Talk:Gilbert Johnson

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Military history: North America / United States / World War II

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Biography: Military

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A fact from Gilbert Johnson appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 27 October 2006. The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the USMC Sergeant Major Gilbert "Hashmark" Johnson received his nickname because of wearing on the sleeve of his uniform three diagonal stripes (hashmarks), indicating successful previous enlistments?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2006/October.

Wikipedia

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In May 1943, he replaced the USMC's last white drill instructor at Montford Point, First Sergeant Robert W. Colwell

A bit ambiquous wording, as this could be read as Robert W. Colwell was last white DI ever in Marine Corps. --131.207.236.198 06:25, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I had the same impression. I'm taking it out; if someone wants to reword or provide a reference, they can put it back in. Wordie 14:47, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hashmark

How can the reason for his nickname be that he wore hashmarks? Everyone wears hashmarks after four years. It's like nicknaming a Marine "Shoes" or "Cover". Did he invent them or something? All I can think of is that it means he wore the hashmarks he earned in the Navy during his first enlistment in the Corps; if so, the article should clarify that. It's not just that he wore them, it's that he wore them from day one. I'm not going to change it myself because I'm just speculating at the reason behind it. Can anyone shed some light here? Kafziel ^Talk 19:28, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently he had some outlining features, e.g. in the context of segregation. --Brand спойт 13:42, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't disagree that he's notable. But the article says, "He earned his nickname because of wearing on the sleeve of his Marine Corps uniform three diagonal stripes (hashmarks), indicating successful previous enlistments." First of all, I would hope he wore more than three if he was in the service for 32 years. He should have had seven or eight by the end (depending on when he got out). In any event, if this is trying to say he wore three hashmarks from the beginning of his USMC enlistment (one earned in the army and two in the navy), it should just come out and say it. It's been a few days, so I guess at this point I'll just look into it myself and fix it. Kafziel ^Talk 14:07, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I mean most likely because of none of African Americans had similar achievements before, Johnson gained such a nickname, in the beginning of his career. --Brand спойт 14:18, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Right, but that's the thing - the article didn't say "at the beginning of his career". It just said he wore hashmarks at some point, which is nothing special in and of itself. I've fixed it, added a cite, and created the article for Montford Point (where he earned the nickname). Kafziel ^Talk 14:37, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

His nickname was Hashmark because when he joined the Marine Corps, he had more service stripes than rank chevrons. ETO Buff (talk) 23:49, 4 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Edgar Huff's brother-in-law?

If Johnson and Huff were married to sisters, they were not brothers-in-law. A brother-in-law is married to one's sister, or is the brother of one's spouse. It's true that Johnson was the brother-in-law of Huff's wife, and Huff was the brother-in-law of Johnson's wife, but that does not make the two men legally related, at least not in the United States. I can see why it is important to include the fact that the only two African-American sergeants major in the Marine Corps at the time happened to be married to twin sisters, but I think the statement of that fact should be made in a correct fashion. 66.86.117.120 (talk) 08:39, 5 May 2014 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by ETO Buff (talk • contribs) 00:11, 5 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I forgot to sign the above comment. ETO Buff (talk) 08:41, 5 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Tag & Assess 2008

Article reassessed and graded as start class. --dashiellx (talk) 19:42, 6 May 2008 (UTC) I just wanted to comment that if he retired in 1955 he didn't serve 17 years in the Corps but rather 12 years. David Worthen — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.243.188.20 (talk) 01:24, 31 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]