Sgt. Maj. Angela M. Maness, the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point sergeant major, thanks Johnnie Thompkins Jr. for his military service after a ceremony celebrating the legacy of the Montford Point Marines Friday, at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Theater. Thompkins was one of the first African Americans to enlist in the Marine Corps, and his service that spanned more than two decades, during times when blacks were not always welcomed among the ranks. On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802; the elimination of racial discrimination from federal departments, agencies and the military. From 1942 to 1949, more than 20,000 black men trained on the hallowed grounds of Montford Point.
Cpl. Andrea Cleopatra Dickerson
Taken on 8 February 2013
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