OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
February 10,2016
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith a resolution, together with Aldermen Cardenas, Villegas, Solis, Burke, Taliaferro, and Santiago, regarding the Montford Point Marines.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
Mayor
Very truly yours,
/% e
resolution
adopted by (Jhe Qity Qouncil of tke Qity of Qkicago, Illinois
ALDERMEN GEORGE A. CARDENAS, GILBERT VILLEGAS, DANIEL SOLIS,
EDWARD M. BURKE, CHRISTOPHER TALIAFERRO AND MILLY SANTIAGO
resented by MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL 0M FEBRUARY 10, 2016
^tyQllBTBOlS • Since 1775, the United States Marine Corps has served our country in peace and wartime; and
WHEREAS, On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, establishing the fair employment practices that began the process of ending discrimination in the Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, A board headed by Brigadier General Keller E. Rocher studied the integration of African Americans into the Marines' Composite Defense Battalion, which included coastal artillery, antiaircraft, infantry, and tanks; and
WHEREAS, In 1942, President Roosevelt issued a presidential directive allowing African Americans the opportunity to serve in the Marine Corps. The initial wave of recruits, African Americans from every state in the union, were stationed at Montford Point, a facility at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, Approximately twenty thousand African-American Marines received basic training at Montford Point between 1942 and 1949; and
WHEREAS, In July 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which required the desegregation of the military. Montford Point was deactivated soon thereafter, and new black recruits were sent to Parris Island and Camp Pendleton; and
WHEREAS, Twenty years after World War II, in the summer of 1965, an enterprising group of Marine veterans residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania organized a national reunion of the "Montford Pointers;" and
WHEREAS, On September 17th and 18th, 1965, over four hundred former and active-duty Marines representing seventeen states attended the reunion, which was held in the Adelphia Hotel in Philadelphia. This strong response led to the establishment of the Montford Point Marine Association. Today the Association proudly boasts 33 active chapters, the second of which was founded in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, The Montford Point Marine Association convened its inaugural National Convention in Chicago in August 1966. As one of its first official actions, the Association's National Executive Council established an open-door policy, which states "Membership in this Association shall be open to all Marines and Marine veterans who honorably served our country;" and
WHEREAS, On June 27, 2012, the federal government awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines; and
WHEREAS, For the past fifty years, the Montford Point Marine Association has diligently endeavored to live up to its creed: "To promote and preserve the strong bonds of friendship born from shared adversities and to devote ourselves to the furtherance of these accomplishments to ensure more peaceful times;" now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this tenth day of February, 2016, do hereby express our deep appreciation for the Montford Point Marines, and offer our heartfelt gratitude for the steadfast service they have provided our Nation.
