{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/blues-legend-receives-honor-for-his-part-in-desegregating-nations-military-", "Blues legend receives honor for his part in desegregating nation's military", "2016-11-28", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Blues legend receives honor for his part in desegregating nation's military  \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                Monday, November 28, 2016\r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            \r\n                  \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    Jo Mannies\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            Fans of blues legend Johnnie Clyde Johnson long have complained that \u2013 although a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame \u2013 the native St. Louisan\u2019s stellar musical talents were often unfairly overshadowed by others.\r\nAs U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill put it, \u201cHe wasn\u2019t quite as \u2018showy\u2019 as some of the other musicians he hung out with.\u201d\r\nHis low-key nature could explain why Johnson, who died in 2005, also didn\u2019t dwell on another significant part of his life \u2013 as a member of the Montford Point Marines, the corps\u2019 first African-American unit. It was set up during World War II \u2013 years before the U.S. military was finally ordered desegregated by then-President Harry S Truman in 1948.\r\nOn Monday at the National Blues Museum, before a crowd of Johnson\u2019s relatives and admirers, McCaskill formally presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Johnson\u2019s widow, Frances Johnson. Congress approved the medal for the Montford Point Marines in 2012, but it wasn\u2019t until earlier this year that it was awarded to Johnson.\r\nMcCaskill says the fact that Johnson signed up for the military in 1942, soon after the war started, speaks to his character. \u201cJohnnie Johnson signed up, not only knowing he was willing to risk his life for his country, also that he would endure what most of the Montford Point Marines endured,\u201d she said. \u201cA lack of recognition for their courage, not the embrace of them by their fellow Marines many times, and cruelty many times.\u201d\r\nLater, the senator added, \u201cYou think about a guy with that kind of talent who says, \u2018I want to serve. I want to give back to my country,\u2019 and what he had to endure to do that.\u201d\r\nAfter Monday\u2019s ceremony, his widow observed, \u201cHe would have been very proud, very humbly proud, that\u2019s the thing.\u201d\r\nDuring his seven-year stint in the Marines, Johnson developed some of his musical skills while in the unit\u2019s band, Frances Johnson recalled. After he became a civilian, Johnson headed to Detroit, where he connected with other musicians \u2013 black and white \u2013 including fellow legend Chuck Berry.\r\nMcCaskill said that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt deserves credit for taking the first step to allow African-Americans to serve in the military. \"This was not a decision that was a popular decision with most of the men who served in the Marine Corps,\" she said. \"These were not things that were done to make politicians popular. These were things that were done because it was the right thing to do.\"\r\nThe senator added that Johnson\u2019s military service bolsters his already strong reputation.\r\n\u201cThis was an extraordinary man. This was a man of towering talent,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cA man who touched people\u2019s lives through his talent. This was a man who could speak to people in the language of music.\r\nThat language doesn\u2019t have a skin color, doesn\u2019t have a religion, it doesn\u2019t care how rich or poor you are. It doesn\u2019t care what neighborhood you came from. Music is a universal language. And no one spoke it better than Johnnie Johnson.\u201d\r\n            \r\n             \r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/blues-legend-receives-honor-for-his-part-in-desegregating-nations-military-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.966981217265129, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}