A new structure is was dedicated at Camp Lejeune in Raleigh, North Carolina, Friday.
The Marine Corps Times reported that a new monument honors the first African-Americans who joined the Marine Corps in the form of a 900-pound, 15-feet tall bronze statue, marking the completion of the first phase of the $1.8 million monument.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941, which prohibited racial discrimination in the national defense industry, the Marine Corps were slow to follow the order. Black Marine recruits were forced to train at the satellite camp, Montford Point.
Segregation in the military ended when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948.
An organizer told the Associated Press about 600 people attended the dedication.
"Today, this inspiring memorial takes its rightful place among the other silent testimonials to the courage, dedication and sacrifice of our men and women who have worn the cloth of this nation," Brig. Gen. Thomas Weidley, commander of Marine Corps Installations-East said. "The story of the Montford Point Marines in the 1940s is a uniquely American one, forged by ominous threats from abroad, and shaped by societal struggles and entrenched racial bigotry at home.
"Standing in the cross-currents of those tumultuous times was a generation of 20,000 African-Americans who shared a simple, singular desire to humbly serve and defend this nation no matter what the consequence, no matter what the cost."
Retired 1st Sgt. Barnett Person is a 1946 graduate of Montford Point who served for over 28 years, including service in Vietnam, and was proud to be at the dedication.
"This feels very, very good. It is a day I never thought I would see," Person told the Marine Corps Times.
Person has expectations for Marines in training. "I hope they continue to carry on and follow in the footsteps and complete the mission," he said.
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