Marines


Montford Point Camp 2 and 2a

 

In response to the rapid mobilization demanded by World War II, the Marine Corps erected camps for advanced or secondary training in addition to recruit training.  Considered temporary installations, camps typically featured less substantial, temporary structures, such as canvas tents, fiberboard huts, steel Quonsets, or one- or two-story wood-frame buildings.  At the Montford Point Camps Nos. 2 and 2A, one of a series of camps erected at Montford Point to house and train new African-American recruits and post-boot camp trainees following a policy of strict segregation, the Marine Corps utilized semipermanent, clay tile block construction.  The camps followed the composition of the battalion training unit, similar to the regimental units at Hadnot Point, which in its most elemental form consisted of barracks and an associated mess hall.  At Montford Point Camps Nos. 2 and 2A, the barracks consisted of individual platoon buildings.  Marines undergoing training at Camp No. 2 as part of the Messman’s Branch occupied platoon barracks along Company Street West; ammunition and depot company trainees were housed in the barracks located along Company Street East.  White officers and special enlisted personnel were accommodated in the adjacent Camp No. 2A.  The camps also possessed battalion administrative and support facilities, including a headquarters, a post exchange, warehouses, an officers’ mess, an enlisted mess, and segregated washroom facilities.  Physically separate from the main Hadnot Point area, Montford Point was chosen by Marine officials for the training and housing of African-American recruits in order to maintain more easily the strict segregation of white and African-American Marines required at that time and to limit potential for racial disturbances.
Montford Point Camp 2 and 2a
Building in Montfort Point Camps 2 and 2a Historic District
 

Management Plan Montford Point Camps Nos. 2 and 2A Historic District  MCB Camp Lejeune
Building In Montford Point Camps
A two-story BOQ constructed as part of Montford Point Camp No. 2.
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Washrooms at Montford Point Camp No. 2.
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