On the morning of February 19, 1945, “Manila John†Basilone was leading his machine gun platoon through the hellish invasion of Iwo Jima, one of Japan’s last island bastions of defense before mainland Japan. His unit had just reached the beach when a mortar barrage hit, pinning them to the ground. Red Beach II became an inferno of exploding artillery shells and mortar rounds aimed at the front-line Marines, struggling up the shoreline into the intense shelling. Basilone, already a legendary figure, made a heroic decision.
As Bill D. Ross wrote in his eyewitness account Iwo Jima - Legacy of Valor: “Now, with the invasion 90 minutes old, the intrepid sergeant had one thought. Basilone leapt to his feet and yelled at the gunners just behind, backs hunkered low and straining under the heavy loads of weapons and ammunition amid the blistering bombardment, ‘C’mon, you guys! Let’s get these guns off the beach!’ While most of the men tried to find shelter under the withering fire, Basilone led an attack that destroyed an enemy gun emplacement.â€
Basilone, who at one point served at Camp Pendleton, was a central figure in HBO’s 10-part miniseries The Pacific based on true accounts of World War II. The companion piece to Band of Brothers, and winner of eight Emmys, the 2010 series by Steven Spielberg focuses on the Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific Theater and on the experiences of three Marines**  John Basilone, Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge  who were all in different regiments of the 1st Marine Division.
Basilone is the one who gets sent home, meets  and gets  the girl and then goes back to the front. First stop: Iwo Jima.
Read more: Dana Point Times - Iwo Jima Anniversary Basilone
Basilone, who at one point served at Camp Pendleton, was a central figure in HBO’s 10-part miniseries The Pacific based on true accounts of World War II. The companion piece to Band of Brothers, and winner of eight Emmys, the 2010 series by Steven Spielberg focuses on the Marine Corps’ actions in the Pacific Theater and on the experiences of three Marines**  John Basilone, Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge  who were all in different regiments of the 1st Marine Division.
Basilone is the one who gets sent home, meets  and gets  the girl and then goes back to the front. First stop: Iwo Jima.
Read more: Dana Point Times - Iwo Jima Anniversary Basilone