Montford Point Marines to receive Congressional Gold Medals in Fort Lauderdale
MIAMI - A month shy of 93, retired Marine Sgt. Allen Williams still jabs his punching bag in his living room.
He began boxing when he was a teen after joining the Marine Corps.
'I fought Joe Lewis three times," Williams said.
"I did pretty good, but I ended up on the canvas," he said with a grin.
He and another man signed up for service together. 'I'm going down to the Marine Corps and I'm going to enlist in the Marines.' He was a white kid. So, we went down together and enlisted together, and from that day on, I never seen him again," Williams recalled.
Williams enlisted in 1948, just six years after Black men were allowed to join.
He's known as a Montford Point Marine.
"My camp was Black, Montford Point Marines. Montford Point was a Black training center for Black Marines," he said.
Black and white Marines were segregated.
"When we were on base, I stayed in my barrack and they stayed in theirs, white barracks, Black barracks until 1949 is when it all integrated," he said.
Twenty-thousand Black Marines went through Montford Point, North Carolina in the seven years it was open.
In 1948, President Harry Truman ordered an end to segregation in the military.
These Marines paved the way for others, but Williams said many people don't know about them.
"We were never really recognized in the public that much. A lot of time, even Black people, Montford Point Marines. They don't know who we are. They never heard of us," he said.
More people know now after President Barack Obama awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal. Williams got his in 10 years ago.
"It was unexpected. I was proud, happy that someone recognized the fact of the things we had to go through, that somebody noticed us. I thought it was a great honor," he said.
Next week, 101-year-old Cpl. George Johnson and the late Cpl. Moses Williams will receive their Congressional Gold Medals.
That ceremony takes place on Monday, Feb. 6 at 12 PM at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.
The celebration is open to the public.