Dave Brown with three of the book's Montford Pointers. Platoon Sergeant Charles Foreman, First Sergeant Jack McDowell, and Ambassador Ted Britton at the Twelfth Montford Point Marines Day on August 26, 2021
Shoulders to Stand On: Marine Corps Heroes from 1942 takes a historic look at racism in the Marine Corps initially under the leadership of the Corps' Commandant in WW II who stated in 1941, "It is my unwavering intention to tell the General Board up front that, if it ever was a question of having a Marine Corps of 5,000 Whites or 250,000 Negroes, I would rather have the Whites." Shoulders tells the compelling stories of 18 Marines who become part of the heritage of Black Americans' struggle for equality within the United States Marine Corps. The book focuses on male and female Black-American Marines from WW II to today, who successfully overcame racial challenges encountered in their youth and while on active duty in war and peace. These heroes rise to become general officers, US ambassadors, head of NASA, and cowriter of the US Fair Housing Act of 1968.