FARMINGTON, Mich. — A Congressional Gold Medal has been presented to a Detroit-area veteran who was among the first African-Americans to serve in the Marine Corps.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters' office said in a news release that John Willie Jordan of Farmington Hills, Michigan, was presented Monday with a medal earlier awarded to the Montford Point Marines. The Congressional Gold Medal is Congress' highest civilian honor.
According to Peters' office, the Montford Point Marines is the name given to the first African-Americans in the Marines Corps. African-Americans were first trained at segregated Camp Montford Point, and Jordan was one of nearly 20,000 Montford Point Marines who trained there before it closed in 1949.
Jordan served in Hawaii in World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946.
