John Basilone

His name was John Basilone. He was one of 10 children, the son of an Italian tailor. He was from Raritan New Jersey. He was a Marine during World War II. He loved the Marine Corps. He was a "Marine's Marine". During a long night in the month of October, 1942, Basilone found himself in the heat of combat against a determined and overwhelming force of Japanese. He was on Guadalcanal. He was attempting to preserve a thin Marine-and-Army defense line around Henderson Field. A wave of Japanese soldiers knocked out the machine guns on his left. Basilone lifted a machine gun and its tripod, consisting of 90 pounds of weaponry.He raced 200 yards to the silenced gun pit and started firing. Japanese bodies began stacking up in front of the emplacement. Enemy soldiers attacked his rear. He cut them down with his pistol. He fought til dawn.* Over 38 bodies of the enemy lay dead. Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone came home with the Congressional Medal of Honor.
If you ever travel in Southern California; there is an area between Orange and San Diego Counties. Just North of Camp Pendleton, on Freeway 5, there is a stretch of road. It is called Basilone Road. It is named in honor of this Marine hero who fired his weapon until heat blistered his hands, and he kept shooting.

*An excerpt from "The Marine who went back"(12/10/90: US NEWS & WORLD REPORT)