On 1 May 1944, GySgt Perry Fischer reported to the 8th Marine Ammunition Company at Montford Point, New River, N.C.  Young and confident, Fischer exhibited the spirit of many Marines of the "greatest genera­tion." Born into a Jewish family on the tough streets of Chicago, he loved the Marine Corps and had excelled during his brief career. He had risen steadily through the ranks within four short years. In the process, GySgt Fischer had acquired a reputation for being tough, fit and fair with all of his Marines.

However, serving in administrative and ceremonial duties in Washington, D.C., was not what he had wanted. Like many Marines, Fischer yearned to do his part and be closer to the fighting.

With no previous knowledge of the unit to which he had been assigned, GySgt Fischer could not conceal his surprise upon arrival at Montford Point.  Black Ma­rines marching up and down the parade ground outside his new command was almost the last thing he expected to see. He wondered aloud to his fellow white enlisted staff if he was being punished for an indiscretion of which he was un­aware. Most of them had wondered the same thing. Until their new assignment, the majority of them were not even aware that African-Americans were allowed to join the Marine Corps. It seemed impos­sible to many that black and white Marines could work efficiently together, let alone prepare for the rigors of warfare in the Pacific.

At the start, tensions within the 8th Ma­rine Ammunition Co were high. Black noncommissioned officers (NCOs) who had led their men through basic training had to stand by silently until they could ascertain the degree of authority their new white superiors would allow them. White staff, both NCO and officer alike, with varying levels of conviction, made mistakes in attempting to gain their men's trust. Slowly but surely, however, men like Fischer and the rest of the unit began to embrace the Marine Corps' unifying spirit of dis­cipline and pride. Despite fears from both sides, the Marines at the small-unit level started to see beyond racial differences and recognized each other as comrades in a common cause. Their duty, not their color, came to be what truly mattered.