AoM Team | February 3, 2017

Fitness, Health & Sports, Tactical Skills

Editor’s note: Theodore Roosevelt had a keen interest in martial and combative arts, beginning with boxing as a young man, and later as president — after a blow blinded him in the eye — focusing on wrestling and grappling. While in the White House, he first took jiu-jitsu lessons from Professor John J. O’Brien, who had learned the art while working as a police inspector in Nagasaki, Japan. According to a 1902 article in the New York World, Roosevelt “hope[d] soon to be able to break the arms, legs or neck of any Anarchist or thug who may assail him.”
Later, TR was taught jiu-jitsu and judo (while now distinct, he used the terms interchangeably) three times a week, for three years, by Japanese master Yoshiaki (Yoshitsugu) Yamashita. Roosevelt loved practicing jiu-jitsu (his ardor would help popularize it with Americans) as well as good old fashioned wrestling, and he would ask any and all companions and visitors — from diplomats to cabinet members to his wife and sister-in-law — to grapple with him. TR’s unflagging enthusiasm and burly frame eventually wore out even Yamashita, who told a journalist that while Teddy “was his best pupil…he was very heavy and impetuous, and it had cost the poor professor many bruisings, much worry and infinite pains during Theodore’s rushes to avoid laming the President of the United States.”
If you want to learn some of the vintage jiu-jitsu moves TR once practiced, below you’ll find the book (condensed) his original instructor, J. J. O’Brien, published in 1905. 
Bully!

“A noble soul dwells in a strong body.” —Japanese Proverb

We know that you will find interest in reading and demonstrating to your own satisfaction the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu, in its mildest form, as a means of self-defense.
This is the first time that all the secrets of the Japanese national system of training and self-defense have been given to Western people. Less than a generation ago you could not have obtained this knowledge at any price. So religiously have the principles of Jiu-Jitsu been guarded that no foreigner has ever before received official instruction from one who has taken the highest degree in the art.
Jiu-Jitsu is the most wonderful physical training the world has ever known. It is a science. It is muscle dominated and directed in every detail by brain. The Japanese are the hardiest race of people in the world to-day, and we attribute their wonderful strength and power of endurance solely to the persistent practice of their national system of physical development. Jiu-Jitsu develops every muscle and strengthens every organ in the human body. It does not produce knotted muscles, but develops the body harmoniously and uniformly. It affects those minute muscles which are not reached by any other system. It strengthens the heart action, scientifically renews and invigorates every tissue, and helps every organ to perform its functions. The man or woman who devotes ten minutes daily to the practice of Jiu-Jitsu will enjoy a degree of health and strength that will make him or her thoroughly alive and fully conscious of the possession of perfect manhood or womanhood.
As a means of self-defense, Jiu-Jitsu is as potent at short range as the most deadly weapon that human ingenuity has devised. A Japanese skilled in this art has no fear of any form of personal attack. He will even defend himself unarmed against a swordsman and emerge from the combat victorious. The science of Jiu-Jitsu takes into account the vulnerable points in the human body. It comprehends the laws of mechanics, thus enabling the weak to overthrow the strong. One unskilled in the art is entirely at the mercy of the expert Jiu-Jitsuian, no matter how unequally matched in point of size or strength the contestants may be. An opponent may be overcome and remain unharmed if it be the will of the operator, or he may be seriously disabled by a slight pressure exerted at a vulnerable point, or a sharp twist of the arm, as to be rendered utterly helpless and unable to renew the attack.
The full-page illustrations in this book show the holds and locks of Jiu-Jitsu and represent Professor J. J. O’Brien, who was for many years a resident of Japan and received his diploma as Professor of Jiu-Jitsu from the Japanese Government.
Prof. John J. O’Brien came to America well known and highly recommended by the Japanese Government, and it was he who introduced Jiu-jitsu into this country, first in Washington, D.C., by giving instruction in the art to President Roosevelt, members of his Cabinet, and heads of many of the departments in Washington, and, says the New York Sun, “Jiu-Jitsu, the Japanese system of physical training, has become a popular fad at the Capitol under the President’s example, who, through persistent practice, has become an expert in the art, and as told in the news dispatches, is anxious to have Jiu-Jitsu introduced in the course of training at the Naval Academy.”
We give in this book twenty-eight illustrated lessons in Jiu-Jitsu, by Prof. John J. O’Brien and James Clinton Gavigan, one of the world’s greatest Physical Culture instructors. No apparatus whatever is required, and an ordinary room will suffice in which to perform the exercises. It is necessary to have a friend who is equally interested, to practice with you, as it adds pleasure and zeal to the work, and you will be surprised to find how rapidly you become familiar with the subject.
The practice of the modern system of Physical Culture needs a good deal of self-denial because there is little to keep up the interest; but with Jiu-Jitsu it is entirely different. A tilt with a companion has a great deal of pleasurable anticipation, and in combat there is always that uncertainty of success in offensive moments which makes one keenly alive to the situation.
It does not matter who the companion may be, a man of unequal strength, or husband and wife, brother and sister, may join in the friendly contest and each derive equal pleasure and benefit therefrom.

Lesson #1

This lesson shows how a weak person could stop an opponent who is about to clinch…

…by putting the first and index fingers to the eyes. This method was used by the Japanese at Port Arthur in the hand-to-hand battle with the Russians.

Lesson #2

Take your opponent by the left hand firmly, as above illustrated.

Raise the left arm, turning your opponent’s wrist inward with your left; slide your right under your opponent’s left.

Grasp your opponent’s lapels firmly; stiffen your right arm, pushing your opponent’s left from you until it rests on your right forearm. At the same time twist your opponent’s left wrist inwardly and down.

Lesson #3

Place your right hand on your opponent’s left arm at the elbow.

Take your opponent’s left hand at the wrist with your left, raising it inwardly, using your right to push his elbow forward.

This will turn your opponent so his back will face you. Draw his left arm up, twisting the wrist with your left, taking a firm hold of your opponent’s coat collar with your right.

Lesson #4

Place your right hand on your opponent’s left arm at the elbow.

Take your opponent’s left hand at the wrist with your left, raising it inwardly, using your right to push his elbow forward.

This will turn your opponent so his back will face you. Draw his left arm up, twisting the wrist with your left, taking a firm hold of your opponent’s chin with your right and twist his head backwards.

Lesson #5

Take your opponent’s left hand with your right so your thumb will rest on the back of his knuckles and your four fingers on the ball of your opponent’s hand.

Raise his hand as shown in the above illustration, hold it firmly.

Press your opponent’s hand backwards with your thumb and at the same time twist his hand to the right with your fingers.

Lesson #6

Should a person make an attempt to strike you with either hand…

…stiffen the fingers of your left hand and strike your opponent in the neck.

Follow this up by placing your right around his waist, drawing him closely to you and pressing firmly on his neck with your left.

Lesson #7

Take your opponent firmly by the lapels of the coat, drawing him to you.

Throw the coat over his shoulders, drawing your opponent’s arms firmly together.

Step to right quickly, placing your left leg behind your opponent’s left, giving a sudden push backwards and to the right will result in a throw.

Lesson #8

Grasp your opponent’s right with your left so as your fingers will rest in the centre of his hand and your thumb or the back of your opponent’s, close to the wrist.

Raise your opponent’s arm over your head, striking him in the solar plexus with your right, holding firmly with left, going under as indicated by the above illustration.

As shown by the above you have your opponent’s right arm twisted and in a position where he is at your mercy.

Lesson #9

Should a person shake his finger in your face and about to strike…

…take a firm hold with both your hands so your thumbs will rest on the back of your opponent’s hand.

Press the hand back with your thumbs and at the same time twist your opponent’s hand to the left and downward.

Lesson #10

Take your opponent’s right, using your right so that thumb will rest on the back of his hand and your first three fingers in the palm of your opponent’s.

Step to the left; raise your opponent’s arm, taking hold with both hands…

…pressing inward and twist to the right. You should always keep your opponent’s arm raised, which will cause him to bend forward.

Lesson #11

Should a person take hold of you by the lapel of your coat with intentions of causing you bodily harm…

…and you should try to break the hold after your opponent had you by the back of the neck…

…hold him firmly by the arms with both hands, raise your right leg, pressing it firmly against his left, above the knee, as above illustrated. You will find it very effective.

Lesson #12

Should a thief reach to steal your pin or diamond stud on the street or in a public place…

…use your left hand, placing your three first fingers firmly on his hand, forcing his arm to the left.

Take two steps to the right, holding your opponent’s arm upward, and you will have him at your mercy.

Lesson #13

Take your opponent’s right with your left firmly by the wrist as above illustrated.

Twist your opponent’s arm to the left as you are about to raise it; at the same time go under, holding firmly with your left.

Place your right to your opponent’s throat, taking a firm hold, pressing downward with your left; you can either choke your victim or break his arm.

Lesson #14

Should you get into an argument with a person and have your hat on, which is sometimes the case…

…and you are about to be attacked, pretend to raise your hat a casual way with your right hand.

Lean forward, striking your opponent in the face with your hat and using your left, sending it to his solar plexus.

Lesson #15

Place your right arm inside your opponent’s left as above illustrated, step to the right…

…and inward, raising your opponent’s arm as shown above…

…forcing your opponent’s arm up, which will cause him to bend forward in great pain he cannot resist.

Lesson #16

Take your opponent firmly by the left wrist with left hand as shown above…

…force your opponent’s hand up and twist to the left, gripping firmly with your left, at the same time have your right ready to…

…take hold of your opponent’s left hand as above shown. You can then twist his arm at your will, which is very painful.

Lesson #17

Should a person take hold of you by the lapel of your coat with the intention of doing you bodily harm…

…force your arms up between your opponent’s. This must be done quickly, and step forward.

Bring your left arm outside and under your opponent’s right, placing your right to his shoulder and your left firmly on your right, which will cause your opponent much pain.

Lesson #18

Take your opponent’s lefthand with your right. Have the thumb rest on the back and your four fingers on the ball of his hand.

Raise the hand as indicated above, turning your opponent’s wrist to the right.

Hold firmly with your right and pass your left under the arm as above illustrated.

Grasp your opponent’s left at about the wrist with your left. Pressing downward you then have your right free and have opponent at your mercy.

Lesson #19

Should you get into an argument…

…and your opponent should clinch as above illustrated…

…place your right to opponent’s nose and push. He will be more than willing to release his hold.

You can then follow up with your left, which leaves your right free to take hold, same as lesson W.

Lesson #20

Should a person point a revolver in your face to hold you up or otherwise, do not make a false move with either hand, keep cool.

Direct your left to your opponent’s wrist, forcing his arm to the right, hold firmly, then grasp the back of the hand with your right.

Hold firmly with your left, force inwardly with the right; this must be done quickly.

Turn your opponent’s wrist with your right, holding his arm up. You can then take the revolver from him with your left very easily. N. B. [observe carefully] This should be practiced by removing chamber from revolver.

Lesson #21

Should you become involved in an argument and your opponent…

…grasps you by the throat, as above illustrated…

…take a firm hold of his index finger with your left, draw his hand up and to the left, run your right under his left arm.

Place your wrist over your opponent’s, as above illustrated, pressing firmly down with your right. You have then reversed the positions and have your opponent at your mercy.

The Montford Marines

For the record, everyone who has put on a uniform or carried a rifle.

Thinks that they had a very rough time of it. Well if one joins any outfit that even comes close to being a combat unit. Will almost always thinks this way.

But these Folks were different as they faced a real shit storm and made it happen. Here is their story!

 

http://taskandpurpose.com/families-original-montford-point-marines-honored-congressional-gold-medals/

Desegregation in the United States Marine Corps

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

^{[image 1]} Howard P. Perry, the first African-American US Marine Corps recruit following Executive Order 8802

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a desegregated force, made up of troops of all races working and fighting alongside each other. In 1776 and 1777, a dozen Black American Marines served in the American Revolutionary War, but from 1798 to 1942, the USMC followed a racially discriminatory policy of denying African Americans the opportunity to serve as Marines. For more than 140 years, the Marines recruited primarily European Americans and white Hispanics, along with a few Asian Americans.
The USMC opened its doors to blacks in June 1942, with the acceptance of African Americans as recruits in segregated all-black units. Other races were accepted somewhat more easily, joining white Marine units. For the next few decades, the incorporation of black troops was not widely accepted within the Corps, nor was desegregation smoothly or quickly achieved. Spurred by executive orders in 1941 and 1948, the integration of non-white USMC personnel proceeded in stages from segregated battalions in 1942, to unified training in 1949, and finally full integration in 1960.^[1]
By 2006, approximately 20% of the USMC was Black American and 15–18% Hispanic;^[2] more than the 30 to 31% of the U.S. ratio of minorities in the general population.^[3]

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1History
  • 1.1Background
  • 1.2Franklin Roosevelt administration
  • 1.3World War II
  • 1.41948 to 1960
• 2Representation in other media
• 3See also
• 4References
  • 4.1Images

History

Background

Marine Commandant William Ward Burrows enforced a policy against enlisting “Blacks and Mulattoes”.^[4]

 
In America, blacks fought alongside whites in the Continental Army against Great Britain, and in every war up to the War of 1812. The first black American to fight in a Marine role was John Martin, also known as Keto, the slave of a Delaware man, recruited in April 1776 without his owner’s permission by Captain of the Marines Miles Pennington of the Continental brig USS Reprisal.
Martin served with the Marine platoon on the Reprisal for a year and a half, involved in hard ship-to-ship fighting, but was lost with the rest of his unit when the brig sank in October 1777.^[4]
At least 12 other black men served with various American Marine units in 1776–1777; more may have been in service but not identified as blacks in the records.
However, in 1798 when the Marine Corps was officially re-instituted, Secretary of War James McHenry specified in its rules: “No Negro, Mulatto or Indian to be enlisted”.^[4]
Marine Commandant William Ward Burrows instructed his recruiters regarding USMC racial policy, “You can make use of Blacks and Mulattoes while you recruit, but you cannot enlist them.”^[4]
This policy was in line with long-standing British naval practice which set a higher standard of unit cohesion for Marines so that they would remain loyal, maintain shipboard discipline and help put down mutinies.^[4]
In the United States Civil War, some 180,000 African Americans joined the Union Army and mostly served in support roles as teamsters, laborers, construction workers and cooks.^{[citation needed]}
Some fought the Confederate Army under European American officers in segregated units. In later conflicts, the United States Army used black soldiers in the Spanish–American War and in World War I.
However, when the United States Army Air Service was formed, only white people were allowed.^[5] Mexican Americans served in World War I integrated with European Americans in all of the service arms.^[6]
The United States Navy used black sailors as cooks, stewards, construction workers and unskilled labor, but did not train them to fight.
The Marine Corps, being a combat arm of the Navy, did not recruit any black soldiers. Instead, the USMC was serviced by US Navy supply personnel including black laborers.
Unlike the US Army which had separate regiments that a soldier could remain in for his entire military career, Marines were individually transferred to various ship’s detachments and naval bases.
After World War I, the number of blacks in both the Navy and the Army was reduced to about 1.5% of the total number of active servicemen, a proportion much lower than the number of blacks in the general population.^[5]

Franklin Roosevelt administration[edit]

^{[image 2]} President Franklin Delano Roosevelt prohibited racial discrimination in the military.

 
During the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the growing political power of African Americans was increasingly felt in Washington, DC. Civil rights groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League, and the National Negro Congress called for greater equality between the races.
In 1938, the Committee on Participation of Negroes in the National Defense Program was formed by the Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper with a large black readership. Further calls to increase the proportion of blacks in the military were published in 1939.^[5]
After wars broke out in the late 1930s in Africa, China and Europe, black community leaders determined to use the black workforce’s loyalty as leverage to gain greater racial equality at home.
In June 1940, the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis, published a declaration that the fighting around the world was certainly bad, “but the hysterical cries of the preachers of democracy for Europe leave us cold. We want democracy in Alabama, Arkansas, in Mississippi and Michigan, in the District of Columbia, in the Senate of the United States.”^[5]
During the 1940 presidential election, both parties courted the black vote. Incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was re-elected, partly because substantial numbers of black voters crossed previous party lines and voted for the Democratic Party candidate.
In April 1941 the US Navy convened its General Board to discuss expansion of the USMC. Major General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the Marines, who lived in Delaware and Washington, DC in his early years and attended private schools, said that African Americans had no right to serve as Marines.
He said, “If it were a question of having a Marine Corps of 5,000 whites or 250,000 Negroes, I would rather have the whites.”^[7]
In 1941, civil rights activists Bayard Rustin, A. Philip Randolph, and A. J. Muste pushed Roosevelt to order fair employment for blacks in the federal government.
The activists threatened to march on Washington, DC, in July 1941, and Roosevelt intended to prevent such a public relations disaster for his presidency.
On June 25, 1941, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802; the elimination of racial discrimination from federal departments, agencies, the military, and from private defense contractors. The black activists cancelled their planned march.
Directed by Roosevelt and US Navy Secretary Frank Knox to accept black recruits, Holcomb proposed a separate battalion of African Americans, a seacoast defense battalion armed with anti-aircraft and anti-shipping artillery.
To make this battalion self-supporting, Holcomb determined that it would contain a rifle company, special weapons platoons, and a light tank platoon—all manned by black Marines.^[7]

World War II[edit]

In early 1942, Philip Johnston, a U.S. Army veteran of World War I, suggested to the USMC that they follow the example of the Army and recruit native speakers of the Navajo language to pass important tactical messages by radio, to serve as code talkers on the battlefield.
On May 5, 1942, the first group of 29 Navajo recruits was accepted at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.^[8] From 1942 to 1945, some 375 to 420 Navajo trained as code talkers, part of about 540 Marines who were native Navajo speakers during World War II.
All of these soldiers served in desegregated units alongside Marines of various races.^[9] A total of 874 Native Americans of various tribes served in the USMC in World War II.^[10]
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, men of Japanese birth and descent were classified as enemy aliens and excluded from the United States draft.
In addition, on the US mainland, the federal government forced most ethnic Japanese Americans to relocate from Pacific coastal areas to internment camps located inland of the Pacific and controlled by armed guards.
It was not until 1944 that a fighting unit of Japanese-American Nisei (American-born) men were recruited and trained for military service. Japanese Americans were allowed to join only the Army, not the Navy, Marines or Air Corps.^[10] The 442nd Infantry Regiment, consisting primarily of Japanese Americans, fought in Europe.
The USMC did not form battalions of Asian Americans. Rather, it integrated Asian-American recruits with European-American soldiers.^{[citation needed]} The first Chinese American USMC officer, Wilbur Carl Sze, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1943.^[11][12]
In contemporary times, proportionately fewer Asian Americans join the U.S. military than appear in the U.S. general population.^[13]

^{[image 3]} Marines at Montford Point show their dress uniforms.

 
On June 1, 1942, the initial group of black USMC recruits was admitted, but they were not immediately trained because separate, segregated facilities had not been completed.
Black volunteers began their basic training in August at Montford Point in North Carolina, a satellite base to Marine Barracks, New River, later called Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
The first black recruit to arrive in camp was Howard P. Perry on August 26, followed that day by 12 others.^[14] These and subsequent recruits were organized into the 51st Composite Defense Battalion,^[15] a static artillery unit intended to hold land against attack.
By October 29, only 647 of a planned 1,200 recruits had passed entrance examinations—to avoid forming segregated training units to teach typing, truck driving and other specialist skills necessary to run the battalion.
Holcomb required more than half of the recruits to demonstrate proficiency in these skills prior to acceptance.^[7] This requirement was dropped in view of the delay it caused in bringing the battalion up to strength.
Recruits were taught specialist skills by white USMC instructors brought into Montford Point, or they were sent to nearby Army classes.^[7]
The black recruits were not allowed in Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white Marine, and their service papers were stamped “Colored”.^[16]
Although the U.S. was by this time fully engaged in war, the recruits were assigned to inactive duty in the Marine Corps Reserve.
Their units were segregated—all the enlisted servicemen were black, with white officers and drill instructors.
The commander of the black Marines at Montford Point was Samuel A. Woods Jr who worked to enforce segregation, protecting his troops from being detained by local authorities while they were visiting town.^[17] By early 1943, the white drill instructors were leaving for war and were being replaced by black sergeants and corporals.^[16]

^] Members of the 3d Ammunition Company, part of the 2nd Marine Division, relax with a captured bicycle during a break from their role in the Battle of Saipan.

 
After accepting more black recruits, the USMC formed the 52nd Defense Battalion. Both the 51st and 52nd shipped out to fight in the Pacific War, but as defense units holding land far behind the front lines they did not see much action.^[18]
In total, 19,168 African Americans joined the Marines, about 4% of the USMC’s strength; some 75% of them performed their duties overseas. About 8,000 black USMC stevedores and ammunition handlers served under enemy fire during offensive operations in the Pacific.
Following the June 1944 Battle of Saipan, USMC General Alexander Vandegrift said of the steadfast performance of the all-black 3d Marine Ammunition Company: “The Negro Marines are no longer on trial. They are Marines, period.”^[1]

1948 to 1960[edit]

After World War II, the USMC reduced in size; the number of African-American Marines dropped to 2,000 men, which was one-tenth of wartime levels.^[1]
In 1947, the Marine Corps forced African-American men to choose between leaving the service or becoming a steward (a food service position).^[1]
A few non-white Marines advanced in grade, such as Kurt Chew-Een Lee, a Chinese-American soldier who was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1946. Lee earned the Navy Cross under fire in Korea in September 1950, serving in the 1st Battalion 7th Marines; at the time this was a primarily Euro-American unit.^[19]
On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the U.S. military regardless of race.
He appointed the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, two of whose five members were African American. In January 1949, the Fahy Committee (nicknamed after its chairman) met to hear concerns by armed forces’ leaders about the new executive order, and both the Army and the Marine Corps leadership defended their practices of segregation.
The Navy and the newly formed United States Air Force announced their intentions to follow the order. The USMC said that it had only one black officer among 8,200 white ones.^[20]
In late 1949, all-black USMC units persisted, but the Marines had black and white recruits beginning to train together. The few black USMC officers were assigned exclusively to black units; they were not asked to lead white Marines into combat.
In 1952 after two years of the Korean War, the Marines cautiously integrated blacks into combat units.^[1] In the late 1950s, black Marines were not rewarded with preferred or high-visibility assignments, such as embassy guard duty and guard duty in the nation’s capital.^[1]
By 1960, full integration of the races had been completed by the USMC, but racial tensions flared up through the next decade, a period of civil rights activism in the larger society.^[1]

Representation in other media[edit]

In May 2011, The Black Rep of Saint Louis, Missouri gave the world premier of The Montford Point Marine, a new play by Samm-Art Williams about a veteran of the unit and his life after his groundbreaking training and service in Korea.^[21]

See also[edit]

• United States Marine Corps portal

• Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps
• History of the United States Marine Corps
• Military history of African Americans
• Montford Point Marine Association

Montford Point Marine Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the nonprofit organization. For the article about the military base, see Montford Point.

Montford Point Marine Association, Inc

Website	montfordpointmarines.com

The Montford Point Marine Association (MPMA) is a nonprofit military veteran’s organization, founded to memorialize the legacy of the first African Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps. The first African American U.S. Marines were trained at Camp Montford Point, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, from 1942 to 1949.
The association’s stated creed is:

To promote and preserve the strong bonds of friendship born from shared adversities and to devote ourselves to the furtherance of these accomplishments to ensure more peaceful times.

The organization supports educational assistance programs, veterans programs, and community services, with an emphasis on improving the social conditions of the growing population of military veterans who are disabled or senior citizens.
Membership in the nonprofit organization is open to veterans and active members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces regardless of race, creed, or national origin. The MPMA also hosts the MPMA Ladies Auxiliary. Membership in the Ladies Auxiliary is open to wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers of members or former members of the United States Armed Forces.

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1History of Camp Montford Point
• 2Notable Montford Point Marines
• 3Appearances in Popular Culture
• 4See also
• 5References
• 6External links

History of Camp Montford Point[edit]

Reuben J. McNair, Sr., and a fellow veteran of the Montford Point Marine Association, converses with a present-day African American Marine officer.

In 1940 while the United States prepared for war, millions of jobs in the defense industry were being created. Blacks seeking jobs in the growing defense industries suffered violence and discrimination. Many black leaders, including A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the most widely known spokesperson for black working-class interests in the United States, met with Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration to demand that he sign an executive order banning discrimination against black workers in the defense industry. Randolph threatened to bring tens of thousands of marchers to Washington, D.C. On June 25, 1941, days before the march was to occur, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which barred government agencies and federal contractors from refusing employment in industries engaged in defense production on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. It was the first Presidential decree issued on race since Reconstruction. The order required the armed services, including the Marine Corps, to recruit and enlist African Americans.
Recruiting for the “Montford Marines” began on June 1, 1942. Thousands of African American men, eager to serve, flocked to recruiting offices. The first black recruits received basic training at the segregated Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The 1,200 men in the quota were housed in prefabricated huts. Racism continued in the Marine Corps after the issuance of Executive Order 9981, reflecting that in the society. Railroad tracks divided white residents from the camp for African American troops, and the black recruits were not allowed to enter the main base of nearby Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white Marine. By 1945, all drill instructors and many NCOs at Montford Point were African Americans.
Between 1942 and 1949, more than 20,000 men were trained at Montford Point. In July 1948, despite strong opposition from Democrats of the segregated South, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which required the desegregation of the military. In 1949 Montford Point was deactivated, and new black recruits were sent to Parris Islandand Camp Pendleton. During the Korean War, the United States Marine Corps fully integrated.
In 1965, a reunion of Marines was held in Philadelphia which included former Montford Point Marines along with Marines on active duty. With more than 400 Marines from throughout the United States gathered, they decided to establish the Montford Point Marine Association as a nonprofit veterans organization, to preserve military history and help people in need. The association has many chapters, and is a member of the Marine Corps Council, a council of Marine-related service groups.
The Montford Point Marine Association maintains archives, and the Montford Point Marines Museum at Camp Gilbert H. Johnson, Jacksonville, North Carolina. It holds an annual convention to celebrate the Montford Point Marines, make organizational decisions, and distribute scholarships.
On 27 June 2012, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Montford Point Marines.

Notable Montford Point Marines[edit]

• Sgt. Maj. Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson, one of the first African Americans to enlist and serve as a drill instructor in the Marine Corps
• David Dinkins, former Mayor of New York City

• 

  Training picture of Eugene Groves, one of the first African Americans to enlist in the United States Marine Corps and train at Montford Point
• 

  Sgt Maj Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson, one of the first African American drill instructors in the Marine Corps

Appearances in Popular Culture[edit]

The main character of the long-running crime drama NCIS, Leroy Jethro Gibbs is played by Mark Harmon and his character is named for his father’s best friend, Leroy Jethro Moore, a Montford Point Marine (played by Billy Dee Williams). The character L.J. Moore was depicted receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Pacific Theater of World War II, notably only receiving the medal after corrective actions were taken by U.S. Congress in 1996. A photo showing Williams shaking hands with President Bill Clinton was also displayed, lending some extra realism to the story. The episode titled The Namesake was the fifth episode of the tenth season and originally aired on CBS on October 30, 2012. The episode ends with a dedication to the Montford Point Marines “Honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, June 27, 2012.”