Despite War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion, local military chapters and fraternal organizations are finding ways to honor service members and ensure the next generation can find a safe space in the U.S. armed forces. This past weekend, Nov. 15, the eighth chapter of the Los Angeles Montford Point Marines Association celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps’ founding and presented the family of Lt. Vernon Butcher with his Congressional Gold Medal for being among the first class of Black Marines to train at the Montford Point Marine base.
Established in 1942 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Montford Point was a segregated Marine Corps training base for African American enlistees. More than 20,000 recruits trained there during World War II, overcoming discrimination and harsh conditions to serve with distinction across the Pacific. The base operated until the Marine Corps was integrated in 1949. In 2012, Montford Point Marines received the Congressional Gold Medal, honoring their historic role in breaking the Corps’ color barrier.
Butcher, initially drafted in 1940, formally enlisted after Black men were permitted to join in 1942. In 1943, after passing a physical exam, he trained with the Motor Transport Company at Montford Point Camp, New River, North Carolina, the first training base for Black Marines. He rose to the rank of second lieutenant.
Also honored with Congressional Gold Medals were Staff Sgt. John R. Lynch Sr. and Staff Sgt. George H. Woods.
The event also honored Sgt. Maj. Ramona D. Cook, USMC (Ret.), a trailblazing Marine veteran known for her decades of service and leadership. Born in 1962 in Los Angeles, she enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1982 and completed recruit training at Parris Island.
Over her career, Cook held critical senior enlisted roles, serving as a drill instructor, senior drill instructor, series gunnery sergeant, and first sergeant of Company P, 4th Recruit Training Battalion at Parris Island. She later became sergeant major of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, only the second woman to hold that post.
In 2005, Cook was selected to represent the Marine Corps at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery and was honored by the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues as a senior enlisted leader.
Throughout her service, she earned the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. After retiring, she continued serving her community, becoming protocol officer for Marine Corps Installations West and serving as secretary on the board of directors for the Marines’ Memorial Association.