WWII-era Montford Point Marines sought for recognition

The Marine Corps and the Montford Point Marine Assn. are looking for African Americans who trained from 1942 to 1949 at the segregated Marine facility Camp Montford Point.

Legislation to award the original Montford Point Marines with a Congressional Gold Medal was signed by President Obama in November. An award ceremony is set for spring.

To be counted among the original Montford Point Marines and receive a replica medal, documentation such as the DD214 or discharge paperwork is required, officials said.

Persons with questions about the process should contact Joe Geeter of the Montford Point Marine Assn. at (610) 495-3619.

More than 20,000 African Americans trained at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, N.C. The camp was closed as a training facility when the U.S. military was racially integrated by presidential order.

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Montford Point Marines at a Camp Pendleton ceremony. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles  Times.