To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.
PL 112-59 (H.R.2447), enacted 11/23/2011

125 STAT. 749 
PUBLIC LAW 112–59—NOV. 23, 2011 
Public Law 112–59 
112th Congress 
An Act 
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 establishing the Fair Employ-
ment Practices Commission and opening the doors for the very 
first African-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 private to set foot on 
Montford Point. 
(4) During April 1943 the first African-American Marine 
Drill Instructors took over as the senior Drill Instructors of 
the eight platoons then in training; the 16th Platoon (Edgar 
R. Huff), 17th (Thomas 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. Jack-
son). 
(5) Black Marines of the 8th Ammunition Company and 
the 36th Depot Company landed on the island 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. 
(7) On November 10, 1945, the first African-American 
Marine, Frederick C. Branch, was commissioned 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 Association Inc., 
16 years after the closure of Montford Point as a training 
facility for Black recruits. 
31 USC 5111 
note. 
Nov. 23, 2011 
[H.R. 2447] 
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125 STAT. 750 
PUBLIC LAW 112–59—NOV. 23, 2011 
(10) Organized as a non-military, nonprofit entity, the 
Montford Point Marine Association’s main mission is to pre-
serve the legacy of the first Black Marines. 
(11) Today the Montford Point Marine Association 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. 
(13) Sergeant Major Huff was one of the very first recruits 
aboard Montford Point. 
(14) Sergeant Major Huff was also the first African-Amer-
ican Sergeant Major and the first African-American Marine 
to retire with 30 years of service 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 combat ‘‘V’’ for valor 
for saving the life of his radio operator. 
(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 conflicts. 
(18) On April 19, 1974, Montford Point was renamed Camp 
Johnson after legendary Montford Pointer Sergeant Major Gil-
bert ‘‘Hashmark’’ Johnson. 
(19) The Montford Point Marine Association has several 
memorials in place to perpetuate the memory of the first Afri-
can-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. Consolidated 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 Captain Frederick Branch. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall 
make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of the 
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor 
of the Montford Point Marines, collectively, in recognition of their 
personal sacrifice and service to their country. 
(b) DESIGN
AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the award 
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter 
in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike the gold 
medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
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125 STAT. 751 
PUBLIC LAW 112–59—NOV. 23, 2011 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2447: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 157 (2011): 
Oct. 25, considered and passed House. 
Nov. 9, considered and passed Senate. 
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the 
costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National medals for 
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS OF SALE. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized 
to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
Fund, an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of 
the medals authorized under section 2. 
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the sale of 
duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund. 
Approved November 23, 2011. 
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