Stephenson, took over from Lieutenant Colonel Onley. The 51st had attained only half its authorized strength on 21 April, when a new commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Floyd A. ![]() Similarly, Edgar Huff, also a DI, moved on to other assignments, including first sergeant of one of the combat service support companies. “Hashmark” Johnson, a DI in boot camp, ended up with the 52d Defense Battalion. ![]() So thinly spread was the African-American enlisted leadership that the same individuals might serve in a succession of units. The first, and for a time the only, Marine Corps combat unit to be manned by blacks found itself in competition with another defense battalion, the new combat support outfits (depot and ammunition companies), the Stewards’ Branch, and, as before, the recruit training function. The proliferation of African American units and the expansion of activity at Montford Point interfered with the organization and training of the 51st Defense Battalion (Composite) by making demands on the pool of black noncommissioned officers that Woods, Holdahl, and the shrinking Special Enlisted Staff had assembled. ![]() THE RIGHT TO FIGHT: African-American Marines in World War II
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