PENSACOLA, Fla. — The nation’s highest civilian honor was presented Thursday to the family of Private Thomas Martin.
The ceremony was held at Veterans Memorial Park in Pensacola. Private Martin’s family was there to accept this award.
During WWII, Martin was one of the first Black recruits allowed to enlist and train as a Marine at Montford Point in North Carolina.
After the Revolutionary War Black Americans were barred from serving in the Marine Corps until 1941.
“Because of the sacrifices, perseverance, and commitment of the Montford Point Marines, thousands of African Americans Marines are reaping the benefits and stand on the shoulders of these pioneers, trailblazers who dare to want to be a Marine when African Americans were excluded from the Marine Corps,” said Ret. U.S. Marine Dr. James T. Averhart Jr.
Inscribed on the gold medal are the words “For outstanding perseverance and courage that inspired social change in the Marine Corps.”
Martin’s family says those words represent exactly what the Montford Point Marines stood for: change, equality and respect.
“I’m very grateful to the Montford Point Marine Association, because they find people and they give this honor to them for the work that they did,” said Margaret Martin Barry, Private Martin’s daughter. “And I remember my father talking about how hard that training was. I mean, he was a professional fighter and a very good one. Internationally known and recognized boxer, he trained all his life. He said this was the hardest training he ever did, the Montford Point Marines.”
After his time in the Marine Corps, Martin was appointed warden of the Richmond Penitentiary on Saint Croix.
“He was such a humble person. Great rock and tour, but very humble essentially as a person,” Barry said. “And very caring because in his work, as warden of the prison, he was very conscious of the men that he was taking care of. And I just wish wardens were more like that today because he was always thinking of their future. He set up savings accounts for them, have them use their skills to make things they can sell.”
Barry says her father’s humility and generosity bled into everything he did, and his time as a Montford Point Marine was no exception.
“Today, our naval service is more diversified than ever before, with African Americans serving on all levels of leadership, on active duty and in the civilian sector,” Averhart said. “I assure you that Private Thomas Martin didn’t start out to have his name placed in the pages of history, but stepped up to the challenges [and] was ready when the doors of opportunity was opened.”
Private Martin died in 1987.
Thursday’s ceremony is just one of the ceremonies authorized by a public law to honor all the Montford Point Marines collectively for their WWII service.
