Recruiting for the "Montford Marines" began on June 1, 1942. Thousands of African American men, eager to serve, flocked to recruiting offices. However, several recruitment offices wanted to claim the honor of having the first recruit, and on May 31, 1942 when a recruitment officer happened to be on the same City Hall elevator in downtown Oklahoma City with a young man wearing a Langston College sweater, he asked him if he would like to be the first Black Marine. That young man was Alfred Masters. At the time, Mr. Masters was twenty-six years old, had one daughter, Shirley Jean, and married to Isabell Arch. He was sworn into the Marine Corps on June 1, 1942 at 12:00 midnight with his wife by his side. Alfred Masters rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant.