My name is Anne Graham Gilliard . I was
the first black woman to enlist in the
United States Marine Corps on September
the 8th , 1949 . Who camp was tough ,
but we survived . We survive heat ,
humidity , mosquitoes and
the ever present Jim Crow .
After graduating boot camp , we were
full fledged Marines and ready to take
on the world . My duty station was U S
M C . Headquarters Washington , D . C .
There I worked in several positions
personnel department , publications ,
department and special borders . I am
proud to have been a Marine . It was a
pleasure and privilege to serve my
country . It's her handwriting .
That's what I like best about it . My
mother was a very patriotic person ,
So she was a patriot . She was
proud to have served reach .
She was courageous
to decide to go and do what she did to
enlist first off in a man's world , you
know , back then it was a man world .
When you think about it , that was a
different time . It was a very
different time in the world . Now it's
so different for women they can do just
about any job the same
job as most men could do .
I feel that my mother honor
courage and commitment that was her