Call To Honor First Black Marines
SAN DIEGO - Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos issued a call for the first black marines to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Speaking at the National Naval Officers Association meeting in California this week, Amos said he hopes their story will inspire more blacks to "rise through the ranks."
The top US Marine told hundreds of Corps officers that it is time for Congress to honor the group known as the Montford Point Marines.
During the 1940s, about 20,000 black Marines trained at Montford Point, North Carolina after the Marine Corps was integrated.
Amos short term goal is to "cement their role in the Marine Corps' 235-year history." His efforts are part of a broader goal in diversifying the Corps. Amos says only 5 percent of officers are black and that needs to increase.
