Montford Point

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montford Point was a United States Marine Corps recruit depot in North Carolina. Created in 1942 as a satellite of the newly constructed Camp Lejeune, Montford Point was established for the training of black Marines during segregation.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 blacks were, for the first time, permitted to join the Marine Corps. Between 1942 and 1949, the camp at Montford Point trained 20,000 African-Americans. In 1948, after Executive Order 9981, the military was ordered to fully integrate. By 1949 Montford Point was renamed Camp Gilbert H. Johnson and became the home of the Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools.