June 27, 2012 - Today Congress took a step to right an injustice.They awarded the Congressional Gold Medal -- the highest civilian honor -- to the Montford Point Marines, the first African-Americans to serve in the corps. Their sacrifices were long overlooked.
Hundreds of surviving members attended the ceremony. Ninety-year-old James "Rudy" Carter, born in North Carolina, was just 19 years old when he enlisted.
"I always hated segregation and Jim Crow from birth because it was morally wrong and I just hated it," Carter said.
He said he joined the Marine Corps. "because this would give me the chance to become an American - a full-fledged citizen."
In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the Marines to accept African Americans. For the next eight years they served in black-only units -- commanded by white officers -- and they trained on a segregated base in a Jacksonville, North Carolina called Montford Point. read more>>>
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Country, Finally, Honors First African American Marines!
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