Carolyn Maloney: “I want to begin by thanking my colleague and very good friend, Corrine Brown, for her leadership on this, and also…”

“I want to begin by thanking my colleague and very good friend, Corrine Brown, for her leadership on this, and also Chairman Walter Jones and Ranking Member Clay. I am a proud cosponsor, and I rise in strong support of this bill, and I am thrilled that the Montford Point Marines are with us in the gallery. In 1941, President Roosevelt issued an executive order which opened the door for the first African Americans to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Totaling approximately 20,000, these brave men faced segregated training at Montford Point, North Carolina, while white recruits were trained at Parris Island in South Carolina. Among these distinguished marines was someone who later in life would become an outstanding mayor of the city of New York, my friend and now constituent, David Dinkins. David Dinkins, Mayor Dinkins, enlisted in the Marines in 1945 immediately after graduating from high school and served until the end of the war. He told me this story today about how thrilled he was about this gold medal. He said one day he went out and the drill sergeant announced: Everybody, get on your knees. Thank the Lord, the war is over. Now get up, nothing has changed. Mayor Dinkins and the rest of the men in the Montford Point Marines served with distinction, regardless of the prejudice and segregation they faced, fighting in the Pacific arena during the Second World War in three of the bloodiest battles--Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.…”