Marines

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Stan Sims, director of Defense Security Service, presents DSS coins to four Montford Point Marine veterans during a Black History Month celebration at the Russell Knox Building on Tuesday. From left to right, the veterans are former recruit Stanley Tapscott, retired Gunnery Sgt. Richard Walker, retired Staff Sgt. Johnny Cody, and retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll Braxton.

Photo by Eve A. Baker

DSS holds Black History Month event, honors Montford Point Marines

27 Feb 2015 | Eve A. Baker Marine Corps Base Quantico

The Defense Security Service, based out of the Russell Knox Building, held a Black History Month celebration Tuesday in a packed auditorium. The event was organized by Selena Hutchinson, the deputy assistant director for the Office of the Designated Approving Authority, and former Air Force officer. The schedule included gospel music selections by the staff choir, Voices of DSS; a brief address from speaker Eric Nelson, retired Marine chief warrant officer two; a video about the Montford Point Marines; and the introduction of and remarks by four Montford Point Marine veterans.

The DSS choir is led by Adriane Johns, an industrial operations staff member for DSS. She said though the choir is not formally organized, roughly the same group of people link up for office functions when music is requested. Sounding as if they had sung together for years, the group only had six practices before the celebration. Teshawna Stackhouse, an administrative support contractor, sang the National Anthem, after which the whole choir sang the gospel songs "Hush" and "Hold on Just a Little While Longer."

Nelson spoke primarily about the Montford Point Marines during his address and emphasized their contribution to American history as a whole, not simply black history. Because of segregration laws in the 1940s, black men who wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps trained at Montford Point in North Carolina from 1942-1949. Nelson discussed the new Montford Point Marines Memorial, to be located in the Lejeune Memorial Gardens aboard Camp Johnson, North Carolina. Groundbreaking takes place Feb. 27, and among other features, the memorial will contain a star for each of the 20,000 Marines who trained there.

Camp Johnson is named after Sgt. Maj. Gilbert "Hashmark" Johnson, one of the first black Marine drill instructors. According to the event program, Camp Johnson "is the first and only Marine Corps installation to be named after an African-American."

After a short video about the Montford Point Marines, Nelson introduced the four such Marines in attendance. They were retired Staff Sgt. Johnny Cody, who served 20 ½ years; Stanley Tapscott, who enlisted at 17 but was honorably discharge after three months at boot camp due to illness; retired Gunnery Sgt. Richard Walker, who served 24 years; and retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll Braxton, who served 28 years.

The gentlemen held the audience captive with their vivid tales from decades ago. Cody said he initially enlisted in the Navy Reserve but did not last long as a seaman. After shipping out on a destroyer and losing 25 pounds in just two weeks due to violent sea sickness, he sought a discharge and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He said the first order he received after signing up was to carry a tray to the mess hall for the legendary "Hashmark" Johnson.

Among the veterans, Braxton spoke the longest and shared the most stories, earning rounds of appreciative applause from the audience several times. He said as a young black man wanting to join the Marine Corps, he had to go through two physicals, and reading and writing tests, while his friends who joined the other services only had to complete one physical and no extra tests. He graduated high school on May 3rd and shipped out to boot camp on June 4th.

After boot camp, Braxton thought he was going to 51st Defense Battalion, but when he got there, he said he was told he was actually going to have to go back to Montford Point as a drill instructor. He recalled being very reluctant to take on the role and said, "I could never treat another human being the way they treated me." He also recalled President Roosevelt coming to visit the Marines while he was working at Montford Point and that the president thanked them for their service.

Braxton was not the first member of his family to serve in the military; he said he had three uncles who served in World War I, and his brother enlisted in the army before him and was serving in Europe. Braxton mentioned how when his brother enlisted, black men were only given sticks to train with at first, but the Marine recruits got real rifles right away.

Braxton said that for the most part, all Marines, white and black, looked out for each other. He recalled the time when he was waiting at a bus stop to get to his next assignment, and buses came by twice, but the drivers wouldn’t let him on. A white Marine later showed up and struck up a conversation with him and after learning of Braxton’s situation, ordered the bus station manager to put him on a bus.

After all, Braxton said, "Once you got overseas, the bullets weren’t black or white."

— Writer: ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com


Marine Corps Base Quantico