thedrifter
02-20-07, 11:08 AM
U. City man keeps story of first black Marines alive
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/20/2007
As William Washington walked me through his University City home, he popped open cabinet doors and showed me jars of preserved pickles, relish, beets and tomatoes.
"All of this comes from my garden," Washington, 81, proudly said, pointing out a window to his snow-covered yard.
In his den, he showed me nearly 300 videotapes of interviews with notable blacks and TV dramas and documentaries on black history.
Washington likes to preserve things. But what he is most passionate about is in his basement. There, adorning the walls and every nook and cranny of the room, are photos, collages, news articles, medals and other paraphernalia from Montford Point, N.C., the Marine Corps' first boot camp for African-American recruits.
"I meet young people today who know very little about their history. Even fewer people know about the Montford Pointers," Washington said.
Washington was among the first blacks inducted into the modern-day Marines. He was drafted in 1943; two years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order mandating that blacks be recruited into all the armed forces.
In 1942, the Marines established Montford Point (now called Camp Johnson) a segregated basic training camp for blacks, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, N.C.
Montford Pointers suffered unusual indignities both on and off base. In the early years, all-white officers who ran the camps made no effort to hide their racism. The soldiers were never allowed to achieve officer status. Blacks were in service positions, supporting white Marines in battle. But when the smoke cleared, Montford Pointers went back to their segregated units.
After an incident in Jacksonville, where Washington and other Montford Pointers had to stand and wait "in the cold and rain," while white passengers boarded a bus, he went to his superiors and asked for an immediate transfer overseas.
"The provost marshal told me 'Son, you have to abide by the rules in the state of North Carolina,'" Washington recalled.
He served the remainder of his tour in Guam.
In the early 1950s, Washington returned to St. Louis where he worked various jobs, eventually retiring from General Motors after 25 years.
I asked Washington if he held any bitterness about his days as a Montford Pointer.
"Nah. We knew we were on trial, making history. Yes, it was something else — not being allowed to be the full person you are. But blacks back then … we just didn't want to fail. I'm just proud to be a part of history … black history."
Before President Harry S Truman issued an executive order in 1948 ending segregation in the armed forces, more than 20,000 blacks trained in combat and in supply at Montford Point.
The Montford Point Marines never received the recognition given to other black military units like the Buffalo Soldiers or Tuskegee Airmen.
Melton A. McLaurin, author of "The Marines of Montford Point: America's First Black Marines," has said that Montford Pointers lacked the "glamour factor" of direct combat companies. This despite the fact that Montford Pointers hit the beaches of Iwo Jima on the first day of the invasion.
In 1965, Montford Pointers began establishing chapters, open to all blacks who served in the military. But Washington is worried. He fears that when he and his fellow Pointers die, their story will die with them.
Washington was pleased when I told him about McLaurin's new book and the documentary he wrote and directed on Montford Point Marines, narrated by actor Louis Gossett Jr.
"Oh, that'll be fine. There's not many of us left, you know. It's important that we get things moving along, so that young Marines and kids know the history of the Montford Point Marines."
Ellie
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/20/2007
As William Washington walked me through his University City home, he popped open cabinet doors and showed me jars of preserved pickles, relish, beets and tomatoes.
"All of this comes from my garden," Washington, 81, proudly said, pointing out a window to his snow-covered yard.
In his den, he showed me nearly 300 videotapes of interviews with notable blacks and TV dramas and documentaries on black history.
Washington likes to preserve things. But what he is most passionate about is in his basement. There, adorning the walls and every nook and cranny of the room, are photos, collages, news articles, medals and other paraphernalia from Montford Point, N.C., the Marine Corps' first boot camp for African-American recruits.
"I meet young people today who know very little about their history. Even fewer people know about the Montford Pointers," Washington said.
Washington was among the first blacks inducted into the modern-day Marines. He was drafted in 1943; two years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order mandating that blacks be recruited into all the armed forces.
In 1942, the Marines established Montford Point (now called Camp Johnson) a segregated basic training camp for blacks, adjacent to Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, N.C.
Montford Pointers suffered unusual indignities both on and off base. In the early years, all-white officers who ran the camps made no effort to hide their racism. The soldiers were never allowed to achieve officer status. Blacks were in service positions, supporting white Marines in battle. But when the smoke cleared, Montford Pointers went back to their segregated units.
After an incident in Jacksonville, where Washington and other Montford Pointers had to stand and wait "in the cold and rain," while white passengers boarded a bus, he went to his superiors and asked for an immediate transfer overseas.
"The provost marshal told me 'Son, you have to abide by the rules in the state of North Carolina,'" Washington recalled.
He served the remainder of his tour in Guam.
In the early 1950s, Washington returned to St. Louis where he worked various jobs, eventually retiring from General Motors after 25 years.
I asked Washington if he held any bitterness about his days as a Montford Pointer.
"Nah. We knew we were on trial, making history. Yes, it was something else — not being allowed to be the full person you are. But blacks back then … we just didn't want to fail. I'm just proud to be a part of history … black history."
Before President Harry S Truman issued an executive order in 1948 ending segregation in the armed forces, more than 20,000 blacks trained in combat and in supply at Montford Point.
The Montford Point Marines never received the recognition given to other black military units like the Buffalo Soldiers or Tuskegee Airmen.
Melton A. McLaurin, author of "The Marines of Montford Point: America's First Black Marines," has said that Montford Pointers lacked the "glamour factor" of direct combat companies. This despite the fact that Montford Pointers hit the beaches of Iwo Jima on the first day of the invasion.
In 1965, Montford Pointers began establishing chapters, open to all blacks who served in the military. But Washington is worried. He fears that when he and his fellow Pointers die, their story will die with them.
Washington was pleased when I told him about McLaurin's new book and the documentary he wrote and directed on Montford Point Marines, narrated by actor Louis Gossett Jr.
"Oh, that'll be fine. There's not many of us left, you know. It's important that we get things moving along, so that young Marines and kids know the history of the Montford Point Marines."
Ellie