Achieving Responsibility

 “Once upon a time, there were Giants who walked this country. These men were Giants not because of their stature but because of their comportment. They were Giants because of their honor, integrity and impeccable character. They were Giants because of their resolve, vigilance, and commitment to a country that had not committed to them.”
                                                                                                                   ~ Allen West, United States House of Representatives, 2012

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Drill Instructor Gilbert "Hashmark" Johnson drilling Marines. (USMC Archives)
   The year 1943 brought eight Montford Point Marines promoted to drill sergeant, and the first time that American military included Montford Point Marines in a newsreel.
Montford Point Marine Drill Sergeant Carol W. Braxton 
(Personal Interview in May 2014)
1940s United States Military Newsreel. (USMC Archives)

   However, Holcomb issued Letter of Instruction 421 which limited the Negroes rights and responsibilities entrusted to them by the Marine Corps.
Letter of Instruction 421, 1943 Classified Letter by S General Thomas Holcomb (PBS.org)
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   Once the men left Montford Point, they were shipped overseas to the Pacific, but not a single one was put into a combat unit. Instead, they were put in the 51st and 52nd Defense Battalions or support companies, whose purpose was to stay out of direct combat.

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Map showing were Montford Point Marines served. (USMC archives)
General James F. Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps. 
(USMC Archives)
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Monford Point Marines waiting to fight. (USMC Archives)
"There are thousands and thousands of Negroes who will make very poor material as labor battalions and mess attendants.  We mean to be fighters, no less."  
                                                                       ~ Charles Hamilton Houston, Civil Rights Leader, 1941
   
  Although these men put in supply depots were meant to bring supplies to the troops and not fight, many ended up taking weapons from fallen comrades and fighting the Japanese. These acts of bravery won them the title of the "Black Angels" among white Marines. During the Battle of Saipan, General Alexander Vandergrift recognized them as equal to their white counterparts, and the question of permanent placement ended.

"The Negro Marines are no longer on trial. They are Marines, period."
                          ~  General Alexander Vandergrift, 1943
Speaker of the House Boehner  (Marine Corps)
   The Montford Pointers took full responsibility and performed at the highest combat level eradicating racial myths. Out of the 20,000 trained at Montford Point, 87 were killed in action. At war's end, all but 1,500 were discharged by the government. 
1948 Memo on World War II Montford Point Marine deaths.
(USMC Archives)
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Last Page of 1948 Memo on World War II Montford Point Marine deaths. (USMC Archives)
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"As a high tribute to their wartime record in many parts of the world, Marine Corps authorities have announced that Negro Marines will be retained on a limited scale in the corps."
       ~ Gertrude S. Carraway and the Cooperation of the Public Information Division of Marine Corps Headquarters and Camp Lejeune Authorities, October 1946