Marines, family and friends gather for a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony posthumously honoring Sgt. (ret.) Phillip A. Johnson Sr., July 27, 2019, at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. Johnson was a Montford Point Marine. Montford Point Marines were the first African American Marines who joined the Marine Corps between 1942 and 1949, a time when the Corps was segregated. In 2011, President Barack Obama signed public law 112-59 to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines for outstanding perseverance and courage that inspired social change in the U.S. Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Danielle Prentice)

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U.S. Marine CorpsMontford Point MarinesCongressional Gold MedalMontford Point Marine AssociationBarack ObamaPhillip A. Johnson Sr.