The editors at Yank (an Army possession) seldom wrote about the Marines – and they loved dissing their weekly magazine, The Leatherneck. However, they did recognize an historic moment when they saw one. As remarked in another article on this site, the Navy was the most prejudiced of all the branches of service, and the Marines had previously rejected all Black recruits, but that changed in 1942, and this article served to introduce their readers to this consequential lot. The first African American Marines trained at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, NC from August 26, 1942 until the camp was decommissioned in 1949. The greatest number of black Marines to serve in combat during the Second World War was during the Battle of Okinawa (2,000 strong).
More articles about the Black experience during the Second World War can be read here.
Barracudas Leathernecks WW2African-American USMC unit call the Barracudas 1943Yank Magazine article about the first black Marines ever 1943charley nesbitt USMC ww2James T Wilson USMC ww2Frederick E Gartrille USMC ww2Pierre A Clarke USMC ww2Jim Grigg USMC ww2Carl Sharperson USMC ww2Joe Griffin USMC ww2Roosevelt Williams USMC ww2Carl Adams USMC ww2Louis A Shelton USMC ww2David C Moody USMC ww2Matthew Hall USMC ww2James R Jordan USMC ww2Herbert G Davis USMC ww2Andrew C Walker USMC ww2M Gerald Taylor USMC ww2Thomas C Robinson USMC ww2Sgt Felix Daniels USMC ww2Sgt Olin V Carey USMC ww2
Barracudas Leathernecks WW2African-American USMC unit call the Barracudas 1943Yank Magazine article about the first black Marines ever 1943charley nesbitt USMC ww2James T Wilson USMC ww2Frederick E Gartrille USMC ww2Pierre A Clarke USMC ww2Jim Grigg USMC ww2Carl Sharperson USMC ww2Joe Griffin USMC ww2Roosevelt Williams USMC ww2Carl Adams USMC ww2Louis A Shelton USMC ww2David C Moody USMC ww2Matthew Hall USMC ww2James R Jordan USMC ww2Herbert G Davis USMC ww2Andrew C Walker USMC ww2M Gerald Taylor USMC ww2Thomas C Robinson USMC ww2Sgt Felix Daniels USMC ww2Sgt Olin V Carey USMC ww2
