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The Marines of Montford Point: America's First Black Marines
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About The Marines Of Montford Point: America's First
Product Description With an executive order from President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, the United States Marine Corps--the last all-white branch of the U.S. military--was forced to begin recruiting and enlisting African Americans. The first black recruits received basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. Between 1942 and 1949 (when the base was closed as a result of President Truman's 1948 order fully desegregating all military forces) more than 20,000 men trained at Montford Point, most of them going on to serve in the Pacific Theatre in World War II as members of support units. This book, in conjunction with the documentary film of the same name, tells the story of these Marines for the first time. Drawing from interviews with 60 veterans, The Marines of Montford Point relates the experiences of these pioneers in their own words. From their stories, we learn about their reasons for enlisting; their arrival at Montford Point and the training they received there; their lives in a segregated military and in the Jim Crow South; their experiences of combat and service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; and their legacy. The Marines speak with flashes of anger and humor, sometimes with sorrow, sometimes with great wisdom, and always with a pride fostered by incredible accomplishment in the face of adversity. This book serves to recognize and to honor the men who desegregated the Marine Corps and loyally served their country in three major wars. From Booklist On June 25, 1941, FDR's executive order 8802 allowed, among other things, black men to become U.S. Marines for the first time in American history. The U.S. was then rigidly segregated, particularly in the South and in southerner-heavy institutions, including the military, especially the Marine Corps. The marine commander established training for blacks at Montford Point, North Carolina, and from 1942 to 1949, when the camp closed after President Truman desegregated all the armed forces, it trained more than 20,000 men, most for the Pacific theater. McLaurin interviewed 61 veterans of Montford Point and relays their words on who they were, why they joined, how they trained, and the combat they saw (many served in Korea and Vietnam, too). They reflect never-ending struggles with the deliberate and unconscious bigotry of the time and place. The Marine Corps is fully integrated now, and the marines of Montford Point aren't familiar now to the general public. Several Point trainees wrote memoirs, and with them McLaurin adds invaluably to the literature on blacks in the military. Roland Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review "An important contribution to military and civil rights history. . . . Create[s] an oral history of this group of Marines." -- Durham Sunday Herald-Sun From the Inside Flap With an executive order from President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, the United States Marine Corps?the last all-white branch of the U.S. military?was forced to begin recruiting and enlisting African Americans. This book, in conjunction with the documentary film of the same name, tells for the first time the story of the African American Marines who integrated the last all-white branch of the U.S. military in 1942. Drawing from interviews with 60 veterans, McLaurin relates their reasons for enlisting; their arrival at Montford Point and the training they received there; their lives in a segregated military and in the Jim Crow South; their experiences of combat and service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam; and their legacy. This book serves to recognize and to honor the men who desegregated the Marine Corps and loyally served their country in three major wars.
