12th Annual National Montford Point Marine NC Triad Triangle Chapter 38 Journal

Subject: Three of Them Are Still With Us — Help Us Honor the Montford Point Marines

Dear Members, Friends, and Community Partners,

I'm writing to ask for your help with something that means a great deal to our chapter. Every year, the National Montford Point Marine Association, NC Triad–Triangle Chapter 38, puts together our Montford Point Marine Annual Journal, and we'd love for you to be part of this year's edition (2027) by placing an ad in it.

If you don't know the history, it's worth knowing. From 1942 to 1949, nearly 20,000 men trained at Montford Point Camp - a segregated facility - to become the first African Americans ever allowed to serve in the United States Marine Corps. They fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. They did it while their own country treated them as less than equal, and they did it anyway. Years later, Congress awarded them the Gold Medal, its highest honor, for exactly that.

Here's the part that stays with me most: three of those original Marines are still members of our chapter. They remain part of our chapter family - still sharp, still engaged, still reminding us why this work matters. Not many chapters can say that anymore, and every year that number gets smaller. Supporting our work right now is a way to thank them while they're still here to see it.