We understand the importance of preserving the legacy of Carolina Marines and Sailors and are excited to enhance that mission with The Civic Institute - an educational component founded by General Al Gray, 29th Commandant - that will teach citizens of all ages about the ideals that are the foundation of our nation as so ably demonstrated by Marines since 1775. Courses will be offered on location at schools and businesses, online and - when the museum is completed - onsite.

June 1942 was a watershed year in history: The Battle of Midway, one of WW II’s most decisive, forever stopped the Japanese relentless expansion across the Pacific, placing their armed forces on the defensive until ultimate defeat. On the home front, in a first step down the long road to racial equality and the obtainment of long denied basic civil rights, black Americans would now be permitted the opportunity to serve their country by enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps, a privilege heretofore unavailable to

the Negro race since the Corps was reestablished in 1798. Assailed by inexorable social, political and economic pressure, and wartime pragmatism, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox had forced a reluctant and recalcitrant Corps to reverse their historic policy and comply as directed with the enlistment of blacks.

In the spring of 1942, orders went out to the Marine Corps Reserve Districts to begin black enlistment on June 1^st. On that date, at precisely 12:01 in the morning, 26-year-old Alfred Masters, a black civil service employee at the Army Supply Depot, accompanied by his wife, Isabell Arch, proudly raised his right hand in the Oklahoma City post office and became the first of the approximately 20,000 “colored” Marines that famously served their Corps and country. These enlistees trained at Montford Point, an all-Black, segregated training center from 1942 to 1949. Montford Point was an isolated six-square mile, segregated enclave aboard Camp Lejeune, adjacent to Jacksonville, NC. It, however, was unfinished in June, and for two- and one-half months the first enlistees found themselves assigned to the inactive reserve until they could be called up and ordered there for duty. Even when the Camp was essentially completed, with the first recruits reporting on August 13^th, 1942, the myriad service support, academic and administrative functions required of an operational camp were yet unmanned. For these roles, the Corps looked for recruits of character and capabilities that would be of immediate use. This was a select group. Read more...

Montford Point Memorial, Lejeune Memorial Gardens, Jacksonville, NC. Photo by Visit Jacksonville

aka  

Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle,

Lex Luthor,

Col. Jason Rhodes, USMC (ret).,

Gene Hackman is one of the most prolific actors of our time, starring in more than eighty films including The French Connection, Unforgiven, Bonnie and Clyde, Mississippi Burning, The Quick and the Dead, A Bridge too Far, Superman: the Movie, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, and Behind Enemy Lines. Hackman has two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.

Perhaps his earliest acting job came when, at 16, he pretended to be old enough to join the United States Marine Corps. Hackman served from 1946-1951 with three years active and a year inactive reserves. It only took a few short months in 1947 for the teenaged Hackman to go from basic training to a duty station in China. He worked primarily as a radio operator, but still found avenues for creative expression during his service. One day he volunteered as a disc-jockey for his unit's radio station which turned into a more permanent position which included newscasting. Hackman's deployment took him from Tsing Tao to Shanghai, but he was later stationed in Hawaii. Hackman describes himself as "not being a good Marine" due to "having trouble with authority" - a trait he perhaps later used in his role as Lex Luthor. (Military.com)

W. S. Gilbert's illustration for "Now, Jurymen, hear my advice" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury

June 5, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded while leaving the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles. The shooting occurred after a celebration of Kennedy's victory in the California presidential primary. 

June 6, 1944 - D-Day, the largest amphibious landing in history, began in the early-morning hours as Allied forces landed in Normandy on the northern coast of France. Operation Overlord took months of planning and involved 1,527,000 soldiers in 47 Allied divisions along with 4,400 ships and landing craft, and 11,000 aircraft. 

June 6, 1978 - By a vote of almost two to one, California voters approved Proposition 13, an amendment to the state constitution severely limiting property tax rates.

June 7, 1965 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law banning contraception. In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court guaranteed the right to privacy, including freedom from government intrusion into matters of birth control.

June 10, 1652 - In Massachusetts, silversmith John Hull opened the first mint in America, in defiance of English colonial law. The first coin issued was the Pine Tree Shilling, designed by Hull.

June 12, 1963 - Civil rights leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi, by a rifle bullet from an ambush. He had been active in seeking integration of schools and voter registration for African Americans in the South. Widespread public outrage following his death led President John F. Kennedy to propose a comprehensive Civil Rights law. Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

June 13, 1966 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) in the case of Miranda v. Arizona that an accused person must be apprised of certain rights before police questioning including the right to remain silent, the right to know that anything said can be used against the individual in court, and the right to have a defense attorney present during interrogation. American police officers now routinely read prisoners their 'Miranda' (constitutional) rights before questioning.

June 14, 1775 - The first U.S. Military service, the Continental Army consisting of six companies of riflemen, was established by the Second Continental Congress. The next day, George Washington was appointed by a unanimous vote to command the army.

June 14, 1777 - John Adams introduced a resolution before Congress mandating a United States flag, stating, "...that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation." This anniversary is celebrated each year in the U.S. as Flag Day.

June 14, 1922 - Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President to broadcast a message over the radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.

June 14, 1951 - Univac 1, the world's first commercial electronic computer was unveiled in Philadelphia. It was installed at the Census Bureau and utilized a magnetic tape unit as a buffer memory.

June 18, 1983 - Dr. Sally Ride, a 32-year-old physicist and pilot, became the first American woman in space, beginning a six-day mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

June 20, 1782 - The U.S. Congress officially adopted the Great Seal of the United States of America.

June 24, 1948 - Soviet Russia began a blockade of Berlin. Two days later the Allies responded with an emergency airlift to relieve two million isolated West Berliners. During the Berlin Airlift, American and British planes flew about 278,000 flights, delivering 2.3 million tons of food, coal and medical supplies. A plane landed in Berlin every minute from eleven Allied staging areas in West Germany. The Russians lifted their blockade of Berlin on May 12, 1949, however the airlift continued until September 30th.

June 29, 1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." The decision spared the lives of 600 individuals then sitting on death row. Four years later, in another ruling, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment. On October 4, 1976, the ban was lifted on the death penalty in cases involving murder.

June 30, 1971 - The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was enacted, granting the right to vote in all federal, state and local elections to American citizens 18 years or older. The U.S. thus gained an additional 11 million voters. The minimum voting age in most states had been 21.

BGen Dick Vercauteren, USMC (Ret) - Chairman

Mr. Mark Cramer, JD - Vice Chairman

CAPT Pat Alford, USN (Ret) - Treasurer

Col Joe Atkins, USAF (Ret) - Secretary

Col John B. Sollis, USMC (Ret) - Immediate Past Chairman

General Al Gray, USMC (Ret), 29th Commandant - At-Large Member

LtGen Gary S. McKissock, USMC (Ret) - At-Large Member

Mr. Terry Branton

Mr. Tom DeSanctis

MyGySgt Osceola Elliss, USMC (Ret)

Col Chuck Geiger, USMC (Ret)

Col Bruce Gombar, USMC (Ret)

LtCol Lynn "Kim" Kimball, USMC (Ret)

CWO4 Richard McIntosh, USMC (Ret)

CWO5 Lisa Potts, USMC (Ret)

Col Grant Sparks, USMC (Ret)

GySgt Forest Spencer, USMC (Ret)