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Quantico Marine helps keep Montford Point history alive

27 Feb 2015 | John Hollis Marine Corps Base Quantico

Gunnery Sgt. Madyun M. Shahid enlisted in the Marine Corps more than 18 years ago with no idea of the sacrifices Montford Point Marines made to make his career possible.

"Nothing at all," he said when asked how much he knew the riveting story of the first African-American Marines. "I thought the Marine Corps always accepted African-Americans."

Shahid, who serves aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico as a finance auditor with the Marine Corps Administrative Analysis Team, has long been a student of history and has taken it upon himself to see to it that others are equally as versed in the deep love of country that motivated African-Americans to withstand institutionalized racism and Spartan living conditions for the right to fight for America starting in World War II.

Shahid, a 44-year-old Atlanta native, has been doing Montford Point reenactments nationally for the last six years, dressing the part while giving a mesmerizing rendition of a Montford Point Marine for audiences who usually know very little if anything about their motivating story.

His travels have taken him to various schools, cafes and museums of all kinds. Shahid said his services have been in particularly high demand during Black History Month.

"It’s like feeding somebody who’s starving," Shahid said. "I’m feeding them with some knowledge."

Dr. James T. Averhart Jr., national president of the Montford Point Marine Association, praised Shahid’s for his efforts.

"He continues to do great things to educate America," Averhart said. "He’s done a great job in preserving the legacy of the Montford Point Marines."

The Marine Corps first opened its ranks to African-Americans following President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order in June 1941. The advent of World War II saw the first African-Americans enter the service in 1942. Denied the opportunity to undergo recruit training with white Marines at either Marine Corps Recruiting Depots at Parris Island, South Carolina or San Diego, California, they were instead relegated to Camp Montford Point in North Carolina.

More than 20,000 African-Americans had trained there by the time the camp closed in 1949, a year following President Harry S. Truman’s decision to integrate all of America’s armed forces. Many of the Montford Point Marines went on to serve with distinction in the Pacific Theater in World War II and later in Korea, despite their treatment at home.

"A lot of people haven’t read about it," he said. "It’s not the first thing they read about when they learn about Marine recruit training."

— Writer: jhollis@quanticosentryonline.com


Marine Corps Base Quantico