Montford Point

Montford Point. Jackson.Onslow African-American Heritage Trail. , Acquired by the government with the rest of Camp Lejeune, Montford Point became the site of the first training camp for African American Marines. Executive Order 8802, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, ensured full participation in the nation’s defense, opening the door for blacks to enter the United States Marine Corps. Instruction began in the summer of 1942 for a small number of eager recruits such as Arnold R. Bostic, who later recalled that after the first tough day of training, his platoon “decided we are going to complete boot camp and become Marines no matter how hard they made it for us, or what anyone said.”, The training site for more than 22,000 African American Marines, Montford Point was deactivated on September 9, 1949. President Truman’s Executive Order 9981, issued earlier that year, effectively ended racial segregation in the armed forces. In 1974, in honor of Sgt. Major Gilbert H. “Hashmark” Johnson, Montford Point became Camp Johnson, the first military installation to be named after an African-American Marine., (sidebar) , Courageous Honored , The courage of the Montford Point Marines laid the foundation for equal opportunity in the United States Marine Corps., In recognition of their contributions, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines on 23 November 2011., (captions) , (center) Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson guides one of his Marines at Montford Point , (right) Drill Instructor Edgar Huff with one of the many platoons he trained.