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2018 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 430
Commending Master Gunnery Sergeant Carroll Braxton, USMC, Ret.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 7, 2018
Agreed to by the Senate, March 9, 2018

 

WHEREAS, Master Gunnery Sergeant Carroll Braxton, USMC, Ret., served the United States honorably during World War II as a member of the historic Montford Point Marines; and

WHEREAS, Carroll Braxton grew up in Manassas and, from a young age, he cultivated a profound respect for the members of the United States Marine Corps at nearby Quantico; and

WHEREAS, Carroll Braxton and several high school classmates proudly volunteered for military service after President Franklin D. Roosevelt prohibited racial discrimination in employment for the United States Armed Forces; and

WHEREAS, Carroll Braxton was assigned to a segregated base on Montford Point near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina; he and his fellow recruits were determined to serve their country and overcame great hardship and discrimination during training; and

WHEREAS, Carroll Braxton was assigned to the all-African American 51st Defense Battalion, then returned to Montford Point as a drill instructor; he deployed overseas in 1945, serving in Saipan, Okinawa, and Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, Carroll Braxton joined the United States Marine Reserves and served on active duty during the Korean War at Camp Lejeune; and

WHEREAS, after the Korean War, Carroll Braxton returned to Manassas, where he raised his family with his wife, Celestine, and worked as a procurement analyst at Cameron Station; he retired from the Marines in 1979, after 33 years of distinguished military service; and

WHEREAS, in 2012, President Barack H. Obama awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to all Montford Point Marines, recognizing the unique contributions of Marines like Carroll Braxton between 1942 and 1949; and

WHEREAS, in 2015, Carroll Braxton was honored at a special ceremony held by the Defense Security Service to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Montford Point Marines Memorial at the Lejeune Memorial Gardens in North Carolina; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Master Gunnery Sergeant Carroll Braxton, USMC, Ret., for his trailblazing service in the United States Marine Corps; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Master Gunnery Sergeant Carroll Braxton, USMC, Ret., as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his service to the Commonwealth and the United States.