Monday, May 25, 2015

John Basilone

Military service...

Guadalcanal

During the Battle for Henderson Field, his unit came under attack by a regiment of approximately 3,000 soldiers from the Japanese Sendai Division. On October 24, 1942, Japanese forces began a frontal attack using machine guns, grenades, and mortars against the American heavy machine guns. Basilone commanded two sections of machine guns that fought for the next two days until only Basilone and two other Marines were left standing. Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He then repaired and manned another machine gun, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived. As the battle went on, ammunition became critically low. Despite their supply lines having been cut off by enemies in the rear, Basilone fought through hostile ground to resupply his heavy machine gunners with urgently needed ammunition. When the last of it ran out shortly before dawn on the second day, Basilone held off the Japanese soldiers attacking his position using his .45 pistol. By the end of the engagement, Japanese forces opposite their section of the line were virtually annihilated. For his actions during the battle, he received the United States military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
Afterwards, Private First Class Nash W. Phillips, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, recalled from the battle for Guadalcanal:

Basilone had a machine gun on the go for three days and nights without sleep, rest, or food. He was in a good emplacement, and causing the Japanese lots of trouble, not only firing his machine gun, but also using his pistol.
Iwo Jima

John Basilone's headstone in Arlington National Cemetery
After his request to return to the fleet was approved, he was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division during the invasion of Iwo Jima. On February 19, 1945, he was serving as a machine gun section leader in action against Japanese forces on Red Beach II. During the battle, the Japanese concentrated their fire at the incoming Marines from heavily fortified blockhouses staged throughout the island. With his unit pinned down, Basilone made his way around the side of the Japanese positions until he was directly on top of the blockhouse. He then attacked with grenades and demolitions, single-handedly destroying the entire strong point and its defending garrison. He then fought his way toward Airfield Number 1 and aided a Marine tank that was trapped in an enemy mine field under intense mortar and artillery barrages. He guided the heavy vehicle over the hazardous terrain to safety, despite heavy weapons fire from the Japanese. As he moved along the edge of the airfield, he was killed by Japanese mortar shrapnel. His actions helped Marines penetrate the Japanese defense and get off the landing beach during the critical early stages of the invasion. He was posthumously awarded the Marine Corps' second-highest decoration for valor, the Navy Cross, for extraordinary heroism during the battle of Iwo Jima.
Based on his research for the book and mini-series The Pacific, author Hugh Ambrose suggested that Basilone was not killed by a mortar, but by small arms fire that hit him in the right groin, the neck and nearly took off his left arm completely.

8 comments:

AllenS said...

Ass kicker, RIP.

chickelit said...

Frequent drivers of I-5 alongside Camp Pendleton will recognize Basilone's name.

Aridog said...

John Basilone, may you rest in peace with all the others who passed fighting. I recall my block in the 1940's where "single mother" was not connotative of an absent father, but a deceased one.

William said...

How come he didn't win another Medal of Honor for the second engagement?

Michael Haz said...

My dad was on Guadalcanal. He said very little about it until six months before his death, and then the floodgates opened. He went in as part of a group of about 1,000 sailors, and was one of 40 who lived.

Tough hombres, all of 'em.

chickelit said...

@Whomever: Thanks for deleting that disgraceful comment.

Chip Ahoy said...

C'était moi. De rien.

It is a service we perform when we notice the unhappy topper bashing into the same wall, we save them from themselves, no? There were two. The second worse than the first.

Awake and bright the next day, "What happened?" Nothing.

Aridog said...

Haz .... my experience is that very few combat veterans reveal much of the gore, only occasionally relating small anecdotes that might be humorous. WE have one here that comments with only short anecdotes. It fits him and his great sense of humor. Your dad fit that mold and his final revelations were unusual, but I am glad they informed you. I am always moved by the fact I came home whole, with some "repairs" along the way, with all the credit due to the infantry who protected me more often than not, and at times some lost their lives doing so. I can't help but be emotional about that...its a form of guilt, I suppose, but one worth carrying forever. Never forget.