The Second World War saw massive mobilization of the United States of America’s population, including women and African Americans, into the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. While none of the services were particularly enthused about accepting women and African Americans into their ranks, the rapid expansion of each branch forced the military to put this institutional reluctance to one side in order to free up white males for combat duty overseas.
The United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps had the most difficult experience regarding the acceptance of African Americans since the Corps was an entirely segregated force up until 1942. In 1942, however, the Corps agreed to form several African American USMC units – which would be officered by white marines – thus showing that regardless of its reluctance the Corps still followed orders. At Montford Point, North Carolina, in 1942, then, the Corps began the creation of its first African American unit.
Due to anti-African American propaganda over the centuries the Corps held the common belief that African Americans would be ineffectual as fighters. Where the Corps differed from its sister services, however, was its understanding that at some point African American marines would be required to fight, even if it was only in a defensive position.
Training African American Volunteers
At Montford Point the Corps took carefully selected and screened African American recruits – pairing them with NCOs and officers who were also chosen with care – and began to train them as marines, and created a defense battalion from the proud and willing recruits. Soon the recruits were physically trained and disciplined to the high, exacting standards to the Corps. Within a short time the African American marines were also proficient in the use of their rifles, machine-guns, and artillery pieces, a success which encouraged USMC Headquarters to form a second African American USMC defense battalion in 1943.
African American Marines in the Pacific Campaign
Both the first and second defense battalions were sent to the Pacific where they were primarily used as manual labor (the Corps had a total of 63 ammunition and depot companies that were African American by the war’s end). While the majority of African American Marines did not see combat a few did as the Corps suffered extremely high casualties during the Pacific Campaign and were continuously short of white troops to serve as laborers during combat landings. This being the case there were some combat casualties amongst the two defense battalions, nearly one hundred, as they made beach landings under fire and, on the rare occasion, served as combat infantrymen.
For most African American Marines, however, their service was marked by long hours of tedious labor in an environment of extreme racism and prejudice. Yet they still proudly earned the title of US Marine, served, and helped to end the war in the Pacific.
Source:
Millett, Allan R. Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York: 1982.
Nicholas Efstathiou - My name is Nicholas E. Efstathiou and I have a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and a Master's in Military History. I have had a ...
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