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VFW post salutes the ‘Chosen Few’
- Veterans Day 2010
YOUNGSTOWN
Every single black Marine today stands on the shoulders of Montford Point Marines such as Atty. L. Steven Robinson, said Rev. Solomon P. Hill, keynote speaker for VFW Donald Lockett Post 6488’s Veterans Day program.
Robinson, former Warren City prosecutor, was one of 20,000 blacks who received their Marine Corps boot-camp training between 1942 and 1949 in segregated facilities at Montford Point, N.C., adjacent to Camp Lejeune. He was honored posthumously Thursday by Post 6488, at 2065 Coitsville-Hubbard Road, and its ladies auxiliary.
The modern history of blacks in the Marines began with Robinson and the other Montford Point Marines, known as the “Chosen Few,” said the Rev. Mr. Hill, himself a Marine who served two tours in Vietnam and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in the city.
On hand to accept the accolades on behalf of Robinson were his brother, Ralph of Pittsburgh, and three of his four children: Iris Rodgers of Lansing, Mich., Denise Baba of Streetsboro and Michael Robinson of Cortland. Another son, L. Steven Jr. of Warren, was unable to attend.
A native of Pittsburgh, Robinson practiced law 33 years in Trumbull County after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1948 and receiving his law degree from Cleveland State University in 1952. He served in the Warren Law Department for many years in numerous capacities, practiced law in state and federal courts and, in 1965, was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Also active in the community, he was president of the Trumbull County NAACP, Trumbull County Urban League and the Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital Board of Directors.
At 17, Robinson enlisted in the Marines. He was assigned to the 5th Marine Division and participated in four major campaigns in the Pacific Theater, including the Battle of Iwo Jima. He achieved the rank of gunnery sergeant and received numerous decorations, including two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantry Badge. He was inducted into the Montford Point Marines Hall of Fame in 1999.
Denise said her father told his children stories about what it was like in boot camp and overseas. She said he was on the beach at Iwo Jima and witnessed the famous flag raising on Mount Suribachi during the battle. After the war, he was part of the occupation force in Japan, she added.
What stands out most, said his daughter, Iris, was the impact that being a Marine had on his life.
“It was a pivotal point in his life ... one of the most significant things after his family,” she said.
“He didn’t talk about the bad things in war. He talked more about the camaraderie. Wherever he went, he would search out Marines and get acquainted,” Iris said.
“Our family probably had the only group of 5- and 6-year-olds who knew what ‘police the area’ meant,” said his son, Michael, with a smile.
He said his father passed on to his children the discipline instilled in him by the Marines. “All of us have four-year college degrees, and three have advanced degrees,” he said.
Special presentations were made to the Robinson family by Mahoning County Commissioner David Ludt, state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd. Representatives of the Mahoning County Democratic and Republican parties presented a print of a painting created by nationally known artist Ray Simon, depicting Robinson surrounded by images of boot camp at Montford Point and Montford Point Hall of Fame members.