GLENN BURNIE — Families gathered at the National Montford Point Marine Association’s 61st convention to honor the service of men who helped change the United States Marine Corps with some uncovering their own family history along the way.
During the convention, 10 Congressional Gold Medals were presented posthumously to the families of Montford Point Marines. Organizers located descendants of the pioneering Marines and invited them to accept the medals on behalf of their loved ones.
Some relatives traveled from as far as New York City for the ceremony. For several families, the medals represented more than overdue recognition. They provided new connections, long-awaited answers and, in one case, a family reunion.
WATCH: Montford Point Marine families receive long-overdue medals
Until several years ago, Michael Williams did not know the identity of his father.
Williams’ daughter encouraged him to take a DNA test after seeing how deeply the unanswered questions about his past continued to affect him. The results eventually connected Williams with relatives of his father, John Henry Jarvis.
Through those relatives, Williams learned Jarvis had been an attorney, a World War II veteran and a Montford Point Marine.
Williams said learning who his father was helped him better understand his own resilience.
“I had some rough times in my life, and I always bounced back. I always kept fighting back,” Williams said. “So, it’s rather interesting to find out you had a father who was a Montford Point Marine. Maybe that explains why I kept going.”
The discovery also connected Williams with family members who shared photographs, personal stories and even a video that allowed him to hear his father’s voice.
“When I found out who he was that night, I told my daughter I never slept so well,” Williams said. “It was like that missing piece—that puzzle. I put the missing piece in.”
At the convention, Williams stood beside newly discovered relatives as they accepted Jarvis’ Congressional Gold Medal. Some members of the family met in person for the first time that day.
Paul Dillett, Jarvis’ nephew, helped research his uncle’s service and navigate the process of securing the medal.
“I had to do it. I couldn’t not do it,” Dillett said. “It was an obligation that the universe thrust upon me, and it’s a labor of love.”
Dante Brazill attended the ceremony to accept a medal honoring his grandfather, Livingston Brazill Sr.
Brazil said he learned only months before the convention that his grandfather was eligible to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. His grandfather rarely spoke about his military service, but the conversations they did have inspired Brazill’s interest in World War II history and contributed to his decision to become a teacher.
Brazile said the experiences of Black service members have not always been fully represented in the way World War II is taught.
“It’s so important that the descendants, the relatives, keep telling these stories and keep fighting for these stories to be included in our museums, in our textbooks and in our documentaries,” Brazill said.
Among those witnessing the ceremony was Ambassador Theodore “Ted” Britton Jr., a 100-year-old original Montford Point Marine.
Britton entered the Marine Corps in January 1944. He recalled being offered a choice between the Army and Navy but insisting on joining the Marines.
“They said, ‘The Marine Corps is filled,’” Britton recalled. After a sergeant spoke with someone else, he returned with an answer: “You’re in.”
Britton traveled by train and bus to Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where Black Marines trained during World War II.
The Montford Point Marines had previously been excluded from serving in the Corps. Their service opened the door for generations of Marines who followed.
Britton said the posthumous honors brought both happiness and sadness.
“I’m happy for those families,” Britton said. “And sad because so many others didn’t live.”
For the descendants accepting the medals, the ceremony ensured their loved ones’ names, sacrifices and contributions would not be forgotten.
