Special Feature

Enduring Legacy

February 20, 2020

Honoring Black History Month In The Marine Corps

On June 1, 1942, Alfred Masters became the first African American to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. By August of 1942, 900 African Americans were on their way to Montford Point, North Carolina.44...

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August 17, 2020

Montford Point Marines honored on the 78th anniversary

In June of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an Executive Order establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission to aid in the prevention of discrimination against African Americans in...

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August 26, 2020

One team, one fight: African-Americans in the Marine Corps

For centuries, African-American contributions to society went completely unnoticed, until Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-educated, African-American man began celebrating “Negro History Week” in February...

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Leadership through Legacy
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Feb. 22, 2021 | 2:05
Leadership through Legacy
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Feb. 22, 2021 | 2:05
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Leadership through Legacy
Montford Point Marines Define Honor, Courage Commitment
African American History Month: Montford Point Marines
Everlasting Legacy: Part 1
Everlasting Legacy: Part 2
Montford Point Marine talks recognizing history
Montford Point Marine Receives Congressional Gold Medal
A group of the black volunteers in their dress uniforms, May 1943.
Houston Shinal, the previous national monument director for the National Montford Point Marine Association, conducts an interview about the Montford Point Marines at the Montford Point Marines Memorial in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Aug 17, 2020.
A wall of stars representing the approximately 20,000 African-Americans that went through Marine Corps boot camp at Montford Point stands at the Montford Point Marines Memorial in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Aug. 26, 2020.
James L. Spann, a veteran that served at Montford Point, poses for a photo at the Montford Point Marines Memorial on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Aug. 22, 2019.
Marines of the first African-American platoon pose in this undated photo. From left are Mortimer A. Cox, Arnold R. Bostick, Edgar R. Davis, Jr., Gilbert H. "Hashmark" Johnson and Edgar R. Huff (the platoon’s drill instructors,) and Charles E. Allen.
Marine Corps Cpl. Edgar R. Huff drills a platoon of recruits at Montford Point Camp, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1942.
Marine Corps Cpl. Edgar R. Huff inspects a weapon at Montford Point Camp, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1942.
Retired Gunnery Sgt. LaSalle R. Vaughn in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform at the funeral of his best friend and next-door neighbor, retired Marine Master Sgt. Frederick Drake, in November 2010.
NYC Montfort point Marine association marches in the 2012 New York City Veterans Day Parade.
Cpl. Arvin Lou Ghazio, USMC, gives judo instructions to Pvt. Ernest C. Jones, April 1943.
A platoon of black "boot recruits" listen to their drill instructor, Sgt. Gilbert Hubert Johnson, whose job is to turn them into finished Marines at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 1943.
Two recruits in a light tank during training in mechanized warfare at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 1943.
From left, J.T. Inge, U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the deputy commandant for aviation; Barnett Person; and Lt. Gen. Willie J. Williams, the director of Marine Corps Staff, pose for a photo during the breakfast in honor of Montford Marines at Crawford Hall at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., Aug. 26, 2011.
Marine Sgt. F. Smit and Cpl. S. Brown open a coconut to get a cool drink on Saipan, June 1944.
Marines move through the trenches on the beach during the Battle of Peleliu, Sept. 15, 1944.
Marines receiving instruction in the demolition course at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, N.C., during intensive combat training in preparation for action in the Pacific, February 1945.
Black Marines on the beach at Iwo Jima are, from left to right, Pfc.'s Willie J. Kanody, Elif Hill and John Alexander, March 1945.
Cpl. Arvin L. Ghazlo demonstrates to a bayonet class a technique for disarming the enemy. Breaking a tradition of 167 years, the Marine Corps started enlisting blacks, June 1, 1942.
A group of the black volunteers in their dress uniforms, May 1943. Although a dress uniform was not a part of the regular equipment, most of the black Marines spend $54 out of their pay for what is generally considered the snappiest uniform in the armed services. (Photo by Roger Smith/Released)