Document for June 1st:
"Breaking a tradition of 167 years, the U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting Negroes on June 1, 1942... The first Negro to enlist was Howard P. Perry shown here."

"Breaking a tradition of 167 years, the U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting Negroes on June 1, 1942... The first Negro to enlist was Howard P. Perry shown here." Roger Smith, Photographer. (NWDNS-208-NP-10KK-1; ARC Identifier: 535870); Series: Negro Activities in Industry, Government, and the Armed Forces, 1941 - 1945; Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. News Bureau; Records of the Office of War Information, 1926 - 1951; Record Group 208; National Archives.

"Breaking a tradition of 167 years, the U.S. Marine Corps started enlisting Negroes on June 1, 1942. The first class of 1,200 Negro volunteers began their training 3 months later as members of the 51st Composite Defense Battalion at Montford Point, a section of the 200-square-mile Marine Base, Camp Lejeune, at New River, NC. The first Negro to enlist was Howard P. Perry shown here."
More Photos of African Americans During World War II...
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