About

The Marine Corps was the last military service in the United States to accept black volunteers. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt by executive order 8802, called for an end to discriminatory practices based on color, race creed, or national origin within the armed forces. It wasn't until 1942 that the US Marines complied, and when they did, African American volunteers did not at the traditional boot camps of Parris Island, South Carolina or San Diego, California. African American Marines were trained at a segregated facility in New River, North Carolina near Camp Lejeune. This first group of African American Marines came to be known as the Montford Point Marines. In this edition, producer Deborah Holt talks to a Montford Point Marine and to a retired marine officer who is not only a product of the valor of the men at Montford Point but is also one of only 13 African Americans who have earned the rank of General in the United States Marine Corps.