- [Announcer] In honor of Mark N. Smith, Jr.
Martha Stoval in honor of Norman Kane.
Christopher Thompson in honor of Amos Thompson.
Philip Tibbs in honor of Kenneth Tibbs.
Pierre Townes in honor of Henry Townes.
John L. Turner in honor of John Hall, Jr.
Devrel Walker in honor of Robert Greene, Jr.
Arlene F. Woods in honor of James Woods, Jr.
(applause)
(cheering)
Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Jim Amos.
(applause)
- Ladies and gentlemen in the crowd, in the audience,
please excuse me for a minute while I talk to my Marines down front.
(applause and cheering)
I wanted to see if you've still got an oorah left in your body.
So on the count of one, two, three, good morning, Marines!
- [Audience] Oorah!
Yeah, I forgot the "one, two, three", didn't I?
Hey, good morning, Marines, it's good to have you out here
at your home at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a...
This is a legendary moment.
It's a historical moment in the rich lineage and history
of our United States Marine Corps.
To watch those medals be put around your neck...
I tell you what, it brings tears to all Marines who
wear this cloth today.
Ladies and gentlemen, this would not be possible
if it were not for the dogged determination
of a host of Marines,
but two in particular, and I'd like to call them forward right now.
General Willie Williams and Colonel Stephanie Smith,
would you step forward? Come here.
(applause and cheering)
Come on out here where everybody can see you.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Get around over here, Stephanie.
Ladies and gentlemen, can you imagine
trying to herd general officers
and how difficult that would be?
Can you imagine herding 430
Montford Point Marines,
who haven't obeyed an order since 1949?
(laughter)
Ladies and gentlemen, Colonel Stephanie Smith,
whose father Ernie is out here today...
Where are you? Where is he, Stephanie?
Right there, would you raise your hand, Mr. Smith, please?
He's, there he is, he's way down there.
Her daddy's a Montford Point Marine.
(applause)
About seven months ago, we sat in a conference room.
We were plotting this, trying to figure out how we were going to do this.
Colonel Smith volunteered.
And then she sat in private and told me
about her father
and about how proud she was of the fact
that he is a United States Marine
and he went through boot camp at Montford Point.
So, Stephanie, on behalf of all of us,
thank you for your great faithfulness,
because it was really, really hard.
(applause)
And this rock star standing to my right,
Lieutenant General Willie Williams,
the senior African American Marine on active duty today,
is the Energizer Bunny behind all of this.
(applause and cheering)
You can't do this without people that actually
take the baton and carry it across the goal line.
Willie, you've done that, your staff, everybody
that has participated in this.
Marine Barracks Washington, Christian, thank you very much.
This has been wonderful, thank you, oorah, thank you.
(applause)
My part here is actually pretty easy.
Can I have these two ladies join me, please?
Ladies, come on.
Come out here, come on out here.
I actually had a prepared speech
that lasted an hour and a half.
(laughter)
And I elected to not do it.
Marines, you know, who'd have thought
that it would take two women to push this thing across,
out of the red zone and into the goal line.
(applause and cheering)
I tell you what.
Representative Corrine Brown
from the great state of Florida,
(applause) she spearheaded this
in the House of Representatives.
And my particular senator,
from the great state of North Carolina, Kay Hagan,
pushed it across the goal line in the Senate.
Thank you very much, ladies, thank you.
(applause)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Senator Roberts, from the great state of Kansas,
United States Marine, has been one of our faithful
companos and supporters of our Corps today.
So, Senator Roberts, it's great to have you here.
We've got a host of very important people.
But nobody, nobody, is more important
than the 430 Montford Point Marines out here
who waited 70 years for this.
Seventy years. (applause and cheering)
A year and a half ago, Sergeant Major Kent,
who was the 16th sergeant major, and I
attended a very small reunion
at Camp Pendleton in the base theatre
of original Montford Pointers.
And when we walked out that day,
not understanding, not knowing history,
about Montford Point Marines,
I looked at Sergeant Major Kent and I said, "We've got to do something about this."
Ladies and gentlemen,
today, it's not done, we're not done.
There's a host of things that are happening in the Marine Corps
to anchor what you have done for our Corps
in those seven years...It's being anchored in our Marine Corps today.
So it's not done, but today brings an official
recognition of your faithfulness,
your courage, your determination.
Thank you for being here.
I'm honored, on behalf of all
260,000 Marines who say
God bless you and Semper Fidelis, Marines.
Oorah. (applause)
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, please rise
for the withdrawal of the colors.
- [Marine] Battalion,
attention!
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated.
Now joining General Amos in the reviewing area
are the earliest Montford Point Marine enlistee present,
Mr. James E. Brooks, who enlisted in the Marine Corps
on 29 June 1942,
and the latest Montford Point enlistee present,
Mr. Leon Dean, who enlisted in the Marine Corps
on 23 May 1949.
(applause)
Also entering the reviewing area for pass in review,
are the Director of the Marine Corps Staff
and the senior African American general in the Marine Corps today,
Lieutenant General Willie J. Williams,
and the commanding officer of Marine Barracks Washington,
Colonel Christian G. Cabanas.
(applause)
- [Marine] Right shoulder arms!
Forward march!
("Pass in Review - March")
(applause)
("Marine's Hymn")
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our ceremony.
You are now invited to join General Amos and the Montford Point Marines
at the south end of the parade deck for a reception.
On behalf of the Commandant and Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.,
thank you for your attendance and semper fidelis.