Clay Honors Montford Point Marines with Congressional Gold Medal, Three World War II Veterans Were Heroes on the Battlefield and at Home

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STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Clay Honors Montford Point Marines with Congressional Gold Medal

Three World War II Vets Were Heroes on the Battlefield and at Home

ST. LOUIS, MO – Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri awarded one of our nation’s highest honors, the Congressional Gold Medal, to three World War II veterans for their bravery on the battlefield and their courage at home. 

“I am privileged today on behalf of a grateful nation to honor three brave veterans who fought two battles at the same time.” said Mr. Clay.“James Wilkes, Godfrey Wilson and Youlande Lathan are not only proud Marines…they are also Montford Point Marines. That means that while they were defending freedom and saving the world from fascism in World War II, these three brave Americans and their courageous comrades were also fighting a battle for equality and full citizenship for African Americans at home.”

From 1942 – 1949, more than 20,000 black Marines passed through the segregated Montford Point Recruit Training Center. They faced the worst kind of racism and hardship, even while they wore the uniform of this country.

The Congressman continued, “When they hit the beaches across the Pacific, it didn’t matter what color they were. They were just brave Americans…fighting for their country.  Today, we honor these courageous men with the very same medal that many of their colleagues received at the U.S. Capitol. I am privileged to be able to pay this long overdue tribute to them.”

The Montford Point Marines helped pave the way for future generations of African-Americans by proving themselves in training and in battle. They broke the color line and changed the U.S. Marine Corps and their country forever.

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