jetdauwgg
10-06-14, 11:02 AM
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2014-10-05/widow-montford-point-marine-receives-his-congressional-gold-medal
PORT ROYAL, S.C. — America’s first president and Master Sgt. George Jackson of Beaufort now share a special bond. Both men have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Terry Williams presented Jackson’s posthumous medal to his wife, Ella, 93, at Helena Place Senior Living. In August, Jackson was verified and registered as an Original Montford Point Marine by the Montford Point Marine Association.
Twenty thousand black Marines attended segregated basic training at Montford Point at Camp Lejeune, N.C., from 1942 to 1949, according to the association. Jackson was one of the first.
The Congressional Gold Medal is “often considered the most distinguished” recognition that Congress bestows, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
While presenting the medal Thursday, Williams, recently appointed Parris Island Commanding General, emphasized the challenges that black Marines faced at the time. He said those sacrifices set the stage for him and countless others.
“You’ve got to ask yourself why a great American would want to join an organization that at the time didn’t necessarily want to keep African Americans in their ranks,” he said. “In fact, the plan was after the war was over, to push them all out.”
Before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, Jackson served in the Army, and he took a cut in rank to join the Marines. Why did he have such determination to join the Marine Corps?
“I think, partially, because it wasn’t allowed. He said it made him feel like he was less than a man. And he knew he was a man,” said Jackson’s granddaughter, Damore Scoon, who said he enlisted with no hesitation. “That’s when they were at war. He said there was no question, even knowing that when he finished his basic training, he was shipping out.”
Williams told the crowd of several hundred that some of the men sought Infantry positions in the Pacific but were not allowed. Instead, they were pushed to the rear, where they were expected to be marginalized running ammunition. But it didn’t turn out that way.
“They forgot that the ammo companies had to make runs. And this is just one example. They were making runs for ammo to the front lines. And they were running up there, fighting their way up there,” he said.
A new wave of leadership saw what was going on. And changes were coming.
“The experiment of whether we have black Marines is over,” Williams said. “They’re just Marines.”
As for what Jackson would think of receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, both Scoon and Tracey Phillips, another grandchild, recalled their grandfather’s humble nature.
“I personally think this would be too much,” Phillips said. “He’d say, ‘oh, no. I just did my job.’ … Never even afterwards, he never sought glory.”
Scoon said her grandfather always considered the contributions of his fellow Marines and proudly displayed the Montford Point banner.
“He wouldn’t want to be singled out,” Scoon said. “In his mind it was a group. Whenever he talked about it, it was ‘us.’ It was always ‘us.’ ”
Both women remembered the Marine call their grandfather would issue when he had finished cooking them a meal. His specialty was fried chicken and cornbread pancakes.
Jackson was born in 1918 in Long Island, N.Y. He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. . He retired to Beaufort, where he helped establish the Montford Point Marine Association Beaufort Chapter in 1973. Jackson died in 1987 and was buried in Beaufort National Cemetery.
PORT ROYAL, S.C. — America’s first president and Master Sgt. George Jackson of Beaufort now share a special bond. Both men have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Terry Williams presented Jackson’s posthumous medal to his wife, Ella, 93, at Helena Place Senior Living. In August, Jackson was verified and registered as an Original Montford Point Marine by the Montford Point Marine Association.
Twenty thousand black Marines attended segregated basic training at Montford Point at Camp Lejeune, N.C., from 1942 to 1949, according to the association. Jackson was one of the first.
The Congressional Gold Medal is “often considered the most distinguished” recognition that Congress bestows, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
While presenting the medal Thursday, Williams, recently appointed Parris Island Commanding General, emphasized the challenges that black Marines faced at the time. He said those sacrifices set the stage for him and countless others.
“You’ve got to ask yourself why a great American would want to join an organization that at the time didn’t necessarily want to keep African Americans in their ranks,” he said. “In fact, the plan was after the war was over, to push them all out.”
Before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, Jackson served in the Army, and he took a cut in rank to join the Marines. Why did he have such determination to join the Marine Corps?
“I think, partially, because it wasn’t allowed. He said it made him feel like he was less than a man. And he knew he was a man,” said Jackson’s granddaughter, Damore Scoon, who said he enlisted with no hesitation. “That’s when they were at war. He said there was no question, even knowing that when he finished his basic training, he was shipping out.”
Williams told the crowd of several hundred that some of the men sought Infantry positions in the Pacific but were not allowed. Instead, they were pushed to the rear, where they were expected to be marginalized running ammunition. But it didn’t turn out that way.
“They forgot that the ammo companies had to make runs. And this is just one example. They were making runs for ammo to the front lines. And they were running up there, fighting their way up there,” he said.
A new wave of leadership saw what was going on. And changes were coming.
“The experiment of whether we have black Marines is over,” Williams said. “They’re just Marines.”
As for what Jackson would think of receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, both Scoon and Tracey Phillips, another grandchild, recalled their grandfather’s humble nature.
“I personally think this would be too much,” Phillips said. “He’d say, ‘oh, no. I just did my job.’ … Never even afterwards, he never sought glory.”
Scoon said her grandfather always considered the contributions of his fellow Marines and proudly displayed the Montford Point banner.
“He wouldn’t want to be singled out,” Scoon said. “In his mind it was a group. Whenever he talked about it, it was ‘us.’ It was always ‘us.’ ”
Both women remembered the Marine call their grandfather would issue when he had finished cooking them a meal. His specialty was fried chicken and cornbread pancakes.
Jackson was born in 1918 in Long Island, N.Y. He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. . He retired to Beaufort, where he helped establish the Montford Point Marine Association Beaufort Chapter in 1973. Jackson died in 1987 and was buried in Beaufort National Cemetery.