Acquired by the government with the rest of Camp Lejeune, Montford Point became the site of the first training camp for African American Marines. Executive Order 8802, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, ensured full participation in the nation’s defense and opened the door for blacks to enter the United States Marine Corps. Instruction began in the summer of 1942 for a small number of eager recruits such as Arnold R. Bostic, who later recalled that after the first tough day of training, his platoon decided they were going to complete boot camp and become Marines no matter how hard it was made for them or what anyone said. Montford Point trained more than 22,000 African American Marines before it was deactivated on September 9, 1949. President Truman’s Executive Order 9981, issued earlier that year, effectively ended racial segregation in the armed forces. In 1974, in honor of Sgt. Major Gilbert H. “Hashmark” Johnson, Montford Point became Camp Johnson, the first military installation to be named after an African-American Marine. The courage of the Montford Point Marines laid the foundation for equal opportunity in the United States Marine Corps, and their contributions were recognized when President Barack Obama signed into law a bill awarding them the Congressional Gold Medal on 23 November 2011.