WW2 Fallen - Medal of Honor hero John Basilone

Medal of Honor and Navy Cross hero Gy Sgt John Basilone in painting by Howard Koslow.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19842&ref=acom
http://www.unicover.com/images/GXB10433.JPG 

John Francis Basilone was born 101 years ago on November 4, 1916.* Unlike most of the fallen I choose to profile each day, John achieved a great deal of renown both before and after he died.

John's father Salvatore immigrated from Italy in 1905. His mother Theodora was born in New Jersey and her parents were from Italy. John was born in New Jersey. He had two older brothers, two older sisters, three younger brothers and a younger sister, His father worked as a tailor.

He enlisted in the army in 1934 and served six years, including many in the Philippines where he was a champion boxer. He returned home in 1940 and got a job as a truck driver but decided he wanted to go back to the Philippines and considered the Marines a faster way to get there.

He became a gunnery sergeant in Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. His unit arrived on Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942, providing much needed assistance to the other 1st Marine Division leathernecks who had been there for six weeks. Sgt. Basilone's battalion was given the critical job of defending Bloody Ridge, a short distance from Henderson Field. Bloody Ridge had already been the object of one fierce Japanese attack against outnumbered Marines who repelled wave after wave of Japanese charges. 1/7 Marines would have to repeat this success or risk losing the airfield. That would mean Japanese control of the air and sea, thus dooming the Marines.

During the month of October, the Japanese Tokyo Express delivered thousands of reinforcements.  As the end of October neared the Americans and Japanese were pretty equally matched in numbers. The Americans had to spread their men around to guard all possible approaches, even the beaches. The Japanese had the advantage of using the jungle to hide their troops and concentrate their battalions to overwhelm one part of the line. They chose to attack directly in front of Sgt. Basilone's position on the night of October 24/25, 1942.

Sgt. Basilone's actions that night would earn him the first Medal of Honor to go to an enlisted Marine in World War 2.

His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Lunga Area, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 and 25 October 1942. 

While the enemy was hammering at the Marines' defensive positions, Sgt. BASILONE, in charge of 2 sections of heavy machine guns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. BASILONE'S sections, with its gun crews, was put out of action, leaving only 2 men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived. 

A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. BASILONE, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. 

His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

If anything, the citation was a mere modest summary of Sgt. Basilone's heroism. A more complete account can be read here.

Having been awarded the nation's highest honor, the Marines brought Sgt. Basilone home to participate in a war bond drive. Being the object of constant praise and adoration was not something he was comfortable with. He requested a return to fight in the war but was repeatedly denied. He was finally granted his wish to reenlist in 1944. While training at Camp Pendleton he married Sergeant Lena Mae Riggi on July 10, 1944. He was assigned to serve in Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division.

He was among the first Marines who landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. Fearlessly leading the men of his machine-gun section, he was killed within two hours of landing. He was recognized with a Navy Cross. He was the only enlisted Marine who received both the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross in World War 2.

His wife got the news of his death on March 7, 1945, her birthday. Later that year she christened the destroyer USS Basilone named in her husband's honor.

His grave is at Arlington National Cemetery. Mrs. Basilone never remarried and died in 1999.

Thank you John for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for John.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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*Normally this project honors one of the fallen each day on what would have been his 100th birthday. The project was started shortly after Basilone's 100th birthday, so I decided to add his profile one year later.