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90-year-old black Marine receives Congressional Gold Medal

… seven decades after military service

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    John Willie Jordan, Gary Peters
    John Willie Jordan of Farmington Hills, Mich., middle, stands during the playing of the National Anthem, before he is awarded a Congressional Gold Medal from U.S. Senator Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, right. Photo taken on Monday, May 16, 2016 at Groves-Walker American Legion Post 346 in Farmington, Mich. Jose Juarez/Special to The Detroit News
    Kelley D. Evans By @kelleysthrngrl

    There was a time in our nation’s history when black Americans in the military were trained in separate facilities from whites.

    Cpl. John Willie Jordan was one of them. In fact, he was among nearly 20,000 black troops that trained at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, N.C., between 1942 and 1949.

    On May 18, the 90-year-old veteran received the highest civilian honor given by Congress. It was presented to him by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

    Jordan joined the Marine Corps in 1944. After his training, he served in Hawaii during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to Flint, Mich., where he worked at General Motors and Chevrolet plants for six years before moving to Detroit and working at the Cadillac Motor Division for 25 years.

    “Our nation is better, stronger and safer because of Mr. Jordan’s service and the Montford Point Marines,” said Peters, a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, in a news release from his office.

    Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.

    This Story Tagged: Get Lifted John Willie Jordan