NOTE: Enjoy this excerpt from The American Daily Reader, by CatholicVote president Brian Burch and Emily Stimpson Chapman. To order the complete volume, visit the CatholicVote store today!
He seemed invincible. And for a while he was.
Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1916, John Basilone was the sixth of 10 children brought into the world by Salvatore Basilone, an Italian immigrant, and his first–generation Italian–American wife, Dora. A typical Catholic boy of his age, the future Marine was educated by nuns, good at boxing, and not interested in school. In October 1942, however, Gunnery Sergeant Basilone proved anything but typical when, with two machine guns and a .45 caliber pistol, he fended off 3,000 Japanese soldiers on Guadalcanal.
At the outset of the attack, Basilone had 15 men with him. When the Japanese finally surrendered, only two remained. Almost miraculously, Basilone kept the machine guns firing for three days and three nights, stopping only once to fight his way through hostile territory and secure more ammunition.
Overnight, the newly minted Medal of Honor winner became a household name. The U.S. government took advantage of that, pulling Basilone out of combat and ordering him to sell war bonds. In just over a year, the Marine raised more than $1.4 million for the war effort. He hated the attention, though, and repeatedly asked to return to combat. He finally did in late 1943.
On February 19, 1945, Basilone was among the first to land on Red Beach II during the invasion of Iwo Jima. Almost singlehandedly, he fought his way past enemy fire to the blockhouses that sheltered Japanese troops. Within minutes, Basilone destroyed the blockhouses with grenades and small arms. He then navigated three American tanks through a minefield, all the while exposing himself to enemy fire.
A short while later, however, something (no one knows what), struck Basilone while he stood briefing his men. He died in an instant.
After Iwo Jima, the U.S. government posthumously awarded Basilone the Navy Cross, making him the only enlisted Marine in World War II to win both the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.
