July Directors Cut

The Director’s Cut: DivPA’s Monthly Newsletter to the Marine Corps’ PA Community is now online you can download it here

Fellow Marines

June was a busy yet rewarding month for U.S. Marine Corps Public Affairs. As a community, we supported multiple events and activities to include Marine Week St. Louis, the 26th MEU CO Operational Speaking Tour and Exercise Mailed Fist, which was planned and coordinated with the CG, 2D Marine Aircraft Wing. On the media front, we continue to respond to a wide-range of issues and queries and promote the hard work of Marines around the world. All of this and more was accomplished during the heart of the summer PCS-season.

As many of you PCS this summer, I thank you for all of your hard work and your commitment to sharing the Marine Corps story. I hope you will take your lessons learned to your next assignment and continue to accomplish great things. For those of you just joining our community, we welcome you and look forward to the contributions you will make to continue carrying out our mission.

Finally, the Commandant has asked his staff to ensure the Montford Point Marines, the first Marines of African-American descent, share a significant part in the legacy of our Corps. The history of the Marine Corps concerning African Americans is a bittersweet legacy. Bitter in that they shared in the courage of combating Japanese aggression abroad while suffering the oppression of racial prejudice and bigotry at home; sweet because they refused to allow either to take their dreams and their dignity.

The Montfort Point Marines helped end the war with the closing salvos on Okinawa, Saipan, Guam and Iwo Jima. Once they returned to the States, their leadership – forged in the crucible of the Pacific – helped launch the opening salvos to provide civil rights to all Americans.

African Americans like Sgt Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson and SgtMaj Edgar Huff graduated the first boot camp class and became the instructors at a segregated camp at Montford Point, N.C. Despite the separate training, they maintained high standards that would serve well the Nation in combat and the Marine Corps for the rest of their lives. Marines like SgtMaj Huff served from World War II to Vietnam. And then they served again across America in the struggle for social justice.

We are a stronger Nation and a stronger Corps because they persevered. We look back to these pioneers of our Corps for inspiration to our future. We rededicate ourselves to ensuring the standards and leadership are equally applied, and we are witness today to the valor of Americans of disparate backgrounds who earned the title Marine.

July is sure to be another eventful month for our community. Please keep us informed of all the great work you are doing.

Semper Fidelis! – Col Bryan Salas