97-year-old veteran reflects on the legacy of the Montford Point Marines

Ambassador Theodore R. Britton can still remember the gentleman who told him the secrets to avoiding seasickness after graduating from recruit training in the 1940s.

Britton was one of 20,0000 Black Montford Point Marines to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps after President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Britton, who is now retired and 97 years old, says he decided to enlist in the Marine Corps despite it being segregated because he possessed the same pioneer spirit that led his father to courageously move their family from the segregated South to New York for a better life.

“It was a glorious experience that completely changed me,“ he explained on Friday’s special edition of “Closer Look.”

Britton was joined in conversation with Johnny Higdon, the president of the National Montford Point Marine Association– Atlanta Chapter 5.

In honor of Veterans Day, the veterans talked with show host Rose Scott about the contribution and legacy of Montford Point Marines.