[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10081-10082]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MONTFORD POINT MARINES

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, it is my privilege to honor the 
Montford Point Marines, who today will be collectively decorated with 
the Congressional Gold Medal.
  The Montford Point Marines served our country bravely during World 
War II, despite being segregated from their fellow servicemembers. In 
1942, President Roosevelt directed that African Americans be recruited 
into the Marine Corps. These men were not sent to the traditional 
Marine recruit depots of Parris Island or San Diego. Instead, they were 
segregated and trained at Montford Point in Camp Lejeune, NC. 
Collectively, these Marines--who became known as the ``Montford Point 
Marines''--served in the Pacific Theater as part of the 51st and 52nd 
Marine Defense Battalions, and with various Depot and Ammunition 
Companies.
  The Defense Battalions saw action against surviving Japanese troops 
on the captured island of Guam, while the Depot and Ammunition 
Companies participated in the fighting at Saipan, Tinian, Guam, 
Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Their jobs consisted of loading and 
unloading supplies, resupplying frontline units, and evacuating the 
dead and wounded--sometimes under heavy enemy fire. All together, the 
Depot and Ammunition Companies suffered seven killed and 78 wounded. Of 
the nearly 20,000 African-American Marines in World War II, about 
13,000 served overseas. In July 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued 
his executive order ending military segregation. In September 1949, 
Montford Marine Camp was deactivated, ending 7 years of segregation.
  The commitment and sacrifice of African-American servicemembers 
during World War II is embodied in the lives of two cousins, Howard and 
Kenneth Tibbs. Howard served this Nation as one of the Tuskegee Airmen. 
I had the privilege of honoring him in 2007 when the Congressional Gold 
Medal was awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen. Today, I am able to honor his 
cousin, Kenneth Tibbs, who served as a Montford Point Marine. Kenneth 
was born on May 30, 1925, in Lancaster, OH, and served from 1943 to 
1944 as part of the 20th Marine Depot Company. Ultimately, PFC Kenneth 
Tibbs was killed in action during the invasion of Saipan. He was his 
unit's only fatality.
  Private Tibbs and all of the Montford Point Marines exemplified the 
qualities for which the Montford Point Marines are so admired. Our 
Nation is indebted to him and his fellow Marines for their sacrifice. 
Not only did they contribute to the America's victory in the Pacific, 
but they did so within a highly segregated military. Many went on to 
serve in Korea and Vietnam, alongside their white counterparts. 
Montford Point Marine Edgar Huff became the first African-American in 
the

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United States Marine Corps to be promoted to the rank of Sergeant 
Major. His brother-in-law, Gilbert ``Hashmark'' Johnson, also served at 
Montford Point and earned the rank of Sergeant Major. Today, Montford 
Point's Camp Johnson at Camp Lejeune is named after him. I am proud to 
have been an original cosponsor of the 2006 House Resolution 80 to 
honor these Marines, and it is my privilege to recount their legacy 
today in the United States Senate.
  I proudly celebrate the life and sacrifice of PFC Kenneth J. Tibbs, 
and all Montford Point Marines, on the occasion of this award of the 
Congressional Gold Medal.

                          ____________________