John Basilone
John Basilone (born November 4, 1916 in Buffalo , New York , † February 19, 1945 in Iwojima , Tokyo Prefecture ) was an American soldier of Italian descent with the rank of gunnery sergeant . He was the only U.S. Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross during World War II .
Early life
John Basilone was born in 1916, the sixth of ten children to Italian immigrants. He attended school in Raritan , New Jersey and joined the Army at the age of 18 . He was stationed in the Philippines and made a name for himself as " Manila John" as a light heavyweight boxer .
In July 1940, he joined the Marine Corps and was trained at Parris Island , Quantico, and New River . He was shipped via the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the Pacific island of Guadalcanal , where he took part in the battles against Japanese troops there as a member of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division .
Calls
At the Battle of Henderson Airfield from October 23 to 26, 1942, Basilone commanded over 15 men with four Browning M1917 machine guns . He succeeded in repelling a large Japanese attack in regimental strength, in which he personally operated one of the machine guns. When his unit was trapped and ammunition was running out, he broke through the containment ring on his own to get ammunition. After three days and nights of heavy hand-to-hand combat, only Basilone and two comrades were still operational, but the opposing regiment of around 3,000 men had also been smashed. For this commitment he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
He was then declared a national hero and taken to the United States, where he traveled across the United States to sell war bonds , and on July 10, 1944, he married Lena Mae Riggi.
Against partial resistance from higher authorities, he was able to push through his relocation to the front and was involved in the 1st Battalion of the 27th Marine Regiment of the 5th Marine Division in the Battle of Iwojima . On February 19, 1945, he went ashore as the commander of a machine-gun section along with about 30,000 other marines and was involved in heavy fighting. When his unit was held down by the defensive fire of a fortified log house , Basilone attacked the fortification alone and without fire protection from the uncovered flank. He succeeded in hand-to-hand combat and by using hand grenades to destroy the log house and kill the crew. Later that day, he ran into a minefield through heavy enemy fire and guided a tank crew back to a safe area with their vehicle.
During the following assault on airfield number 1, John Basilone was fatally wounded. For his extraordinary heroism (award text from Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal ) that day, he was honored with the Navy Cross, the Navy's highest honor. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery .
Honors
John Basilone was one of the highest honored soldiers of World War II with the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross and was also the only US Marine of the war to be honored with both awards. In addition, he is the only Medal of Honor holder who voluntarily returned to war and died in the process.
The Navy named one of their destroyers USS Basilone (DD-824) in 1945 . Two stretches of Interstate 5 near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton have been renamed Basilone Road and Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone Memorial Highway . A landing zone at the base for parachute troops was also named Basilone Drop Zone .
His hometown of Raritan has honored him with an annual parade of honor since 1981 and erected a memorial at a street crossing depicting Basilone with a machine gun in hands. In addition, the New Jersey Turnpike Bridge over the Raritan River was renamed Basilone Bridge . In 2005 the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp with his image. A square in San Diego was named after him and adorned with a bust of him.
Basilone and two other Marines also form the basis of the ten-part HBO miniseries The Pacific , produced in 2010 , in which his life at the front and his missions up to his death are portrayed. The role of John Basilone is played by Jon Seda .
Web links
- John Basilone in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Basilone, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Manila John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soldier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 4, 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Buffalo |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 19, 1945 |
| Place of death | Iwojima |