Daily Archives: June 7, 2012

Highland Park resident Byron Motley will be accompanying his father Bob Motley to Washington, DC later this month as his father will receive the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on Wednesday June 27, 2012. The elder Motley who lives in Kansas City, MO was one of America’ first black Marines, in the unit known as The Montford Point Marines. He will be receiving the honor along with nearly 200 living Montford Point Marines. The Montford Point Marines were a segregated unit and the first blacks to ever serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. They were stationed and trained at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC from 1942 to 1949. Motley served from 1943 until 1946 until he was Honorable discharge and received a Purple Heart for his service.
Motley, 89, is a true living legend as he is also the only living umpire from the Negro Baseball Leagues. He is celebrating the re-release of his memoir ” Over Monarchs, Giants & Stars: True Tales of Breaking Barriers, Umpiring Baseball Legends, and Wild Adventures in the Negro Leagues” (SkyHorse Publishing), which was co-authored with son Byron is now available in hardback and eBook formats.