I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2447 
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 7, 2011 
Ms. BROWN of Florida (for herself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BRADY of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, 
Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana, Ms. CLARKE 
of New York, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. 
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. FATTAH) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point 
Marines. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 8802 estab-
lishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission 
and opening the doors for the very first African- 
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Americans to enlist in the United States Marine 
Corps. 
(2) The first Black Marine recruits were 
trained at Camp Montford Point, near the New 
River in Jacksonville, North Carolina. 
(3) On August 26, 1942, Howard P. Perry of 
Charlotte, North Carolina, was the first Black pri-
vate to set foot on Montford Point. 
(4) During April 1943 the first African-Amer-
ican Marine Drill Instructors took over as the senior 
Drill Instructors of the eight platoons then in train-
ing; the 16th Platoon (Edgar R. Huff), 17th (Thom-
as Brokaw), 18th (Charles E. Allen), 19th (Gilbert 
H. Johnson), 20th (Arnold R. Bostic), 21st 
(Mortimer A. Cox), 22nd (Edgar R. Davis, Jr.), and 
23rd (George A. Jackson). 
(5) Black Marines of the 8th Ammunition Com-
pany and the 36th Depot Company landed on the is-
land of Iwo Jima on D–Day, February 19, 1945. 
(6) The largest number of Black Marines to 
serve in combat during World War II took part in 
the seizure of Okinawa in the Ryuku Islands with 
some 2,000 Black Marines seeing action during the 
campaign. 
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(7) On November 10, 1945, the first African- 
American Marine, Frederick C. Branch, was com-
missioned as a second lieutenant at the Marine 
Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. 
(8) Overall 19,168 Blacks served in the Marine 
Corps in World War II. 
(9) An enterprising group of men, including 
original Montford Pointer Master Sergeant Brooks 
E. Gray, planned a reunion of the Men of Montford 
Point, and on September 15, 1965, approximately 
400 Montford Point Marines gathered at the 
Adelphi Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to lay 
the foundation for the Montford Point Marine Asso-
ciation Inc., 16 years after the closure of Montford 
Point as a training facility for Black recruits. 
(10) Organized as a non-military, nonprofit en-
tity, the Montford Point Marine Association’s main 
mission is to preserve the legacy of the first Black 
Marines. 
(11) Today the Montford Point Marine Associa-
tion has 36 chapters throughout the United States. 
(12) Many of these first Black Marines stayed 
in the Marine Corps like Sergeant Major Edgar R. 
Huff. 
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(13) Sergeant Major Huff was one of the very 
first recruits aboard Montford Point. 
(14) Sergeant Major Huff was also the first Af-
rican-American Sergeant Major and the first Afri-
can-American Marine to retire with 30 years of serv-
ice which included combat in three major wars, 
World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam 
War. 
(15) During the Tet Offensive, Sergeant Major 
Huff was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with com-
bat ‘‘V’’ for valor for saving the life of his radio op-
erator. 
(16) Another original Montford Pointer who 
saw extensive combat action in both the Korean War 
and the Vietnam War was Sergeant Major Louis 
Roundtree. 
(17) Sergeant Major Roundtree was awarded 
the Silver Star Medal, four Bronze Star Medals, 
three Purple Hearts, and numerous other personal 
and unit awards for his service during these con-
flicts. 
(18) On April 19, 1974, Montford Point was 
renamed Camp Johnson after legendary Montford 
Pointer Sergeant Major Gilbert ‘‘Hashmark’’ John-
son. 
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(19) The Montford Point Marine Association 
has several memorials in place to perpetuate the 
memory of the first African-American Marines and 
their accomplishments, including— 
(A) the Montford Point Marine Association 
Edgar R. Huff Memorial Scholarship which is 
offered annually through the Marine Corps 
Scholarship Foundation; 
(B) the Montford Point Museum located 
aboard Camp Johnson (Montford Point) in 
Jacksonville, North Carolina; 
(C) the Brooks Elbert Gray, Jr. Consoli-
dated Academic Instruction Facility named in 
honor of original Montford Pointer and the 
Montford Point Marine Corps Association 
founder Master Gunnery Sergeant Gray. This 
facility was dedicated on 15 April 2005 aboard 
Camp Johnson, North Carolina; and 
(D) during July of 1997 Branch Hall, a 
building within the Officers Candidate School in 
Quantico, Virginia, was named in honor of Cap-
tain Frederick Branch. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD
AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 
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