美国国家公共电台 NPR--America's first Black Marine base is threatened by the effects of climate change

America's first Black Marine¹ base is threatened by the effects of climate change

Transcript²

In North Carolina, key buildings at a 1940s-era segregated³ Marine base are being restored. The structures at Montford Point, now part of Camp Lejeune, were used by the first Black Marines.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

During the 1940s, about 20,000 men trained on a racially segregated Marine base known as Montford Point. It's now part of Camp Lejeune. A project, though, is nearly complete to restore key buildings used by the first Black Marines. WUNC's Jay Price reports.

JAY PRICE, BYLINE⁴: The men who made the buildings worth saving are nearly gone, but a handful of the 300 or so surviving Montford Point Marines came back for the reopening of the freshly restored museum honoring them in what was once their mess hall. Retired⁵ First Sergeant⁶ William McDowell, who goes by Jack⁷, flew in from Long Beach, Calif. He said the restoration is important to the Marines and the nation.

WILLIAM MCDOWELL: I'm not one to dwell on the past. On the other hand, I think it's a good idea to keep in the minds of folks the way things used to be. There was a time when the Marine Corps⁸ would have rather the fact that it was racially segregated was forgotten about.

PRICE: Not anymore. Montford Point Marine Association officials said the Corps treated them like a partner in the restoration project. Dozens of buildings from the Montford Point era had to be demolished⁹ after Hurricane Florence pounded Camp Lejeune with three days of wind and rain in 2018. Many were badly damaged and sat too close to the Lower New River, where flooding and storm surges are getting increasingly common. Navy Commander Ross Campbell is Camp Lejeune's public works officer.

ROSS CAMPBELL: So these older structures, not only were they not really meeting the needs of the training mission out here, but they also represented significant risk as far as sea level rise. And so it was a good thing to be able to pull that back from the water's edge.

PRICE: That means the surviving Montford Point buildings are being shored up - their wood replaced with waterproof¹⁰ materials, their shingles¹¹ replaced with wind-resistant metal roofs, and their heating and cooling systems upgraded to prevent mold and wood rot from the area's infamous¹² humidity. Ninety-seven-year-old Carol Braxton, a retired master gunnery sergeant from Virginia, vividly¹³ remembers that humidity and worse.

CAROL BRAXTON: It was a swamp right near where we was. In the evening, just about dusk dark, the drill instructor¹⁴ would take us right by that swamp and make us stand at attention. And he would say, you N-words, did you eat? Yes, sir. Well, let the [expletive] mosquitoes

PRICE: Braxton said the bites were so bad, when he went home on furlough his mother thought he had smallpox¹⁵. And the verbal and physical abuse directed at the men seemed endless. Recruits were forced to smoke with buckets on their heads and blankets over the buckets. He heard one man was forced to drink his own urine.

BRAXTON: See, we were dogged, as if we weren't human.

PRICE: The Marine Corps was the last service to allow Black recruits and didn't do it willingly. That took an order from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Melton McLaurin, an emeritus¹⁶ professor of history at UNC-Wilmington, is the author of "The Marines Of Montford Point." He said the commandant of the Marine Corps at the time, Major General Thomas Holcomb, made his feelings clear.

MELTON MCLAURIN: He said if he had a choice between 250,000 Black Marines and 5,000 whites, he'd take the whites. I think that pretty much summed it up (laughter). They didn't want anything to do with African American Marines.

PRICE: Jack McDowell, the retired first sergeant, came to Montford Point from his native Brooklyn and had a lower tolerance¹⁷ for racism¹⁸ than some of his Southern counterparts. But he stuck with the Marines for more than 23 years, serving in three wars and earning three Purple Hearts. It was a long stretch of the Corp's early struggle to deal with race.

MCDOWELL: As quiet as it's kept, on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, there were African American Marines there, and in Okinawa, there were a couple thousand. But if you saw any photos or movie reels or newsreels or any movie that they made about it, you never saw any Black guys.

PRICE: He's gleeful about one piece of forgotten history.

MCDOWELL: Also, when they ran out of blood and they asked for people to donate blood, a whole lot of white guys running around with African American blood in them (laughter).

PRICE: During the Korean War, he became one of the first Black Marines sent out to desegregate white units.

MCDOWELL: I ended up being in charge of 28 white guys. I was the only Black guy in the outfit¹⁹. It's 1950, and most of them didn't even know Black guys were in the Marine Corps. And all of a sudden, here's one, and he's my boss.

PRICE: For the first few weeks, it didn't go well.

MCDOWELL: Well, they were stunned²⁰ at first. They didn't quite know how to take this new change. The sergeant that I relieved was rather belligerent²¹. He kept using the N-word. So we had come to knuckle²² junction²³ two or three times (laughter), more busted²⁴ lips and black eyes. And we fought, and those Koreans thought we were nuts.

PRICE: Months later, though, McDowell was wounded, and that same sergeant ran to help carry him to safety.

MCDOWELL: And complaining all the way, you know, using the N-word.

PRICE: After the war, that sergeant asked to work with McDowell, and they became close enough that McDowell later traveled to the man's funeral. He says some Montford Point Marines remain bitter about their time there, and he doesn't blame them. But he said he and many others went on to better lives than they thought possible.

MCDOWELL: In 23 years of getting around and dealing²⁵ with all kinds of people in a variety of different circumstances, it helped me in many, many ways. It gave me the ambition to go to school and get a degree. The combination of that plus schooling²⁶, I found out that I wasn't afraid to make decisions.

PRICE: At 94 years old, McDowell says he knows every visit to his old boot camp could be the last. And he fears that after all the Montford Point Marines are gone, their significance may be lost, too.

MCDOWELL: As time goes by, I think this whole business of Montford Point will sort of fade into oblivion.

PRICE: But some of the buildings they used will stand as a reminder²⁷, now armored better against time and storms.

For NPR News, I'm Jay Price at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

10 waterproof   

n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水

参考例句：

• My mother bought me a waterproof watch.我妈妈给我买了一块防水手表。
• All the electronics are housed in a waterproof box.所有电子设备都储放在一个防水盒中。

11 shingles   

n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板

参考例句：

• Shingles are often dipped in creosote. 屋顶板常浸涂木焦油。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The roofs had shingles missing. 一些屋顶板不见了。 来自辞典例句

12 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

13 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

14 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

15 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

16 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

17 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

18 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

19 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

20 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

21 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

22 knuckle   

n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输

参考例句：

• They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。
• You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

23 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

24 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

25 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

26 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

27 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。