Two Zionites Receive Congressional Gold Medals

Montgomery, AL - On July 16, 2023, the National Montford Point Marine Association, Mobile Chapter 33 presented the family of Assistant Cook Leon McLemore with the Congressional Gold Medal.  The presentation was made at Mount Zion A.M.E. Zion Church in Montgomery, AL, where the Rev. Dr. Claude A. Shuford is Pastor. Bro. McLemore and his family have deep roots in The A.M.E. Zion denomination.

Leon McLemore was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on July 17, 1923. In 1943, at age 20, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in Macon, Georgia. During WWII, he was among the first African American recruits trained at Montford Point in North Carolina. In December 1943, Bro. McLemore qualified as a Rifle Marksman with special military qualifications and served as Cook. His service was in the Asiatic Pacific Area from February 1944 to Dec 1945. Upon discharge, he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, an Honorable Service Lapel Button, and a Certificate of Satisfactory Service (Character of Service Excellent).

Bro. Leon McLemore died on December 25, 2009, at the W.F. Green State Veterans Home in Bay Minette, Alabama.

On July 15, 2023, the Montford Point Marine Atlanta Chapter 5 presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the family of Corporal Willie James (Jack) Patterson at the Southern Trace Clubhouse in Leeds, Alabama.  Bro. Patterson was born on December 12, 1924, in Camp Hill, Alabama.  He professed his faith in Christ at an early age and was a member of Jennings Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church.  Bro. Patterson served in World War II and the Korean War.  He received an honorable discharge after completing many years of service. Bro. Patterson departed this life on March 19, 2008.  His three daughters, Emma, Sylvia, and Carrie; three sisters, Pearline Holston, Gloria Marbury, and Louise Collier have remained A.M.E. Zion members at Jennings Chapel in Camp Hill, Alabama, and Mount Zion A.M.E. Zion Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

National Montford Point Marine Association History

Since 1775, the United States Marine Corps has served our country in peace and war. Today, the Marine Corps continues to serve as a Force in Readiness, prepared to go wherever the national interest requires. Throughout its proud history, the Corps has had the finest of young Americans. These Marines have made the Corps one of the world's most respected military organizations. The Montford Point Marine Association is proud to be a part of these traditions.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress decided that a long-standing policy, which had denied the participation of a large segment of the population from active or inactive service in the Corps, should be abolished. As a result of a presidential directive, Black men were recruited for duty with the Marine Corps. These men of color from all states were trained at Montford Point, a part of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the largest Marine base in the eastern United States. Approximately twenty thousand Black Marines received "boot camp training" at Camp Montford Point from 1942 to 1949 when desegregation in the armed forces was accomplished.

Twenty years after World War II, in the summer of 1965, an enterprising group of Marine veterans from the Philadelphia area formed and developed plans to hold a national reunion of Montford Pointers. The late Attorney Cecil B Moore, then president of the largest chapter of the NAACP and later a Philadelphia City Councilman, was a member of this founding group. On September 17th and 18th, at the Adelphia Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, over 400 former Marines, retired and active duty Marines representing 17 states, attended this reunion. The patriotic response led to the establishment of the Montford Point Marine Association, Inc., a non-profit veteran organization, chartered in Pennsylvania. Chapters were immediately organized in several major cities.