Marine Defense Battalions

Coast-defense and AAA garrisons for advanced naval bases — coast guns, 3-inch and 90mm AAA, searchlights. Held Wake Island for 15 days against the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Story

The 51st and 52nd Defense Battalions were the only segregated all-Black Marine combat units of WWII — armed with the same coast guns and 90mm AAA as their white counterparts, but kept in rear-area garrison roles in the Marshalls and Marianas because the Corps refused to commit them to assault.