 Camp Johnson Home | Festival Centre | Beach Centre | Media | Lodging FAQ Best Viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x+ at 800 x 600 Resolution or Higher. | |
| |
•  |
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
|
|
| (c) 2007 Ova Yonda, Inc. |
Camp Johnson, originally known as Montford Point Camp, has a unique history. When it was established in April 1942, the US Marine Corps, along with all the other branches of the US Armed Forces, was segregated. White troops and black troops were totally separate units of each branch.
"Montford Point Camp" was designated as a Recruit Training Depot specifically for "Negro" recruits. It would be almost thirty years before the segregation came to an end and all troops, black, white and other races, were encompassed under the same unit commanders.
Camp Johnson, now a totally integrated training facility, is known as the Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools (MCCSSS). Training soldiers for their specific duties in the US Marine Corps. For information on a specific school use the links provided below.
The Official Camp Johnson Web site, (located on the US Marine Corps Server), can be somewhat slow responding. If you do not get the page you are requesting within a couple of minutes, try using the refresh or reload button in your browser.
In the interest of speeding up access to Camp Johnson's informational pages, we have provided direct links to each page from here.
The 1600 acre tract that comprises Camp Johnson was originally known as Montford Point, named after Colonel James Montford, a civil war veteran whose family actually traces back to the American Revolution. In January 1941, the Marine Corps acquired the land to establish the Marine Barracks New River.
On 26 April 1942, Montford Point was opened under the command of Colonel Samuel A. Woods and a select group of enlisted staff noncommissioned officers (SNCO's). This group of SNCO's were known as the "Special Enlisted Staff." There mission was to set up the camp and then function as drill instructors for the new recruits. The first black Marine recruits were selected for their leadership and demonstrated maturity for they would be the backbone of the black SNCO/Drill Instructor core. Nearly 20,000 African-American recruits were trained at Montford Point until 1949, when the US military was fully integrated.
One of the most famous of the black recruits was Gilbert "Hashmark" Johnson. Private Johnson would eventually become a drill instructor at Montford Point and later become the Sergeant Major. On 10 April 1974, Montford Point was rename Camp Johnson in honor of Sergeant Major Johnson.
The entrance to Camp Johnson is the site of the Beirut Memorial, the North Carolina Veterans Cemetery, and the future site of the Viet Nam Memorial. The Beirut Memorial was constructed in remembrance of the 273 Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors who lost their lives in Beirut and Grenada in 1983.
Today Camp Johnson is the home of Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools (MCCSSS) which consists of four MOS producing schools, four tenant commands and the Navy's Field Medical School. Many of the original buildings can still been seen today aboard Camp Johnson, for example the present day Chapel was also the Chapel then.
MCCSSS trains approximately 10,000 students per year in the four schools.
In addition to the MOS producing schools listed above MCCSSS is the home of two non-MOS producing schools.
The four tenant organizations aboard Camp Johnson are:
Camp Johnson has many morale and recreational facilities such as the Camp Johnson Annex of the Marine Corps Exchange, clothing sales store, barber shop, dry cleaning and tailor shop, post office, fitness center, gymnasium, swimming pool, library and recreation center.
|
|
•
Last Revised: October 17, 2006 06:39 AM.
United States
