First Black Marines Legacy Revealed

First Black Marines Legacy Revealed
Marine Corps News | November 20, 2007

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP JOHNSON, N.C.-- Although the history of the Montford Point Marines is not very well known, these Marines played a significant role in shaping the Marine Corps of today, said Ronald K. Culp, author of the new book The First Black Marines.

“Before I began researching the history of Montford Point, I realized that everyone knew about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Buffalo Soldiers, but no one really knew about the Montford Marines,” said Culp.

Culp has spent more then four years researching the Montford Point Marines, who were the first black men to enlist into a then segregated Marine Corps.

This is only the tip of the iceberg regarding their story, said Culp.

The book covers the history, life and legacy of the Marines who went through the training at Montford Point from 1942-1946. Training at Montford point began on June 25, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 establishing the fair employment practice that began to erase discrimination in the armed forces.

Following its implementation in 1942, Montford Point opened its doors to the Marine Corps’s first black recruits at what is now Camp Johnson, a satellite facility of Camp Lejeune.


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