WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the 236th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps today, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a former Marine, announced the Senate passed legislation he sponsored to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines, the first African Americans to serve in the Corps.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) introduced the bipartisan legislation with Senators Roberts, Richard Burr (R-NC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Sen. Roberts personally gathered 23 signatures to advance the bill out of the Senate Committee on Banking, which requires 67 signatures on a Medal bill. Having already cleared the House, the bill was approved by the Senate late last night and goes to the president to be signed into law.

“I can think of no better way to celebrate the service of the men and women of the Marines than by bestowing this long overdue honor on the nation’s first African American Marines,” Roberts said. “Their sacrifice and service to our nation was especially selfless given the segregation and discrimination they faced.”

The Montford Point Marines is the name given to the first African Americans who served in the U.S. Marine Corps. They trained at Camp Montford Point, near Jacksonville, North Carolina. African Americans were brought into the Marine Corps in 1941, as a result of an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The executive order, which established the Fair Employment Practices Commission, stated that "there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin." Overall, 19,168 African American Marines received training at Montford Point between 1942 and 1949, many of whom participated in the Pacific Theatre Campaign of World War II, distinguishing themselves by acts of great valor.

As Congress’s highest national honor, the Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of the Montford Point Marines during World War II. The Congressional Gold Medal will be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be displayed, as appropriate, and made available for research.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) introduced the bipartisan legislation with Senators Roberts, Richard Burr (R-NC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Sen. Roberts personally gathered 23 signatures to advance the bill out of the Senate Committee on Banking which requires 67 signatures on a Medal bill. Having already cleared the House, the bill was approved by the Senate late last night and goes to the president to be signed into law.

A video of Sen. Roberts, the most senior Marine in the U.S. Congress, honoring a group of Montford Point Marines can be found here.

-30-