The Death March

Fraser Road would figure in one of the legends o1 Montford Point, theso-called Death March. One o the black Marines living in the ram-shackle barracks formerly occupied by the Civilian Conservation Corps

grew bored and used his bayonet to punch a hole in a wall, which had allthe durability of cardboard. The noncommissioned officers questioned themen, who refused to identify the person guilty of the vandalism. As a result.the sergeants staged a nighttime forced march — the Death March in the loreof the Montlord Point Marines— but this failed to elicit the name they sought.According to one account, when the column reached the site of the brig onFraser Road. the black Marines decided that to go further would dishonorthe memory of a dead comrade. Corporal Gilbert Fraser. Jr.. who was killedin a training accident. They broke ranks, rushed the brig, and demanded tobe arrested—or so the legend states. Since the number of potential prisonerswould have been far too many for the structure to accommodate — they were"hanging out the windows7one of the black Marines has declared — the non-commissioned officers marched them back to the huts. Whatever the details.the incident became the source of pride and further intensified the solidarityamong Montiord Point's African-American Marines.

to see black people in their lives." A a prowling submarine by firing 11flurry of action briefly dispelled the rounds, but the Japanese craft, if ac-feeling of loneliness. On 28 March, tually present, escaped unscathed.crews of the 155mm guns at Colonel LeGette, who maintainedNanomea responded to the report of his headquarters at Funafuti, received

15

a letter from the Commandant of theMarine Corps calling attention to thepoor condition of the trucks andweapons his battalion had left behindin California. This chilling messagetended to confirm LeGette's reserva-tions about the unit. His concerns fo-cused on administrative proceduresand the maintenance of equipment,activities that required close super-vision by experienced noncommis-sioned officers, who were scarce inthe unit. The battalion commandersought to fix the blame for the short-comings that had been revealed andto correct them.

To fix responsibility, LeGette con-vened a board of investigation thatcondemned his predecessor for fail-ing to whip the battalion into shapeand recommended a trial by court-martial, but Stephenson respondedwith a spirited rejoinder that fore-stalled legal action. Most of theproblems that troubled LeGettestemmed from something over which

The Death March

F raser Road would figure in one of the legends of Montford Point, the so-called Death March. One of the black Marines living in the ram- shackle barracks formerly occupied by the Civilian Conservation Corps

grew bored and used his bavonet to punch a hole in a wall, which had all the durability of cardboard. The noncommissioned offimrs questioned the men, who retused to identify the person guilty of the vandalism. As a result, the sergeants staged a nighttime forced march- the Death March in the lore of the Montford Point Marines- but this failed to elicit the name t h w sought. According to one account, when the column reached the site of the brig on Fraser Road, the black Marines decided that to go turther would dishonor the memory of a dead comrade, Corporal Gilbert Fraser, Ir., who was killed in a training accident. They broke ranks, rushed the brig, and tlemantlecl to be arrested-or so [he legend states. Since the number ot potential prisoners would have been far too many for the structure to accommodate- they were "hanging out the windows,"one of the black Marines has declared - the non- commissioned officers marched them back to the huts. Whatever the details, the incident became the source of pride and further intensified the solidarity among Montford Point's African-American Marines.

to see black people in their lives." A a prowling submarine by firing 11 flurry of action briefly dispelled the rounds, but the Japanese craft, if ac- feeling of loneliness. On 28 March, . tually present, escaped unscathed. crews of the 155mm guns at Colonel LeGette, who maintained Nanomea responded to the report of his headquarters at Funafuti, received

a letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps calling attention to the poor condition of the trucks and weapons his battalion had left behind in California. This chilling message tended to confirm LeGette's reserva- tions about the unit. His concerns fo- cused on administrative procedures and the maintenance of equipment, activities that required close super- vision by experienced noncommis- sioned officers, who were scarce in the unit. The battalion commander sought to fix the blame for the short- comings that had been revealed and to correct them.

To fix responsibility, LeGette con- vened a board of investigation that condemned his predecessor for fail- ing to whip the battalion into shape and recommended a trial by court- martial, but Stephenson responded with a spirited rejoinder that fore- stalled legal action. Most of the problems that troubled LeGette stemmed from something over which

Stephenson had no control — the ab-sence of a cadre of veteran black non-commissioned officers, itself theresult of racial segregation and theexclusion of African-Americans fromthe prewar Marine Corps. Despite hissuccessor's complaints, Stephensonconsidered the 51st Defense Battal-ion "the finest organization in thewhole Negro program in the MarineCorps." Since the men of the unit didnot know the details of the con-troversy involving the two com-manders, morale remained high.

LeGette proposed a course of ac-tion to correct the flaws he had per-ceived. His remedy, however,included measures rendered impos-sible because of the demands of otherunits for officers and the policy ofmaintaining segregation in the enlist-ed force. He would have increasedthe number of white officers andwarrant officers assigned to the unit

and avoided the "occupational neu-rosis" resulting from service withblacks by replacing those officerswho desired to leave the battalion.He further recommended the replace-ment of enlisted men in CategoriesIV and V with individuals who hadscored better in the classificationtests, a goal that could have beenachieved only by raiding other blackunits.

The 51st Defense Battalion re-mained in the Ellice Islands roughlysix months. When the black Marinesreceived orders to depart, they care-fully cleaned and checked the equip-ment inherited from the 7th DefenseBattalion before turning everythingover to the white 10th Defense Bat-talion. LeGette's unit set sail on 8 Sep-tember 1944 for Eniwetok Atoll, avast anchorage kept under sporadicsurveillance, and occasionallyharassed, by Japanese aircraft. The

16

battalion stood ready to meet thisthreat from the skies, since it had re-organized two months earlier as anantiaircraft unit, losing its 155mmguns but adding a fourth 90mm bat-tery and exchanging its machine gunsand 20mm weapons for a second40mm battery. The restructured unitkept its searchlights and radar. Whilethe black Marines manned positionson four of the atoll's islands, ColonelLeGette on 13 December handed overthe battalion to Lieutenant ColonelGroves. A member of the unit, Her-man Darden, Jr., remembered thatthe departing commander "took usout on dress parade before he left,and stood there with tears in his eyesand told us . . . , 'You have shownme that you can soldier with the bestof 'em:

The possibility of action lingeredinto 1945, kept alive by a report ofmarauding submarines and the pos-sibility of aerial attack. One night,while the men of the 90mm antiair-craft group were watching a movie,the film abruptly stopped. ConditionRed; Japanese aircraft were on theway. "1 never saw such jubilation inmy life;' recalled Darden, for every-one responded eagerly. A Marine ona working party unloading ammuni-tion might grumble about lifting asingle 90mm round, but with com-bat seemingly minutes away, men"were running around with one un-der each arm" By dawn, the alert hadended; not even one Japanese aircrafttested the battalion's gun crews. "Andfrom that high point on," Dardensaid, "the mental attitude seemed todwindle:'

Routine settled over Eniwetok, en-veloping the unit that Groves nowcommanded. As one of its sergeantsphrased it, "routine got boresome,"punctuated only by the occasionalcrash or forced landing by Americanplanes. A major change occurred on12 June 1945, when the battalioncommander formed a 251-man com-posite group, under Major WilliamM. Tracy, for duty at Kwajalein

The Route Westhe 51st Defense Battalion's move across a segregated America beganwith a confrontation in Atlanta, Georgia, where one of the trainsstopped so the men could have breakfast. Unaware of the layout of

the Jim Crow railroad station, the noncommissioned officers moved the blackMarines into a waiting room reserved for whites, only to be halted by whitemilitary police determined to uphold local law. The African-Americans stoodready to push their way through, but the train commander arrived, conferredwith the officer in charge of the MPs, and prevented a tense situation fromturning violent.

Elsewhere, the move to the West Coast went more smoothly. During a reststop at Big Springs, Texas, one of the officers warned that this was Jim Crowcountry and urged the black Marines to be careful. They swarmed over thesmall town, however, and encountered no open hostility, obtaining serviceat the soda fountain or shooting pool at the facilities maintained for troopswhose trains stopped at Big Springs. Further west, during a two-hour layoverat Yuma, Arizona, Red Cross volunteers distributed candy, ice cream, fruit,magazines, and Bibles. One of the African-Americans, John R. Griffin, gotthe impression that "the entire city, including, the Mexicans and Indians, cameto the station to see the first Negro Defense Battalion go overseas:'

At Camp Elliott, California, where the battalion made its final prepara-tions for deployment to the Pacific, the racial climate more closely resembledAtlanta than Yuma or Big Springs. At an open-air movie, Jim Crow seatingprevailed and the black Marines were ordered to the rear of the natural am-phitheater that served as a theater. A spontaneous protest resulted in the ex-pulsion of the men of the 51st, whose anger still boiled when they arrivedat the battalion area. Stephenson tried to make up for the mistreatment ofhis Marines by liberally granting passes so they could find entertainment innearby San Diego.

Atoll. Two days later, the group—consisting of a battery of 90mm guns,a 40mm platoon, and four search-light sections—boarded an LST forthe voyage. The contingent saw nocombat at Kwajalein, nor did the re-mainder of the battalion at Eniwetok.

The second of the two African-American defense battalions tookshape beginning on 15 December1943 and rested firmly on a founda-tion supplied by the first. ColonelAugustus W. Cockrell, commandingofficer of the 52d Defense Battalion,benefited from the cadre of 400 of-ficers and men transferred fromColonel Stephenson's 51st DefenseBattalion before it left MontfordPoint. These men, familiar withequipment and procedures after three

to six months with the 51st, enabledthe 52d to avoid using on-the-jobtrainees as technicians and rapidlypromoting men fresh from bootcamp.

Like Woods, Stephenson, andLeGette, Cockrell was a Southerner,a native of Florida. He had enlistedin the Marines in 1918 and receiveda commission four years later. Hehad recently returned from the SouthPacific where he commanded the 2dand 8th Defense Battalions in Samoaand on Wallis Island. As time passed,Cockrell apparently won the affec-tion of his noncommissioned officers,who respectfully called him "OldGus;' though not within his hearing.

In February 1944, the 52d DefenseBattalion moved into the old CCCbarracks at Camp Knox, which thelast of Stephenson's men had just va-

cated. The 7th Separate Pack Howit-zer Battery, organized originally asa component of the 51st Defense Bat-talion according to since-rescindedtables of organization, disbanded inMarch 1944, and the men joinedCockrell's command, providing an-other infusion of experience. Achange to the tables of organizationand equipment deprived the battal-ion in June 1944 of its seacoast ar-tillery. Men from that componenttransferred to the Heavy AntiaircraftGroup and formed a fourth 90mmbattery. At the same time, the LightAntiaircraft Group (formerly theSpecial Weapons Group) substituted40mm guns for its lighter weapons.

The command structure of boththe battalion and the Montford PointCamp underwent change during July.Lieutenant Colonel Joseph W. Earn-shaw, a native of Kansas and agraduate of the Naval Academy, ar-rived after duty at the Navy's Bureauof Ordnance in Washington, D.C.,and took over the 52d Defense Bat-talion. Cockrell thereupon reportedto camp headquarters as the designat-ed replacement for Colonel Woods.

The first task that Earnshaw facedwas a move to the Pacific Coast. The52d Defense Battalion, instead ofloading its heavy gear on trains asthe 51st had done, turned in itstrucks, antiaircraft guns, and othersuch equipment and divided into twogroups. Earnshaw commanded oneand entrusted the other to his execu-tive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tho-mas C. Moore, Jr., who hailed fromGeorgia and had commanded the 3dDefense Battalion on Guadalcanal inthe Solomon Islands. The two con-tingents traveled on the same train toCamp Pendleton, California, to makefinal preparations for deployment tothe islands of the Pacific.

The battalion arrived at CampPendleton on 24 August 1944, and on21 September both componentsboarded the attack transport USSWinged Arrow (AP 170), whichbrought them to Pearl Harbor and

Black Marines practice climbing down a cargo net rigged in the swimming poolat Mont ford Point, developing an essential skill for amphibious warfare operations.

National Archives Photo 127-N-8275

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thence to the Marshall Islands, wherethey took over from antiaircraft unitsalready in place. One half of thedivided battalion, the part thatMoore led, landed at Majuro Atollto protect Marine Aircraft Group 13based there. The other, under Earn-shaw, helped defend Roi and the ad-jacent island of Namur in KwajaleinAtoll, where Marine Aircraft Group31 was located. For six months, Oc-tober 1944 to March 1945, the bat-talion guarded against possibleforays by increasingly feeble Japaneseair power and, at Majuro, formedreconnaissance parties that boardedlanding craft to search the smaller is-lands for Japanese and remove thenatives from harm's way.

Lieutenant Colonel David W. Sil-

vey, who had reported to MontfordPoint in May 1944 from the 6thDefense Battalion at Midway Island,replaced Earnshaw at Kwajalein on10 January 1945. When the twohalves of the battalion reunited onthe recaptured island of Guam on 4May 1945, Moore, who was seniorto Silvey, assumed command. AtGuam, the unit formed a part of theisland's garrison.

By the spring of 1943, the MarineCorps discovered a need for full-timestevedores within the logistics systemthat channeled supplies from facto-ries and warehouses in the UnitedStates, through rear area and for-ward support bases, over the

18

beaches, to the Marines fighting theirway inland. To provide the missingsegment of the supply line, the Ma-rine Corps organized two kinds ofunits, depot companies and ammu-nition companies. Their compara-tively compact size — companiesrather than battalions — meant thatthe new organizations could beformed and trained rapidly anddeployed in numbers that corre-sponded to the size of the amphibi-ous forces being supported.

According to Edgar Huff, whosewartime assignments included firstsergeant of a depot company, thenew units consisted largely of recruitswho had just returned from the riflerange. He conceded, however, that"all they needed was a strong back

to load and unload ships andhaul ammunition to the line for thefighting troops"; further trainingmight vary from a few weeks forthe depot companies to a couple ofmonths for the ammunition outfits.Black Marines assigned to the ammu-nition companies — in part, perhaps,because of the longer training and thedanger inherent in handling explo-sives — tended to develop noticeablyhigher morale, along with sound dis-cipline and a strong sense of purpose.

White officers led both kinds ofunits, with black noncommissionedofficers ultimately taking over in thedepot companies from first sergeantdownward. In contrast, the ammu-nition companies had white noncom-missioned officers down to the levelof buck sergeant. The fuzes and shellshandled by the ammunition compa-flies required noncommissionedofficers with technical knowledge andthe ability to use this knowledge inenforcing safety rules, but in themidst of war the Marine Corps feltit did not have time to train inex-perienced blacks for these duties andrelied instead on previously trainedwhites. Because Marine Corps policyforbade a black platoon sergeant, forexample, from giving orders to ajunior noncommissioned officer who

"Hashmark" Johnson, shown posing with the mascot of the Montford Point Camp,became sergeant major of the 52d Defense Battalion on Guam in July 1945.

was white, the highest rankingAfrican-American in an ammunitioncompany could be only a buck ser-geant, while the senior enlisted ranksremained exclusively white. The messsergeant, who had no white cooksworking for him, enjoyed the statusof a staff noncommissioned officer,but he could not join the clubs avail-able to whites of comparable rank,a source of annoyance to black en-listed men.

Although the Marine Corps envi-sioned these combat service supportunits as a source of labor, and thetwo defense battalions as combatoutfits, wartime reality proved fardifferent. The combat battalions firednot even a dozen rounds at what mayhave been a Japanese submarine, andtheir combat consisted of a fewmonths of patrol action against sur-viving Japanese on the captured is-land of Guam. The depot and am-munition companies, however, sawsavage fighting on the battlefields ofSaipan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, IwoJima, and Okinawa. The combatservice units suffered most of thecasualties among African-American

Marines, who had seven of theirnumber killed in action, two dead ofwounds, 78 wounded in action, andnine victims of combat fatigue.

The 1st Marine Depot Company,the first of 51 such units, was acti-vated on 8 March 1943 under Cap-tain Jason M. Austin, Jr., assisted bytwo other officers. The initial enlist-ed complement consisted of ninewhite noncommissioned officers,who would serve only until blacksreplaced them, 100 privates freshfrom boot camp at Montford Point,and one African-American assistantcook, Ulysses J. Lucas, for a total of110. Finding the necessary black non-commissioned officers proved sodifficult that whites accompaniedsome of the depot companies over-seas and remained with them untilreplacements became available,through either promotion or trans-fers from other black outfits.

The 1st Marine AmmunitionCompany was formed at MontfordPoint on 1 October 1943 under 2dLieutenant Placido A. Gomez. Thisunit, as the 11 that followed, consist-ed of eight officers and 251 enlisted

men, the latter including specialistsnot available from the pool of blackMarines at Montford Point, and hadits own trucks, jeeps, and trailers forhauling ammunition. Because theirjob was considered more dangerousthan the work of the depot compa-nies, the ammunition companiestrained for two months instead ofthree weeks. Some of the black non-commissioned officers underwent in-struction in camouflage or therudiments of ammunition handling,but only whites had the training orexperience to fill the billets requiringhigher-ranking technicians.

Although the organization of theammunition companies remained es-sentially unchanged, the depot com-panies added a third platoon duringthe summer of 1943, increasing theaggregate strength to four officersand 162 enlisted men. In both typesof units, the Marines carried rifles,carbines, or submachine guns, buthad no mortars or machine guns.Between October 1943, when Lieu-tenant Gomez assumed command ofthe 1st Marine Ammunition Compa-ny, and September 1944, when the

The Marine Ammunition Companies and Marine Depot Com-panies helped deposit cargo on the beach, as at Iwo Jima, and

move the supplies to the Marines fighting their way inland.They often were inserted into the front lines as riflemen.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 111947

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12th and last of these units came intoexistence, Montford Point organizedone ammunition company and twodepot companies each month. TheMarine Corps continued to formdepot companies, with the lastfour — the 46th, 47th, 48th, and49th — being organized in October1945, a month after the war had end-ed. The anomaly in numbers, 51companies but the highest numberbeing the 49th Marine Depot Com-pany, resulted from the organizationof two 5th and two 6th MarineDepot Companies. The first pairwent overseas in August 1943, pro-vided reinforcements for previouslydeployed units so that each could addthe authorized fourth platoon, andafterward disbanded.

Three weeks after its organization,the 1st Marine Depot Companyboarded a train for the three-dayjourney to the West Coast. A veteranof a subsequent transcontinentaldeployment told of his companyboarding a "sealed" train that stoppedonly for maintenance or emergencies.The Marines on board subsisted onrations loaded at Montford Point.Cars were crowded, toilets few, andshowers non-existent. A fastidiousfew tried to take sponge baths. Every-one, however, had to shave every dayor endure the consequences of the ap-pearance of stubble: whatever num-ber of push-ups a noncommissionedofficer might demand.

The 1st Marine Depot Companyarrived at San Diego on 5 April 1943,and according to the base newspaper,put on a "demonstration of closeorder drill that left observers gaping:'On 16 April, the unit sailed for Nou-mea, New Caledonia, the initial des-tination of the first five depotcompanies dispatched to the Pacific.The organizations soon deployed tothe Solomon and Russell Islands tosupport operations in the South Pa-cific and Central Pacific. The 2d and4th Marine Ammunition Companiesalso arrived in the Solomons to pre-pare for future action.

Meanwhile, the Hawaiian Islandsbecame a principal staging area forthe thrust across the Central Pacific,and the 1st and 3d Marine Ammu-nition Companies went directlythere. Also in Hawaii were five depotcompanies, including two that hadspent nine months in Funafuti in theEllice group, loading supplies des-tined for the fighting in the Gilbertand Marshall Islands, early objec-tives of the Central Pacific offensive.The combat support companies sentto the Hawaiian Islands arrived therein time to help load the ships that car-ried the 2d and 4th Marine Divisionsto Saipan and to join the shore par-ties in unloading and distributing car-go at the objective.

On D-Day, 15 June 1944, the depotcompanies saw action at Saipan,manhandling cargo from ships' holdsinto landing craft and finally dis-tributing the supplies among thecombat units. The 18th and 20th Ma-rine Depot Companies landed withthe 4th Marine Division on D-Day,while 19th company was goingashore with the 2d Marine Division.Attached to the 3d Battalion, 23dMarines, 4th Marine Division, oneplatoon of the 18th Company arrivedat its assigned beach about two andone-half hours after the first wave.A mortar shell wounded four men ofthe depot company, who had to beevacuated for emergency treatmentoffshore, but the others kept movinginland. One squad fought as infantryto reinforce a thinly held line abouta hundred yards from the water'sedge. The next morning, the bulk ofthe company helped eliminateJapanese infiltrators who hadpenetrated along the boundary be-tween the 23d Marines and the 8thMarines of the adjacent 2d MarineDivision.

When the imediate threat hadpassed, the 18th Depot Company re-sumed its normal duties, "standing

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waist deep in surf unloading boatsas vital supplies of food and waterwere brought in:' In addition, said theunit commander, Captain WilliamM. Barr, the black Marines "set up'security' to keep out snipers as theyhelped load casualties aboard boatsto go on hospital ships:' In the faceof intense fire, they "rode guard ontrucks carrying high octane gasolinefrom the beach;' and one squad lead-er killed a Japanese infiltrator whocrept by night into a neighboringfoxhole.

Another Marine Depot Company,the 20th, landed in the fourth wave insupport of the 1st Battalion, 25thMarines, 4th Marine Division. Inthe words of Captain William C.Adams, the company commander,"all hell was breaking when we camein. It was still touch and go when wehit shore, and it took some time toestablish a foothold:' The captain'sorderly, Private Kenneth J. Tibbs,suffered fatal wounds and died thatvery day, becoming the first African-American Marine killed in combatduring the war. The remaining Ma-rine depot company assigned to theoperation, the 19th, supported the 2dMarine Division but did not comeashore until 22 June, one week afterD-Day, and incurred no casualties.

During the D-Day landings at Sai-pan, while the depot companies un-derwent their baptism of fire, the 3dMarine Ammunition Company per-formed three closely related func-tions. As Sergeant Ernest W. Coneyremembered that morning, some ofthe men helped move ammunitionfrom ships into landing craft, andothers worked on the pontoonbarges, lashed to the sides of LSTsduring the voyage from Hawaii andnow moored on the ocean side of thereef, where they transferred theammunition to DUKW amphibioustrucks or L\TT amphibian tractors forthe final trip to shore. The rest of thecompany, Coney included, boardedlanding craft to join the assaulttroops carving out a beachhead.

Since the boats could not cross thereef, the Marines shifted to amphib-ian tractors which clawed their wayonto the beach at about 1400, asJapanese shells tore up the sand. "Oneteam had an amphibian tractor shotout from under it as it was being un-loaded," Coney reported, but"miraculously, all the men escapedwithout injury" Later that afternoon,Japanese fire cut down Private FirstClass Leroy Seals, who on the fol-lowing day died of his wounds. Onthe night of 15 June, the black Ma-rines of the ammunition companyused their weapons to help beat backa Japanese counterattack, in theprocess silencing an enemy machinegun.

On Saipan, the black Leathernecksdemonstrated they had earned theright to fight alongside their whitefellow Marines. The accomplish-ments of the combat service supportcompanies, reported the post news-paper at Camp Lejeune, so impressedthe Commandant of the MarineCorps, Lieutenant General AlexanderA. Vandegrift—who had replacedHolcomb on 1 January 1944— that hedeclared: "The Negro Marines are nolonger on trial. They are Marines,period" Time's war correspondent inthe Central Pacific, Robert Sherrod,wrote: "The Negro Marines, underfire for the first time, have rated auniversal 4.0 on Saipan." In otherwords, they had earned the Navy's

highest possible rating.At another of the Mariana Islands,

Guam, which lay southwest of Sai-pan, amphibious forces attempted toregain American territory seized bythe Japanese in December 1941. On21 July 1944, three days before thelanding at Tinian, three platoons ofthe 2d Marine Ammunition Compa-ny supported the 3d Marine Divisionas it stormed the northern beaches,while the 4th Ammunition Compa-ny and one platoon of the 2d assist-ed the 1st Provisional MarineBrigade at the southern beachhead.The black Marines with the 3d Ma-rine Division suffered one manwounded and no one killed, eventhough the Japanese laid down in-

On Saipan, where black Marines earned praise from the Corn-rnandant of the Marine Corps, LtGen Alexander A. Van-

degrift, four members of the 3d Marine AmmunitionCompany pose with a Japanese bicycle they captured.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 86008

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Mop-up on Guam

A lthough officially secure, Guam still teemed withthousands of Japanese, bypassed in the lightningcampaign during July and August 1944, who

opened fire from ambush and lashed out against rear areainstallations from the concealment of the jungle. PrivateFirst Class Luther Woodward of the 4th Marine Ammuni-tion Company displayed a gift for tracking enemy strag-glers. One afternoon, he came across Fresh footprints nearthe ammunition dump and followed them to a hut wherea half-dozen Japanese had taken refuge. He opened lire.killing one, wounding another, and scattering the rest.Woodward returned to the camp, got five other black Ma-rines to join him, and hunted down the survivors. He killedone of them, and his companions killed another. This ex-ploit earned him a Bronze Star br heroism, later upgrad-ed to the more prestigious Silver Star.

Some Japanese stragglers still held out in March 1945when Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C. Moore, Jr., arrivedat Guam with the portion of the 52d Defense Battalion thathad helped defend Majuro. The newcomers promptlyclashed with the Japanese, who found concealment in densevegetation that one of the black Marines said was "as thickas the hair on ,i dog's back:' The patrols dispatched to se-cure the approaches to the battalion's camp could numberno more than ten men, for larger groups lost cohesion inthe jungle undergrowth. On 1 April, Sergeant Ezra Kelly

killed one of two Japanese discovered within a thousandyards of the camp. Subsequent probes of the jungle duringApril killed two more Japanese and wounded four others,hut on the 2hth enemy fire wounded one of the Marines,Private First Class Ernest J. Calland.

During the summer of 1945, the 52d Defense Battalion—the rest o the unit had reached Guam early in May—prepared to deploy to Okinawa, where aircraft based inJapan still posed a threat. Loading had already begun when,on 9 July, orders were changed; the unit would remain onGuam. According to Private First Class John Griffin,"morale dropped 99 percent. for the next week or ten daysthe men stayed around their tents writing letters and whatnot, Instead of being a Defense Unit, we turned Out to benothing more than a working battalion.' The processionof trucks roaring into the area to take working parties tothe harbor startled "1 ashmark" Johnson, taking over as ser-geant major of what he thought was a combat unit. He per-suaded Lieutenant Colonel Moore to resume aggressivepatrolling, as much to restore unit morale as to eliminatethe die-hard Japanese. During this activity. Ezra Kelly ad-ded to his toll, killing a total of six Japanese on Guam; hereceived promotion to platoon sergeant, and earned highmarks from Johnson, who described him as "really gungho. Absolutely Eearless" Like Kelly, Johnson led patrols intothe boondocks and set up successful ambushes.

tense fire from the high ground over-looking the invasion site. In thesouth, the reinforced 4th MarineAmmunition Company set up thebrigade ammunition dump and dugin to protect it throughout the nightof D-Day. Under cover of darkness,the enemy tried to blow up thedump, but the African-AmericanMarines killed 14 explosives-ladeninfiltrators at no loss to themselves.The ammunition and depot compa-nies were still supporting the assaultforces on 10 August, when the ob-jective was declared secure. TheNavy Unit Commendation awardedthe 1st Provisional Marine Brigadeincluded the black Marines of the 4thMarine Ammunition Company andthe attached platoon from the 2dCompany.

The final objective of the Marianascampaign was Tinian. African-American Marines who had seen ac-tion on Saipan boarded landing craft

there and proceeded directly to thenearby island. Elements of the 3dMarine Ammunition Companyjoined the assault troops of the 4thMarine Division on 24 July, and thedepot companies followed up in sup-port of that organization and the 2dMarine Division, which landed onthe 26th. Because of the performanceof the black Marines on Saipan andTinian, the 3d Marine AmmunitionCompany and the 18th, 19th, and20th Marine Depot Companies, com-ponents of the 7th Field Depot,shared in the Presidential Unit Cita-tion awarded the 4th Marine Di-vision.

When the 1st Marine Division, on15 September 1944, attacked theheavily defended island of Peleliu inthe Palau group, the 16th Field Depotsupported the assault troops. Thefield depot included two African-

22

American units, the 11th MarineDepot Company and the 7th MarineAmmunition Company. The 11thMarine Depot Company respondedbeyond the call of duty and paid theprice, 17 wounded, the highestcasualty rate of any company ofAfrican-American Marines duringthe entire war. Major General Wil-liam H. Rupertus, who commandedthe 1st Marine Division, sent identi-cal letters of commendation to thecommanders of both companies,praising the black Marines for their"whole hearted cooperation and un-tiring efforts" which 'demonstrated inevery respect" that they "appreciatethe privilege of wearing a Marineuniform and serving with Marines incombat."

Black combat support units alsotook part in the assault on Iwo Jima,where, as at Peleliu, their presenceconfounded the policy of segrega-tion. Because of the random inter-

Peleliu and Iwo Jirnu

tense fire from the high ground over- looking the invasion site. In the south, the reinforced 4th Marine Ammunition Company set up the brigade ammunition dump and dug in to protect it throughout the night of D-Day. Under cover of darkness, the enemy tried to blow up the dump, but the African-American Marines killed 14 explosives-laden infiltrators at no loss to themselves. The ammunition and depot compa- nies were still supporting the assault forces on 10 August, when the ob- jective was declared secure. The Navy Unit Commendation awarded the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade included the black Marines of the 4th Marine Ammunition Company and the attached platoon from the 2d Company.

The final objective of the Marianas campaign was Tinian. African- American Marines who had seen ac- tion on Saipan boarded landing craft

there and proceeded directly to the nearby island. Elements of the 3d Marine Ammunition Company joined the assault troops of the 4th Marine Division on 24 July, and the depot companies followed up in sup- port of that organization and the 2d Marine Division, which landed on the 26th. Because of the performance of the black Marines on Saipan and Tinian, the 3d Marine Ammunition Company and the 18th, 19th, and 20th Marine Depot Companies, com- ponents of the 7th Field Depot, shared in the Presidential Unit Cita- tion awarded the 4th Marine Di- vision.

When the 1st Marine Division, on 15 September 1944, attacked the heavily defended island of Peleliu in the Palau group, the 16th Field Depot supported the assault troops. The field depot included two African-

American units, the l l t h Marine Depot Company and the 7th Marine Ammunition Company. The l l t h Marine Depot Company responded beyond the call of duty and paid the price, 17 wounded, the highest casualty rate of any company of African-American Marines during the entire war. Major General Wil- liam H. Rupertus, who commanded the 1st Marine Division, sent identi- cal letters of commendation to the commanders of both companies, praising the black Marines for their "whole hearted cooperation and un- tiring efforts" which "demonstrated in every respect" that they "appreciate the privilege of wearing a Marine uniform and serving with Marines in combat."

Black combat support units also took part in the assault on Iwo Jima, where, as at Peleliu, their presence confounded the policy of segrega- tion. Because of the random inter-

The Third Battle of Guam

Some six months after the invasion of the MananaIslands, violence shook the conquered island ofGuam for the third time in the course of the war.

The first battle of Guam took place on 10 December 1941,when the Japanese overwhelmed the almost defenselessAmerican possession. During the second, Marines andArmy troops landed on 21 July 1944 and recaptured theisland. The third battle erupted in December 1944 betweenAmericans, black and white, and culminated in a riot onChristmas night.

This third battle began with an attempt by whites of the3d Marine Division, some of them replacements new to theunit, to prevent blacks, most of them sailors, from visitingthe town of Agana and the women who lived there. A blackMarine stationed on the island compared Guam to "a citydeep down in the South" because of the hostility he encoun-tered. "But as we all know;' he explained, "where there arewomen and white and Negro men, you will find discrimi-nation in large quantities:' On Guam, discriminationagainst blacks involved attempted intimidation by whiteswho shouted insults, threw rocks, and occasionally hurledsmoke grenades from passing trucks into the cantonmentarea for black sailors of the Naval Supply Depot.

By mid-December, the island's Provost Marshal, MarineColonel Benjamin A. Atkinson, considered the situationso dangerous that he urged his commander, Major Gener-al Henry L. Larsen, to take action. Larsen, whose casualremarks at Montford Point, including the reference to "youpeople in our uniform," had become a legend among theblack Marines, responded with an order that sought tounite the races. Using carefully chosen words, the generalwrote that:

The present war has called together in our servicesmen of many origins and various races and colors.All are presumed to be imbued with common idealsand standards. All wear the uniform of the UnitedStates. All are entitled to the respect to which thatcommon service is entitled. There shall be no dis-

crimination by reason of sectional birth, race,religion, or political beliefs. On the other hand, allindividuals are charged with the responsibility of con-ducting themselves as becomes Americans.

Larsen believed in the principles he thus enunciated and,as a subsequent investigation concluded, intended to putthem into effect, but his words came too late. In a seriesof violent incidents, an off-duty white military policemanfired at some blacks in Agana but hit no one; a white sailorshot to death a black Marine of the 25th Depot Companyin a quarrel over a woman; and a sentry from the 27th Ma-rine Depot Company reacted to harassment by fatallywounding his tormentor, a white Marine. Courts-martialeventually convicted the men who fired the fatal shots ofvoluntary manslaughter, but before justice could prevail,a misunderstanding led to a race riot.

A rumor that the black victim had been a sailor killedby a white Marine, spread unchallenged among theAfrican-Americans of the Naval Supply Depot. Some ofthem commandeered two trucks and drove into Aganaseeking revenge, but Marine military police succeeded indefusing the situation. On Christmas night, however, 43black sailors armed themselves with knives and clubs andinvaded a camp that housed white Marines. The ensuingriot resulted in the arrest of the black sailors who carriedout the attack.

General Larsen convened a court of inquiry, which tooktestimony for an entire month. As president, he selectedColonel Woods, the former commanding officer at Mont-ford Point, who happened to be serving on Guam. WalterWhite, Secretary of the National Association for the Ad-vancement of Colored People, was on a fact-finding tourof the Pacific theater and participated in the proceedings.His piecing together of a pattern of pervasive racialharassment— unofficial, spontaneous, but nonethelesscruel — may have helped bring about convictions, not ofthe black rioters alone, but also of some of the whites whotormented them.

mingling of white and black units, anAfrican-American Marine, carryinga box of supplies, dived into a shellhole occupied by white Marines, oneof whom gave him a cigarette beforehe scrambled out with his load andran forward. Here, too, blackstewards and members of the depotand ammunition companies came tothe aid of the wounded. A white Ma-rine, Robert F. Graf, who lay in a tentawaiting evacuation for further med-ical treatment, remembered that:

"Two black Marines. . . ever so gent-ly . . . placed me on a stretcher andcarried me outside to a waitingDUKw:'

At Iwo Jima, the 8th Marine Am-munition Company and the 33d,34th, and 36th Marine Depot Com-panies served as part of the shoreparty of the V Amphibious Corps.Elements of the ammunition compa-ny and the 36th Depot Companylanded on D-Day, 19 February 1945,and within three days all the units

23

were ashore, braving Japanese fire asthey struggled in the volcanic sandto unload and stockpile ammunitionand other supplies, and move the car-go inland. Eleven black enlisted Ma-rines and one of the white officerswere wounded, two of the enlistedmen fatally.

The depot companies landed cargoattached by steel straps to woodenpallets to simplify stowage in cargoholds and unloading at the objective.Unfortunately, the black Marines

mingling of white and black units, an African-American Marine, carrying a box of supplies, dived into a shell hole occupied by white Marines, one of whom gave him a cigarette before he scrambled out with his load and ran forward. Here, too, black stewards and members of the depot and ammunition companies came to the aid of the wounded. A white Ma- rine, Robert F. Graf, who lay in a tent awaiting evacuation for further med- ical treatment, remembered that:

"Two black Marines . . . ever so gent- ly . . . placed me on a stretcher and carried me outside to a waiting DUKW."

At Iwo Jima, the 8th Marine Am- munition Company and the 33d, 34th, and 36th Marine Depot Com- panies served as part of the shore party of the V Amphibious Corps. Elements of the ammunition compa- ny and the 36th Depot Company landed on D-Day, 19 February 1945, and within three days all the units

were ashore, braving Japanese fire as they struggled in the volcanic sand to unload and stockpile ammunition and other supplies, and move the car- go inland. Eleven black enlisted Ma- rines and one of the white officers were wounded, two of the enlisted men fatally.

The depot companies landed cargo attached by steel straps to wooden pallets to simplify stowage in cargo holds and unloading at the objective. Unfortunately, the black Marines

The Third Battle of Guam

S ome six months after the invasion of the Mariana Islands, violence shook the conquered island of Guam for the third time in the course of the war.

The first battle of Guam took place on 10 December 1941, when the Japanese overwhelmed the almost defenseless American possession. During the second, Marines and Army troops landed on 21 July 1944 and recaptured the island. The third battle erupted in December 1944 between Americans, black and white, and culminated in a riot on Christmas night.

This third battle began with an attempt by whites of the 3d Marine Division, some of them replacements new to the unit, to prevent blacks, most of them sailors, from visiting the town of Agana and the women who lived them. A black Marine stationed on the island compared Guam to "a city deep down in the South" because of the hostility he encoun- tered. "But as we all know," he explained, "where there are women and white and Negro men, you will find discrimi- nation in large quantities." On Guam, discrimination against blacks involved attempted intimidation by whites who shouted insults, threw rocks, and occasionally hurled smoke grenades from passing trucks into the cantonment area for black sailors of the Naval Supply Depot.

By mid-December, the island's Provost Marshal, Marine Colonel Benjamin A. Atkinson, considered the situation so dangerous that he urged his commander, Major Gener- al Henry L. Larsen, to take action. Larsen, whose casual remarks at Montford Point, including the reference to "you people in our uniform," had become a legend among the black Marines, responded with an order that sought to unite the races. Using carefully chosen words, the general wrote that:

The present war has called together in our services men of many origins and various races and colors. All are presumed to be imbued with common ideals and standards. All wear the uniform of the United States. All are entitled to the respect to which that common service is entitled. There shall be no dis-

crimination by reason of sectional birth, race, religion, or political beliefs. On the other hand, all individuals c h q d with thc respomibility of con- ducting themselves as becomes Americans.

Laxsen believed in the principles he thus enunciated and, as a subsequent investigation concluded, intended to put them into effect, but his words came too late. In a series of violent incidents, an offduty white military policeman fired at some blacks in Agana but hit no one; a white sailor shot to death a black Marine of the 25th Depot Company in a quarrel owr a woman; and a sentry from the 27th Ma- rine Depot Company reacted to harassment by fatally wounding his tormentor, a white Marine. Courts-martial eventually convicted the men who fired the fatal shots of voluntary manslaughter, but before justice could prevail, a misunderstanding led to a race riot.

A rumor that the black victim had been a sailor killed by a white Marine, spread unchallenged among the African-Americans of the Naval Supply Depot. Some of them commandeered two trucks and drove into Agana seeking revenge, but Marine military police succeeded in defusing the situation. On Christmas night, however, 43 black sailors armed themselves with knives and dubs and invaded a camp that housed white Marines. The ensuing riot resulted in the arrest of the black sailors who carried out the attack.

General Larsen convened a court of inquiry, which took testimony for an entire month. As president, he selected Colonel Woods, the former commanding officer at Mont- ford Point, who happened to be serving on Guam. Walter White, Secretary of the National Association for the Ad- vancement of Colored People, was on a fact-finding tour of the Pacific theater and participated in the proceedings. His piecing together of a pattern of pervasive racial harassment-unofficial, spontaneous, but nonetheless cruel - may haw helped bring about convictions, not of the black rioters alone, but also of some of the whites who tormented them.

ammunition company were fatallywounded, but four others, two fromeach unit, survived their wounds.The African-American companiesthat fought at Iwo Jima shared in theNavy Unit Citation awarded the sup-port units of V Amphibious Corps.

had no tools, like bolt-cutters, thatcould easily sever the metal. Anofficer of one of the companies recallsthat his men had to break the strapsby hacking and twisting with theirbayonets.

The hard-fought advance inlandeased the pressure on rear-area instal-lations but did not eliminate thedanger to combat service supporttroops like the men of the 8th Ma-rine Ammunition Company. On 1March, for example, Japanese mortarshells started a fire in the ammuni-tion dump operated by the company,but Second Lieutenant John DAngeloand several black Marines, amongthem Corporal Ralph Balara, shov-eled sand onto the flames and extin-guished them. During darkness onthe following morning, another ene-my barrage struck the dump, thistime detonating a bunker filled withhigh-explosive and white-phospho-rous shells. The exploding ammuni-tion started fires throughout thedump, generating heat so intense thatit forced DAngelo and his platoon tofall back and warped the steel barrelof a carbine they left behind. Not un-til the conflagration had burned it-

self out, could the platoon begin thedangerous job of extinguishing theembers and salvaging any usable am-munition. Sergeant Tom McPhatter— an African-American noncommis-sioned officer, who after the warbecame a clergyman and a Navychaplain, attaining the rank ofcaptain — helped search the ruins ofthe dump. On 4 March, DAngelo'splatoon braved sniper fire at a cap-tured airfield to retrieve an emergen-cy load of ammunition dropped byparachute to replace what the blazehad consumed.

On the early morning of 26March, 10 days after Iwo Jima wasdeclared secure, the Japanese madea final attack that penetrated to therear area units near Iwo Jima'swestern beaches, including the 8thAmmunition and 36th Marine DepotCompanies. The black Marineshelped stop the enemy in a confusedstruggle during darkness and mop upthe survivors at daybreak. Two mem-bers of the 36th Company — PrivatesJames M. Whitlock and James Davis— earned the Bronze Star for "heroicachievement." One Marine from thedepot company and another from the

24

The fight for Okinawa, whichproved to be the last battle of WorldWar II, involved some 2,000 blackMarines, a larger concentration thanfor any previous operation. On 1April 1945, the 6th and 1st MarineDivisions stormed ashore alongsidetwo Army divisions, while the 2dMarine Division engaged in a feintto pin down the island's Japanesedefenders. The three ammunitionand four depot companies assignedto the 7th Field Depot, supportingthe III Marine Amphibious Corps onthat day, were divided between thedemonstration and assault forces.The 1st and 3d Ammunition Com-panies and the 5th, 38th, and part ofthe 37th Marine Depot Companiesaccompanied the 2d Marine Divi-sion, while the 12th Ammunitionand 18th Depot Companies, alongwith the rest of the 37th, participatedin the landings by the 1st and 6thMarine Divisions. Within three days,almost all of the amphibious force'sblack Marines were in action ashore,and reinforcements soon arrived. Bythe end of April, the 20th MarineDepot Company reached Okinawafrom Saipan, and in May the 9th and10th Depot Companies from Guadal-canal, together with the 19th fromSaipan, joined the 7th Field Depot.

Drenching rain and seemingly bot-tomless mud hampered the work ofthe ammunition and depot compa-nies as the troops advanced and sup-ply lines grew longer. The sameparties that moved ammunition andother cargo forward to sustain thefighting also brought back thewounded. Stewards, too, made anessential contribution to eventual vic-tory by serving as stretcher bearers.

National Archives Photo 127-C W-334-114329

Black Marines pose with one of the Army DUKW amphibious trucks used to bringcargo ashore and carry away the wounded for medical treatment to ships offshore.

Indeed, casualties were almost equal-ly divided between combat serviceunits, 11 wounded, and the Stewards'Branch, seven wounded, one of themtwice, and one killed.

The exhausting work of handlingsupplies continued after Okinawawas declared secure on 22 June 1945,for the island became a base fromwhich to invade Japan. When hostil-ities ended on 15 August, after thedropping of atomic bombs onHiroshima and Nagasaki, the IIIMarine Amphibious Corps receivedorders to proceed to North China.Meanwhile, the V AmphibiousCorps, which had conquered IwoJima, would participate in the occu-pation of Japan.

Assigned to the 8th Service Regi-ment (formerly the 8th Field Depot)in support of the Marine V Amphibi-ous Corps, the 6th, 8th, and 10thAmmunition Companies arrived inconquered Japan between 22 and 26September, along with the 24th, 33d,34th, 42d, and 43d Depot Compa-nies. The 36th Marine Depot Com-pany joined the earlier arrivals by the

end of October. Even though themingling of Marine units on the bat-tlefields of the Pacific War hadbroken down, at least temporarily,the wall separating blacks fromwhites, the occupation forces inJapan — and in North China, as well

On the beach at Iwo Jima, two black Marines crawl past thesmouldering hulk of a DUKW all the while being subjected

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 111123

to heavy Japanese machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire.They struggled in the volcanic sand to set up supply dumps.

The African-American Marineswho landed in North China at theend of September 1945 — men of the1st and 12th Ammunition Compa-nies and the 5th, 20th, 37th, and 38thDepot Companies — encountered acool initial reception from the

— reestablished racial segregation. Chinese. Edgar Huff recalled that aPFCs Willie I. Kanady, Eugene F Hill, and Joe Alexander of the 34th Depot Com-pany relax during a lull in the action on Iwo Jima, where danger persisted evenafter the island was declared secure. Before they left Iwo, the company would becomeengaged when the Japanese mounted a banzai charge against Marines and soldiers.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 113835

25

Chinese might run up to a black Ma-rine and touch his face, as if to de-termine if the color would rub off onthe fingers. Until the sight of African-Americans became familiar, the localcivilians remained wary of them,but, Huff continued, "as soon as theyfound that this paint wouldn't comeoff, or what they thought was paint;'the Chinese "got to be very charm-ing and very lovely." Because locallabor proved readily available, themen of the depot and ammunitioncompanies frequently performedguard duty at American installationsand on the trains that Communistguerrilla forces preyed upon in theirwar against the Nationalist govern-

ment, which was trying to assert itsauthority in the region.

Hostilities against Japan ended on15 August 1945, and four days later,the 52d Defense Battalion at Guambegan a transition from combat unitto support organization. The changereceived official confirmation on 30September when the battalion cameunder the 5th Service Depot, whichalso controlled the black ammunitionand depot companies still on the is-land. A detachment from the 52dsailed to the Marshalls in October,relieved the 51st Defense Battalion atEniwetok and Kwajalein, and re-

26

turned to Guam in January. Some oftheMarines not yet eligible for dis-charge cast off the role of depottroops and formed the Heavy Anti-aircraft Group (Provisional), basedat Saipan until disbanded in Febru-ary 1947. The Marines of the 52dDefense Battalion, who remained onGuam after the group departed forSaipan, sailed for San Diego in thetransport USS Wakefield (AP 21) on13 March 1946. As a rule, the Ma-rine Corps discharged on the WestCoast the men with homes west ofthe Mississippi River, while those liv-ing to the east of the river receivedtheir discharges on the East Coast.The men of the 52d Defense Battal-ion not discharged at Camp Pendle-ton returned to Montford Point,where Lieutenant Colonel Moorerelinquished command on 21 April.The end came on 15 May when thewartime unit was redesignated the 3dAntiaircraft Artillery Battalion in thepostwar Marine Corps.

After the unit's relief in November1945 by African-American Marinesfrom the 52d Defense Battalion, thebulk of the 51st Defense Battalionsailed from Eniwetok to San Diegoand then went to Camp Pendleton,California, where some of the menwith long service overseas receivedtheir discharges. The members of theEniwetok detachment not yet dis-charged traveled by train to Mont-ford Point where they met theKwajalein group, which had arrivedby sea at Norfolk. On 31 January1946, the first African-Americancombat unit organized by the MarineCorps for service in World War IIofficially disbanded.

Along with the two defense bat-talions, the ammunition and depotunits headed home from the Pacificand the Far East. Scarcely had theAfrican-American combat servicecompanies arrived in Japan for oc-cupation duty when they becamepart of the postwar demobilization,either disbanding in place, transfer-ring to Guam, or, in the case of the

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 117624Men of the 12th Marine Ammunition Company pose at a monument overrun dur-ing the Okinawa campaign, in which some 2,000 black Marines participated.

21 February at Montford Point. On 2March, the other African-Americanunits sent to North China sailed east-ward across the Pacific. The 12th Ma-rine Ammunition Company pausedat Pearl Harbor to transfer to the 6thService Depot those men not yeteligible for discharge. The company'sveterans, however, arrived at Mont-ford Point in time for their unit todisband on 5 April, three days afterthe 37th and 38th Depot Companieshad ceased to exist.

The 6th Service Depot (originallythe 6th Base Depot) had functionedin Hawaii throughout the Central Pa-cific offensive, and since 1944 it in-cluded a succession of ammunitionand depot companies manned byAfrican-American Marines. Whilethe fighting raged, the men of theseunits had worked 12-hour shifts tochannel supplies to the Marines clos-ing in on Japan. The coming of peacechanged all that. By mid-summer1946, only the 47th Marine DepotCompany and one platoon of the

10th Marine Ammunition Company, On 10 November 1945, Frederick C. Branch, the first African-American ever corn-returning by way of San Diego to missioned in the Marine Corps, and a veteran of the 51st Defense Battalion, smilesMontford Point and disbanding proudly as his wife pins the gold bars of a second lieutenant on his uniform.there. Except for a few stewards, the Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 500043

last black Marines left Japan in April1946.

As part of the reduction of MarineCorps strength in Japan, the 8thMarine Ammunition Company and33d, 34th, and 36th Marine DepotCompanies joined the 5th ServiceDepot (formerly the 5th Field Depot)at Guam, where other African-American Marine units alreadyserved. The disbanding of the blackunits on Guam began on 31 October1945 with the 4th Depot Companyand ended with the 8th AmmunitionCompany and 49th Depot Companyon 30 September 1947.

The postwar reduction of strengthaffected the black units in North Chi-na, as it did those in Japan. The 5thand 20th Depot and 1st AmmunitionCompanies left China in January1946, passed through San Diego andCamp Pendleton, and disbanded on

27

Unfinished Businesslthough African-American enlisted men earned acceptance on thebattlefields of the war against Japan, the Marine Corps did not com-mission even one black officer in the course of the conflict. The black

press showed enthusiasm from the outset for the men of Montford Point,but complained about the absence of African-American officers. "18,000colored Marines;' editorialized the Baltimore Afro-American, "but not onecolored officer:' At last, early in 1945, three senior black noncommissionedofficers entered officer training at Quantico, Virginia, but not even one gradu-ated, a failure rate that, in the words of "Hashmark" Johnson, raised "a num-ber of questions" among Montford Point Marines and caused "quite a bit ofconsternation:' These concerns may well have been justified, since all threeof the men went on to successful careers as civilians: Sergeant Major CharlesF. Anderson as an attorney; Sergeant Major Charles W. Simmons as a col-lege professor and author; and First Sergeant George F. Ellis, Jr., as a physi-cian. Three more African-American officer candidates failed to wincommissions, and not until 10 November 1945, the birthday of the Marines,did the Corps commission the first black officer in its history. On that day,Frederick C. Branch, a veteran of the 51st Defense Battalion, became a Se-cond Lieutenant in the Reserve.

Unlike the Army and Navy, the Marine Corps barred blacks from its war-time Women Reserves. In adopting this ban, it could cite the expense of build-ing segregated quarters and the fact that enough white applicants wereavailable to maintain the organization at authorized strength. The firstAfrican-American to join the Women Reserves, Annie E. Graham, did notenlist until September 1949, four years after Japan's formal surrender.

BLACK MARINE UNITSOF THE FLEET MARINE FORCE, WORLD WAR II

Date of Date ofActivation Unit Designation Deactivation Where Deactn,ated

18 Aug 1942 51st Composite Def Sti SI Jan 1946 Montlord Point8 Mar 1943 1st Marine Depot Co 4 Jan 946 Moniford Point23 Apr 1943 2d Marine Depot Co 4 Jan 946 Montlord Point23 Apr 1943 3d Marine Depot Co 4 Jan 946 Montford Point1 June 1943 4th Marine Depot Co 3! Oct 1945 Guam8 JitI 1943 5th Marine Depot Co 31 Oct 943 New Caledonia8Ju1 1943 6th Marine Depot Co 3! Aug 1943 New Caledonia16 Aug 1943 7th Marine Depot Co II Dec 1945 Montford Point16 Aug 1943 8th Marine Depot Co 10 Dec 1945 Motstlord PointIS Sep 1943 9th Marine Depot Co 31 Dec 1945 Motitlord Point15 Sep 1943 10th Marine Depot Co 22 Dec 1945 Montford PointI Oct 1943 st Maritte Ammunitioti Co 21 Feb 1946 Montl5trd Point7 Oct 1943 11th Marine Depot Co 4 Dec 1945 Saipan7 Oct 1943 12th Marine Depot Co II Dec 1945 Montford PttintI Nov 1943 13th Marine Depot Co 30 Nov 1945 GuamI Nov 1943 14th Marine Depot Co 30 Nov 1945 Gnat,,

I Nos' 1943 2d Marine Ammunition Co 20 Jati 1946 Guam1 Dec 1943 15th Marine Depot Co 30 Nos' 1945 Alleit lslamtd2 Dec 1943 16ths Marine Depot Co 29 Jan 1946 Moniford Point2 Dec 1943 3d Marine Ammunition Co 25 Feb 1946 Motitiord Poitit15 Dec 1943 52d Defense Bn 14 May 1946 Montf5srd PointI Jan 944 17th Marine Depot Co 16 Jan 1946 1outford PointI Jati 1944 18th Maritie Depot Co 29 Jan 1946 \lotitlorcl PointI Jan 1944 4th Marine Amnittnitioti Co 8 Mar 1946 GttantI Feb 1944 19th Marine Depot Co 25 Feb 1946 Mmtntiitrd PointI Feb 1944 20th Marine Depot Co 21 Feb 1946 \Iomttkrd PointI Feb 1944 th Marine Ammuititiott Cit 4 Jul 1946 Slotitford PointI Mar 1944 21st Marine Depot Co 2 Apr 1946 Slotmi litrtl PointI Mar 1944 22d Maritie Depot Co 2 Apr 1946 %lotitfitrd PointI Mar 1944 6th Amttiunitioti Co 15 Dec 1945 aselatI Apr 1944 23d Maritie Depot Co 5 Apr 1946 \lontford PoimttI Apr 1944 24th Marine Depot Co 15 Nov 1945 NagasakiI Apr 1944 7th Marine Atnmttttitiott Cv, 8 Mac 1946 Mo,tmford PoititI May 1944 25th Marine Depot Co 2 May 1946 1otttford PoititI May 1944 26th Maritie Depot Co 2 May 1946 Momttford PoititI Slav 1944 8th Marine Atsitttttttitio,t C ep 1947 GuamI Jun 944 27th Marine Depot Co : 6 Apr 1946 Mottt ford PointI J ttti 1944 28th Maritie Depot Co 2 May 1946 Slontford PointI Juts 1944 9th Marine Ammtttiitioti Co 4 Jul 1946 Motitford PttiittI Jul 1944 29th Marine Depot C 8 May 1946 Montford PoimttI JttI 1944 50th Maritie Depot Co 8 Apr 1946 %lotttlbrd PointI Jul 1944 10th Marine Amnsuttitiott C 6 May 1946 tttford PointI Aug 1944 3Ist Marine Depot Co 30 Nov 1945 MauiI Aug 1944 52d Marine Depot Co 8 May 1946 Mont ford PointI Aug 1944 11th Marine Amntutsitiott Co 4 Jul 1946 Slontford PointI Sep 1944 33d Maritte Depot Co II Jan 1946 warnI Sep 1944 34th Marine Depot Co II Jati 1946 .ua,nI Sep 1944 12th Maritte Anttttttti it ion Co 5 Apr 1946 Mottiford PointI Oct 1944 15th Marine Depot Co 6J on 1946 Slotu ford PointI Oct 1944 6th Marine Depot C 7 Jun 1946 Iontford PoititI Nov 1944 37tlt Marine Depot Co 2 Apt 1946 %lontford PointI Nov 1944 38th Slaritte Depot Co 2 Apr 1946 Iont ford PointI Nov 1944 Atlt Marine Depot Cii 21 Feb 19411I Dec 944 tIm Marine Depot Cm' tI Dec 1915I Dec 1944 19th Marine Depot Co II) Jun 946I Dec 1944 40th Marine Depot Cm' 4 Mac 1916 S;tipan3 Mar 1945 41st Mari,te Depot Co 23 Mar 1946 5l;ttmi14 Mar 1945 2d Marjtte Depot Cm IS Mar 1916 aeln14 Mar 1945 3d Marimte Depot Cm IS Mar 946 v,elnm18 Apr 1945 44th Marine Depot Co 8 Apt- 191610 Aug 1945 l5tlt Maritte Depot Co 6Jumm 19111I (kt 1945 46th Slam-inc l)c•1oim Cm Jul 19-Il,I Oct 1945 47th Marine' Dv1mot 'II t)m t 19-16 1 Fl,,I to-t 1945 48th \h,rmni' I)e1o,t C It) mm,, 946I (tt 1945 .ttls Marine l)c1oit :1)) Sep 11)1,

28

bitterness" experienced by theAfrican-Americans who wore theuniform of the Marine Corps duringWorld War II. Segregation prevailedat the time, even following the blackMarines across the Pacific to Japanand the Asian mainland. "The in-justices . . . in those segregated units;'Gray recalled, "kd a fierce de-termination to excel." And theseAfrican-Americans did excel. "Wrepresented;' he believed, "the break-through of the final barrier"— theobstacle of- racism —"by being part ofthe elite corps." Events proved Graycorrect, for the post-World War IIMarine Corps could never return to

the racial policy of 1940. Blacks hadwon the fight for the right to serve;they were in the Marine Corps tostay. Moreover, integration of theraces would come to the Corps,though that radical change had toawait President Harry S. Truman'sexecutive order banning racial dis-crimination in the armed forces, is-sued in 1948, and the demands formanpower imposed by the KoreanWar, which broke out two yearslater. By the time Gray retired in1969 as a master gunnery sergeant af-

- ter 24 years of service, the MarineCorps had committed itself to racialintegration.

Guam-based 8th Ammunition Com-pany remained on the island ofOahu. The depot outfit disbanded on31 October 1946, and in November,the platoon sailed to Guam, where itswas absorbed into its parent compa-ny, which disbanded at the end ofSeptember 1947.

Of the 19,168 African-Americanswho served in the Marine Corps dur-ing World War II, 12,738 went over-seas in the defense battalions orcombat support companies or asstewards. Those who remained in theUnited States performed numerousduties: stewards in officers' messes atvarious headquarters; staff membersat the Montford Point Camp or re-cruits in training there when the con-flict ended; or service troops at sup-ply depots at Philadelphia or Nor-folk or the Naval Ammunition Depotat McAlester, Oklahoma.

While the African-American Ma-rines in the United States bravedloneliness and racial discrimination,those overseas might wait on distantislands for Japanese attacks thatnever came; manhandle heavy con-tainers out of ships' holds; load allsorts of supplies into landing craft;sort out the cargo on the beachhead,often under deadly fire; and movethe desperately need material inlandto the fighting units. Men in thedefense battalions sometimes unload-ed ships, whereas members of thecombat support companies becameinfantrymen in an emergency, andstewards often doubled as stretcherbearers. Looking back at a successionof exhausting, dangerous, and attimes boring assignments with the3d Marine Ammunition Company,Robert D. Little said: "If I had to doit all over again, I'd still be a blackMarine . . . . I think they made aman of me."

Brooks E. Gray, who helped formthe Montford Point Marine Associ-ation to preserve the heritage ofthe wartime black Marines, hasspoken of the "pride mixed with

is U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTINR OFFICF' 1qqs 386—768/2000'

Three books contain narratives ofvarying lengths that recount the his-tory of African-American Marines inWorld War II. Perry E. Fisher andBrooks E. Gray, veterans of the 8thMarine Ammunition Company, havewritten Blacks and Whites TogetherThrough Hell: U.S. Marines in WorldWar II (Turlock, California: Mills-mont Publishing, 1993). In hisDefense Studies: Integration of theArmed Forces, 1940-1 965 (Washing-ton: Center of Military History,1981), Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., de-votes part of one chapter to the blackMarines of World War II. The mostdetailed account of the MontfordPoint Marines may be found in Hen-ry I. Shaw, Jr., and Ralph W. Don-nelly 's Blacks in the Marine Corps(Washington: History and MuseumsDivision, Headquarters U. S. MarineCorps, 1975, reprinted 1988).

Many of the directives, memoran-da, and reports dealing with the topicof African-Americans in the MarineCorps during World War II appearin Volume 6 of Blacks in the UnitedStates Armed Forces: Basic Docu-ments (Wilmington, Delaware: Scho-larly Resources, 1977), edited byMorris J. MacGregor, Jr., and Ber-nard C. Nalty.

The Marine Corps Oral HistoryCollection includes a number of in-terviews that deal with the recruit-ment, training, and employment ofAfrican-American Marines duringWorld War II, grouped together un-der the title "Black Marines:' The Ma-rine Corps Personal Papers collectionincludes accounts of wartime serviceby black veterans.

Henry I. Shaw, Jr., co-author ofBlacks in the Marine Corps, com-mented on this manuscript, as didJoseph H. Carpenter, who is Nation-al Historian of the Montford PointMarine Association.

B ernard C. Nalty, a civilian member of theMarine Corps history program from Oc-

tober 1956 to September 1961, collaborated withHenry I. Shaw, Jr. and Edwin T. Turnbladh onCentral Pacific Drive, volume three of Historyof Marine Corps Operations in World War II.Together with Morris J. MacGregor, he edited the13-volume series Blacks in the United StatesArmed Forces: Basic Documents and its one-volume abridgement, Blacks in the Military: Es-sential Documents. His other works includeStrength for the Fight: A History of Black Ameri-cans in the Military.

ERRATAIn the pamphlet Closing Iw Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima, in this series, two Marine units are incorrectly identified. On page31, the correct reference is "Captain Thomas M. Fields, commanding officer of Company D, 2d Battalion, 26th Marines "Onpage 36, it is "Captain Frank C. Caidwell, commanding Company F, 2d Battalion, 26th Marines In Breaching the MarianasThe Battle for Saipart, GySgt Robert H. McCard, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, was inadvertently omitted from the listof recipients of the Medal of Honor. In Fwe u Marine to Fight Women Marines itt World War II, the photo caption on page 18 shouldread "Pvt Billie J. Redding married her hometown beau, Navy Ens William A. Lewis, in a military wedding in San Diego. In ordernot to vtolate uniform regulations, both the bride and her maid of honor, Helen Taylor, carried rather than wore their corsages."

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WORLD WAR II

I,,/ A119/1.11 \ .11 II9/J5

THIS PAMPHLET HISTORY, one in a series devoted to U.S. Marines in theWorld War II era, is published for the education and training of Marines bythe History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps,Washington, D.C., as a part of the U.S. Department of Defense observanceof the 50th anniversary of victory in that war.

Editorial costs of preparing this pamphlet have been defrayed in part bya grant from the Marine Corps Historical Foundation.

WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES

DIRECTOR OF MARINE CORPS HISTORY AND MUSEUMSBrigadier General Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

GENERAL EDITOR,WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES

Benis M. Frank

CARTOGRAPHIC CONSULTANTGeorge C. MacGillivray

EDITING AND DESIGN SECTION, HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISIONRobert E. Struder, Senior Editor; W. Stephen Hill, Visual Information Specialist

Catherine A. Kerns, Composition Services Technician

Marine Corps Historical Center

Building 58, Washington Navy YardWashington, D.C. 20374-5040

1995PCN 190 003132 00