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Guadalcanal. On the evening of October 24, 1942, then sergeant John Basilone made a stand on the strategically important high
ground near Guadalcanal’s Lunga River and south of the vital Marine beachhead, which included Henderson Field. His efforts and
those of his fellow Marines and sailors handed the Japanese their first defeat in the U.S. island-hopping campaign up the Pacific.
Basilone in his service uniform.
Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, Colonel Merritt A. Edson, Platoon Sergeant Mitchell
Paige, and Sergeant John Basilone after receiving their Congressional Medals of Honor at
Camp Balcombe, in Australia, May 21, 1943, for their heroism at Guadalcanal.
Iwo Jima. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, John Basilone, now a gunnery sergeant,
charged across Red Beach 2 with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines on D-day,
February, 19, 1945. He would die there on that first day of the assault, falling
just short of one of his unit’s primary objectives, Motoyama Airfield # 1.
Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, originally buried on Iwo Jima, was re-buried in 1948 at
Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Marine comrades are seen holding the
American flag during services as members of the family look on. (Seated left to right) Basilone’s
sister Phyllis (in light jacket); his mother, Dora; and his father, Salvatore.
The Basilone statue in Raritan, New Jersey, haloed by the sun.
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