Breaking a tradition of 167 years the U.S. Marine Crops stated enabling Negroes on June 1st 1942. The first Negroes to enlist was P. Perry. The first class of 1200 Negroes volunteer began their three months training later as members of the 51st composite defense battalion at Mont ford Point a section of the 200m square mile Marine Base Camp Leyeune at New River N.C. Montford Point in North Carolina between 1942 and 1949 many of whom went on particularly during world war two to be held out of combat by brass who considered African American unfit for combat duty. Only about 420 Montford Point Marines are still living, the group association said about 370 made it to Washington for the ceremony in a hall connected to the US Capitol. It was in 1942 the Nation was already at war with Germany and Japan - that President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the order authorizing African American to enter the Marine Crops.
They were held out of the white training grounds and many cases were held out of combat once going through basic training. It would seem as if they were invisible. They let us know they did'nt want us and tried every thing they could to encourage us not to finish boot camp. Some of the Montford Point Marines put up with ill treatment and very hash discipline. Baxton went on to serve 28 years in the Marines including two and a half years in the Pacific during the second world war. Another African American Robert Hassier 87 of Detroit said I only joined the Marines for adventure,
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