Clement E. Hill holds the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously awarded to his father Pfc. Burnie W. Hill, a Montford Point Marine May 31, 2018 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In 1942, African Americans were given the opportunity to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Nearly 20,000 African Americans from 1942-1949 were trained separately from their white counterparts at Montford Point, a facility at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. - Clement E. Hill holds the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously awarded to his father Pfc. Burnie W. Hill, a Montford Point Marine May 31, 2018 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In 1942, African Americans were given the opportunity to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Nearly 20,000 African Americans from 1942-1949 were trained separately from their white counterparts at Montford Point, a facility at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.