First Steps
“You can’t think of a being Marine without thinking about the Montford Pointers, because they are the beginning. You often have to question yourself. Could I have had the perseverance to come and join an organization that first didn’t want you, two that was the last to integrate?”
~ Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, 2012
~ Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, 2012
Recruits arriving at Montford Point. (Montford Point Museum)
On August 26th, 1942, the first black recruits arrived at Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina. They were met by an unwilling Marine Corps with white officers chosen for their history with African Americans.
 Map of Montford Point. (USMC Archives)
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Montford Point Marine Private Stanley W. Tapscott
(Personal Interview in May 2014) |
"We had no expectations...and we knew it was going to be rough."
~ Montford Point Marine Staff Sergeant John L. Spencer, Personal Interview on January 2014
~ Montford Point Marine Staff Sergeant John L. Spencer, Personal Interview on January 2014
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They were assigned to live in prefabricated huts which provided little protection against the temperatures and animals. When new facilities were built by the first recruits, they would barely meet living standards consisting of a single door, few windows and a coal heater in the center of the room for 40 men. They washed their own dishes outside and had no gym to exercise and play sports.
Montford Pointers washing their dishes outside. (UNCW Randall Library)
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Montford Point huts. (USMC Archives)
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"Even though we were all Marines we were kept separate. We didn't have barracks, we lived in huts, built from cardboard, painted green. Camp Lejeune had barracks but we had huts. It was located in the back woods, amid water snakes and bears."
~ Sergeant Carrel Reavis, February 3, 2014
~ Sergeant Carrel Reavis, February 3, 2014
Montford Point living quarters. (USMC Archives)
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Camp Lejeune living quarters. (USMC Archives)
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