August 25th 2023.
Two remarkable Marine Corps veterans recently passed away within a week of each other. Comsas Eaglin Sr., 108, and Nathaniel “Nate” Boone, 95, were among the first Black men to enlist in the service. They joined the all-Black Montford Point Marines during World War II and were honored decades later for breaking racial lines in the service.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper praised the Montford Point Marines for their role in leading the progress towards racial equality that the nation has made in the last 80 years. The Montford Point Marines were trained at an all-Black military training facility outside Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. This camp was set up after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order banning discrimination in the armed services.
By the time Montford Point was decommissioned in 1949, the Marines had Black drill sergeants, officers, and female service members. In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal.
Comsas Eaglin, who died on August 15th, was born on January 1, 1915. He served 2 years in the Solomon Islands campaign during the Pacific War of World War II. He left the Marines but returned to active duty, earning his paratrooper wings when he joined the Army during the Korean War. Lt. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, USMC Ret., Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, praised Eaglin’s commitment, integrity, and lifelong service.
Nathaniel Boone, who passed away on August 20th, was born on September 29, 1927 in Englewood, New Jersey. He enlisted in the Marines to pay for college and later attended Bates College, majoring in Government, and Boston University Law School. He served as a Counsellor of Law for the State of New Jersey.
These two incredible veterans overcame countless obstacles and their legacies will live on for generations. We are forever grateful for their sacrifices and the inspiration they have instilled in us.
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