Talk:Gilbert Johnson

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An entry from Gilbert Johnson appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on October 27, 2006.

In May 1943, he replaced the USMC's last white drill instructor at Montford Point, First Sergeant Robert W. Colwell

A bit ambiquous wording, as this could be read as Robert W. Colwell was last white DI ever in Marine Corps. --131.207.236.198 06:25, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I had the same impression. I'm taking it out; if someone wants to reword or provide a reference, they can put it back in. Wordie 14:47, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hashmark

How can the reason for his nickname be that he wore hashmarks? Everyone wears hashmarks after four years. It's like nicknaming a Marine "Shoes" or "Cover". Did he invent them or something? All I can think of is that it means he wore the hashmarks he earned in the Navy during his first enlistment in the Corps; if so, the article should clarify that. It's not just that he wore them, it's that he wore them from day one. I'm not going to change it myself because I'm just speculating at the reason behind it. Can anyone shed some light here? Kafziel ^Talk 19:28, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Apparently he had some outlining features, e.g. in the context of segregation. --Brand спойт 13:42, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't disagree that he's notable. But the article says, "He earned his nickname because of wearing on the sleeve of his Marine Corps uniform three diagonal stripes (hashmarks), indicating successful previous enlistments." First of all, I would hope he wore more than three if he was in the service for 32 years. He should have had seven or eight by the end (depending on when he got out). In any event, if this is trying to say he wore three hashmarks from the beginning of his USMC enlistment (one earned in the army and two in the navy), it should just come out and say it. It's been a few days, so I guess at this point I'll just look into it myself and fix it. Kafziel ^Talk 14:07, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

I mean most likely because of none of African Americans had similar achievements before, Johnson gained such a nickname, in the beginning of his career. --Brand спойт 14:18, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Right, but that's the thing - the article didn't say "at the beginning of his career". It just said he wore hashmarks at some point, which is nothing special in and of itself. I've fixed it, added a cite, and created the article for Montford Point (where he earned the nickname). Kafziel ^Talk 14:37, 1 November 2006 (UTC)