniform.In January 1945, he became sergeant major of the Montford Point Camp and in June of that year joined the 52d Defense Battalion on Guam, also as sergeant major, remaining in that assignment until the unit disbanded in 1946. His subsequent career included service during the Korean War. He retired in 1955 after completing a tour of duty as First Sergeant, Headquarters and Service Company, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division. He died in 1972. Two years afterward, the Marine Corps paid tribute to his accomplishments by re-designating the Montford Point Camp as Camp Gilbert H. JohnsonEdgar R. Huff enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1942 and underwent training at the new Montford Point Camp because “he just wanted to be a Marine," he said years later. His toughness and physical strength had served him well while a crane rigger for the Republic Steel Company in Alabama City, near his home town of Gadsden, Alabama. Huff reported for duty at a time when the Montford Point operation desperately needed forceful and intelligent African-Americans, with or without previous military experience, to take over from the white noncommissioned officers of the Special Enlisted Staff. Since he possessed the very qualities that the Marine Corps was seeking, he attended a drill instructor's course, served briefly as an assistant to two white drill instructors, took over a platoon of his own, and soon assumed responsibility for all the DIs at Montford Point. He made platoon sergeant in September 1943, gunnery sergeant in November of that year, and in June 1944 became first sergeant of a malaria control detachment at Montford Point. He went overseas six months later as the first sergeant of the 5th Depot Company — the second wartime unit with that designation — served on Saipan, saw combat on Okinawa, and took part in the occupation of North China. Discharged from the Marine Corps when the war ended, he spent a few months as a civilian and then reenlisted. He saw service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During his second tour of duty in Vietnam, he was Sergeant Major, III Marine Amphibious Force, the principal Marine Corps command in Southeast Asia. He retired in 1972 while Sergeant Major, Marine Corps Air Station, New River, North Carolina, and died in May 1994.
The footprints established by Hashmark and Huff laid the foundation for these Marines.On 1 July 1999, Alford McMichael assumed his post as the 14th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, becoming the first African American to hold the post. His tenure as the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps saw the establishment of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and the commencement of the Global War on Terrorism. In June 2003, deferring his planned retirement, McMichael assumed a newly-created post as the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer for Allied Command Operations, becoming the senior enlisted advisor to General James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; and Commander, United States European Command.Sergeant Major John L. Estrada originally from Trinidad assumed his post as the 15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on 26 June 2003, succeeding Sgt Maj McMichael. This set the succession for (2) African American back to back as SMMC. On April 25, 2007, SgtMaj Estrada stepped down from his post as Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, turning over the post to Sgt Major Carlton Kent. Estrada retired from the Marine Corps on June 2007January 19, 2007, General James Conway, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, announced that SgtMaj Kent would become the 16th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, succeeding SgtMaj John L. Estrada. On April 25, 2007, in a ceremony at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., Kent assumed the top Marine Corps enlisted post
Just as Roosevelt made efforts to enact legislation to change segregation practices – under Executive Order 8802, President Harry S. Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights’ landmark report, titled, “To Secure These Rights,” was issued. It condemned racial segregation wherever it existed and specifically criticized the practice of segregation in the U.S. armed forces. The report recommended legislation and administrative action “to end immediately all discrimination and segregation based on race, color, creed or national origin” in all branches of the U.S. military. July 26, 1948: President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981. It states: “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the president that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” The order also established a presidential committee on equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed services. In the spring of 1949 segregated recruit training at Montford Point ended and was subsequently transferred to Parris Island South Carolina.By the end of 1954, the last all-African American U.S. military unit had been disbanded, while African American enlistment in the U.S. military continue to grow.
Special Units such as the Navaho Code Talkers, Parachute Battalion and the Raider Battalions (which is believe to be in some circles the fore-runners to today’s Recon Units) have been highlighted in varying venues. While the 51st & 52nd Defense Battalion which was comprised of all black marines fought along with there counterparts throughout the pacific guarding outpost and providing fire support,It has been established that 19,168 African-Americans served in the Marine Corps during World War II, 12,738 went over seas in the defense battalions or combat support companies, stretcher bearer’s or as stewards. Those who remained in the United States performed numerous duties: at various headquarters; staff members at the Montford Point Camp or recruits in training there when the conflict ended; or service troops at supply depots at Philadelphia or Norfolk or the Naval Ammunition Depot at McAlester, Oklahoma.
Past or Present African American have contributed not just to the Corps but to society and all walks of life….David Dinkins served in the United States Marine Crops from 1945 through 1946. In 1989, he became the first African American mayor of the City of New York. Today he is a professor in the practice of public affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public AffairsRod Carew Baseball Hall of Famer came to the United States with his family at the age of 15. Rod spent 6 years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Clarice Joynes – Executive Dir Moayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs Ken Callender – Original Montford Pointer serving both WWII and Korea
MGYSGT Brooks E. Gray, is one if the founding members of the Montford Point Marine Association. Today Camp Johnson host a newly dedicated state of the art training facility named after M’Guns Gray He has been quoted as saying "The in justices . . . in those segregated units, sparked a fierce determination to excel.“ "We represented,“ Events proved Gray correct, for the post-World War II Marine Corps could never return to the policies of the past President Harry S Truman's executive order banning racial discrimination in the armed forces, issued in 1948, and the demands for manpower imposed by the Korean War, which broke out two years later. Gray retired in 1969 as a master gunnery sergeant after 24 years of service,
Over the years – the association has garnered many successes.It’s most recent is the completion of the documentary which tels the story of the Montford Point Marines - Narrated by Louis Gosset Jr.This collaboration with original Montford Pointers, University of NC, and Universtiy South Carolina aims to capture all the stories past and present inclusive of the wives who stood by them.
Twenty years following World War II, during August 1965, a reunion was organized by a group of enterprising Marine veterans and active duty Marines from Philadelphia. The response was overwhelming and consequently 400 Marines from all over the country convened at the Adelphia Hotel in Philadelphia; hence the establishment of the Montford Point Marine Association, Inc. a non-profit Veterans' organization; subsequently chartered in Pennsylvania, in 1966. Brooks E. Gray (founding father) was elected as the Association's first National President. Today the Association has 29 bona-fide Chapters throughout the various regions of the United States and additionally the Ladies Auxiliary boasts several Chapters. The MPMA Inc. is an affiliate member of the Marine Corps Council (a family council of Marine Veteran Groups). Annual reunions are held to affirm their bonds to Marine Corps; present awards and testimonials; expand its interest and service in civic programs; provide fiscal scholarship support and other benevolent essentials.
Located on Camp Johnson the
Projects currently underway by the association include the pursuit of the Congressional Gold Medal for the surviving members of the Montford Point Marines. This an award bestowed by the United States Congress and is along with Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.The decoration is awarded to an individual who performs an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the US.Currently The Congressional Gold Medal for the Montford Point Marines has now been assigned a number in the SENATE and the U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES These are the Bill numbers: Senate: S1695/ House: H.R. 3927 In addition on the grounds just outside of the museum – on Camp Johnson, adjacent to the baseball field – efforts are under way to build a monument honoring these men. The artwork and funding is being pursued and renditions will be presented at this years convention 2010 – QuanticoA US Postage Stamp – in recognition of the original Montford Point Marines
History shows that the battle for Sulfur Island was of strategic importance for an air base in support of fighters & long range bombing missions against Japan. At the end of the 36 day assault this passage, and symbol of the flag raising was immortalized as an icon for all Marines and past and present. But as we commemorate movies, and books let us not for get those past hero’s who laid way for many to follow. African American served not just as ammo tech’s or litter bearer’s - but held key defensive position at Red Beach as well.
From the Marine Historical Society – these 2 Books are very detailed in it’s summation of the Montford Point Marines. Other publications include; The Marines of Montford Point – Professor Melton McLaurinWe were there by Yvonne Latty,Soldiers of Freedom by Kai Wright,

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