Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone
Picked up on this story via a link from Michelle Malkin. One of her links brought me to this post from a blog, "ordinary everyday christian" and it's so good I'm posting it in its entirety (it's not that long).
In Honor of the 230th Marine Corps Birthday & Veterans Day
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 guncrews, 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."
After a period of recuperating from the battle for Guadalcanal, a national tour to sell war bonds, and his marriage to a female Marine sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Basilone requested reassignment to the Pacific. He joined the Fifth Marines in Hawaii, preparing for a secret operation which turned out to be the invasion of Iwo Jima.
On February 19, 1945, Gunnery Sergeant Basilone landed with his Marines in the first wave. With his unit pinned down on the beach, Basilone destroyed a Japanese pillbox. Immediately thereafter, Gunnery Sergeant Basilone was killed when a mortar shell exploded at his feet. His widow accepted the posthumous Navy Cross. Gunnery Sergeant Basilone was the ONLY enlisted Marine to have earned both the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor during World War II.
The achievements of Gunnery Sergeant Basilone, along with three other legendary Marines - Daniel J. Daly, John A. Lejeune, and Lewis B. Puller - will be immortalized by the U.S. Postal Service with four stamps (pictured below), to be issued this week.
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