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Marines Of Montford Point Essay

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The Marines of Montford Point

Melton A McLaurin

In 1941, the president at the time, President Franklin Roosevelt passed an executive order allowing African-Americans to join the United States Military. Being that the Marine Corps was the last branch that had yet to integrate black Americans, changes began to take place.

Despite being allowed to enlist in the Marine Corps, African Americans underwent recruit training at a separate and segregated location than the rest of the white Marines. They attended recruit training at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It wasn't until seven years later that African American Marines were allowed to be fully integrated into recruit training with whites, due to a new executive order that was passed. …show more content…

This book discusses many of the issues that these black Marines faced. Whether it be the chains at the bus stops in Jacksonville that separated whites from blacks, or the restriction on what foods they could purchase at restaurants, these Marines who underwent the same training weren't given the same respect.

Many of the black Marines wanted to deploy and see combat. But unfortunately most were put in supporting units and not able to see “war”. It became a general consensus that “blacks weren't ready for combat”. However, African American Marines who worked with ammunition soon earned the respect of their white colleagues when they were present at Iwo Jima and other amphibious assaults in Saipan and Okinawa. Tides began to change and black Marines started to play a bigger role than what they were previously thought capable of.

This book is a compilation of interviews with 60 different veterans that served during these tough times. Not only does it discuss and delve deeper into the barriers that black Marines faced, but it also talks about why these men joined the Marine

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