American Shooting Journal ran my article about African American Marines in the battle of Iwo Jima in their December issue. This is the first time they have taken a non airgun article from me.
From 1922 to 1949 the U.S. Marine Corps trained 20,00 African American Marines, but in those years the USMC was a segregated force. White, and a few black, officers commanded units made up only of black Marines. They trained at a base segregated from the rest of the Marine Corps at Camp Montford Point, North Carolina. Three quarters of the Montford Point Marines went to the Pacific. On Saipan and Iwo Jima many saw fierce combat.
Today those Marines and their boot camp are symbols of courage and determination. A serving Sergeant in the Corps wrote to me, “ I would not have been who I am without their clearing the way for me. I am so grateful for their service”.