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Book Cover
E-book
Author McLaurin, Melton Alonza, author.

Title The Marines of Montford Point : America's first Black Marines / Melton A. McLaurin
Published Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2007]

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Description 1 online resource (x, 202 pages) : illustrations, maps
Contents Home towns -- Joining up -- Getting there -- Training at Montford Point -- Resisting segregation in the civilian world -- Fighting segregation in the Corps -- Combat and service: World War II -- Combat and service: Korea and Vietnam -- Legacy -- Epilogue: interviewee biographies
Summary 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 Two 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 Two, 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
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [193]-196) and indexes
Notes English
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on September 07, 2023)
Subject United States. Marine Corps -- African Americans -- History -- 20th century
SUBJECT United States. Marine Corps fast
Subject SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Ethnic Studies -- African American Studies.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Marine & Naval.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Military Science.
African Americans
Race relations
Military & Naval Science.
Law, Politics & Government.
Marines.
SUBJECT Montford Point Camp (Camp Lejeune, N.C.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2006067169
Camp Lejeune (N.C.) -- History -- 20th century
United States -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
Subject North Carolina -- Camp Lejeune
United States
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2006028179
ISBN 9781469605227
1469605228
9780807898628
0807898627