John Basilone World War II Medal of Honor Recipient for Action in the Pacific

by Mccaulay, Philip Martin

• ISBN13: 9781451522839
• ISBN10: 1451522835
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-10
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Summary

Reared and educated in Raritan, New Jersey, John Basilone gained local attention as a light-heavyweight boxer. He enlisted in the Army when he was 18 and served in the Philippines, where he picked up the nickname "Manila John." He was honorably discharged in 1937, but, anticipating World War II, he enlisted in the Marines in July 1940. On October 24-25, 1942, Sergeant Basilone was in charge of two sections of heavy machine guns defending a narrow pass to Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Although vastly outnumbered, he and his fellow Marines checked the assault by the Japanese. For that, Sgt. Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor and sent back to the states to appear at war-bond rallies. He toured the country and met Hollywood starlets. His picture made the cover of Life magazine. But Sergeant Basilone was unsatisfied back home and volunteered to return to combat, ending up at Iwo Jima. Under heavy artillery fire on February 19, 1945, he singlehandedly took out an enemy blockhouse. Minutes later, he and four others in his platoon died in an artillery blast. Sergeant Basilone was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, making him the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive all three medals.