The Legend of “Manila John”
Gunnery Sergeant “Manila John” Basilone was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive the Purple Heart, the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.
John Basilone was born in Buffalo, New York, as one of 10 children to parents of Italian heritage. The Basilone family moved to Raritan, New Jersey, when John was a child, and he did not attend high school, dropping out at 15 after completing middle school. As a teen, Basilone worked as a caddy at a local country club, and gained local attention as a rising light-heavyweight boxer.
Basilone enlisted in the Army at 17. Over three years of service, he was stationed at Fort Jay, New York, with the 16th Infantry and then in Manila, Philippines, with the 31st Infantry.
In Manila, Basilone earned the nickname “Manila John” while he continued a successful side career as a champion amateur boxer, and he grew particularly fond of the type of lifestyle he had acquired while stationed there. Basilone was honorably discharged from the Army in 1937 and returned state-side, working as a truck driver.
Military life remained appealing to Basilone, however, and in July 1940, he became a Marine, believing a career with the USMC could help him quickly return to Manila. When the US entered World War II, Basilone was sent Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But in Aug. 1942, along with the rest of C Company, 1stBattalion, 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Basilone arrived on the island of Guadalcanal, an island within the larger Solomon Islands chain located a few hundred miles northeast of Australia in the South Pacific.
The Guadalcanal Campaign was marred with bitter fighting and torrential summer rains. Key to winning the campaign was maintaining control of a landing strip constructed by the Japanese that American forces would eventually capture and name “Henderson Field.” On Oct. 24th, 1942, approximately 3,000 Japanese soldiers assaulted the Marines entrenched around the airfield and charged the men in waves. Basilone, in charge of two machine gun sections consisting of 16 Marines operating four heavy machine guns, held the line for three days without food or sleep. Basilone shifted his fields of fire, lugged around a 90-100 pound M1917 Browning machine gun, and used his pistol to stave off incoming Japanese soldiers. Ultimately, Basilone and two others were the only surviving Marines left holding the position. Henderson Field would remain in American hands, and by Dec. 1944, the Japanese abandoned reclaiming Guadalcanal. For his actions that October, Basilone would became the first American soldier to earn the Medal of Honor. He received it while on leave in Australia.
Basilone’s reputation grew, and he was sent back to the United States in July 1943 to participate in bond drives. His hometown of Raritan planned a massive homecoming parade in his honor. But despite the fame, praise, newsreel coverage, interviews, and even a spot in Life magazine, Basilone wished to return to the front lines. The USMC offered Basilone a commission and an assignment as an instructor, but he refused, again requesting to return to combat.
“I’m just a plain soldier and want to stay one. I ain’t no officer and I ain’t no museum piece. I belong back with my outfit,” he said.
Finally, on Dec. 27th, 1943, Basilone was sent to Camp Pendleton, CA, to train for the invasion of another Japanese-occupied island. Here, Basilone met and fell in love with Sergeant Lena Mae Riggi, herself an enlisted Marine. John married Lena on July 7th, 1944, in Oceanside, CA, and the two went on their honeymoon in Oregon. Around Christmas, 1944, Basilone was shipped off again.
On Feb. 19th, 1945, at 9:30 AM, Basilone landed at Iwo Jima. Initially, the Marines encountered no resistance and made landfall easily. However, once they had clustered on the beach in significant numbers, the Japanese opened fire. In the ensuing chaos, Basilone took command of some entrapped Marines, first leading them to and then clearing out a pillbox, then guiding a tank under fire out of a minefield. While in the midst of executing another attack, Basilone was struck by mortar fire. He would succumb to his wounds on the first day of the battle. Basilone was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously and is the only enlisted Marine to receive this recognition, as well as the Medal of Honor, during World War II.
Over 70 years later, John Basilone’s legacy still stands tall. In Raritan, New Jersey, an annual parade commemorates Basilone’s heroism and sacrifice. Basilone remains a legend in the USMC, and his service during World War II is chronicled in the HBO miniseries “The Pacific.” A destroyer, the USS Basilone, was named in his honor and was christened by his widower, Lena, who never remarried and was laid to rest when she passed away in 1999 still wearing the wedding band he gave her.
John Basilone was eventually brought home from Iwo Jima, and he rests at Arlington National Cemetery. VA.Gov
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 4 November 1916, Buffalo, New York. Accredited to: New Jersey. Other Navy award: Navy Cross.
Citation:
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 machineguns, 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.
Great Love Happens Once: The Enduring Story of John and Lena Basilone
By Cpl. Teagan Fredericks | 1st Marine Division | February 14, 2019
Some ties run deep, like service to country or commitment to family. For one Marine, those two paths were intertwined.
Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone was both a lover and a fighter. He was notorious for his heroic actions on the beaches and in the jungles of the Pacific during World War II. During a heavy enemy attack in Guadalcanal, Basilone and his men defeated thousands of Japanese troops while he single-handedly repaired and manned multiple machine guns and risked his life running through enemy lines to retrieve critical ammunition. Often described as a decorated American hero and a Marine Corps legend, John Basilone was, in his heart, an ordinary family man.
After returning from his successful tour in Guadalcanal, Basilone received overwhelming amounts of publicity. He was offered roles in movies, invited to parades, and even spent time with the president. While this was all very flattering, he never seemed to find comfort in smiling for the cameras. John was attracted to the simpler things in life.
At the end of the day, after the cameras stopped flashing and parades came to an end, Basilone was a traditional man. He loved his country and he loved the brothers who fought by his side. He wanted, more than anything, to have a wife and a family of his own.
“I wanted to know how it was to love somebody the way Pop loved Mama,” Basilone admitted in James Brady’s book ‘Hero of the Pacific’ . “At least I wanted a few days, or weeks if I could get it, to know what it was like to be married. I wanted to be able to say ‘I love you’ a few times and mean it.”
Basilone was constantly surrounded by swarms of women who clung to his arms and posed for pictures. It would seem easy to find a wife with these circumstances, but he wanted something real. He eventually met his wife in the serving line of a chow hall on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Her name was Lena Mae Riggi, a sergeant at the time serving as a field cook in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Her fellow female Marines fawned over Basilone and his heroism but she wasn’t impressed. She saw him as yet another patronizing Marine returning from war. Basilone found her independence refreshing and realized she was exactly what he was looking for.
“I nodded and she might have nodded, or not, but she wasn’t falling over herself to get to know me. I liked this girl. She was tough,” said Basilone in ‘Hero of the Pacific’.
John and Lena seemingly fell in love overnight. Just weeks after meeting, with Basilone’s inevitable return to the Pacific looming, the couple decided to get married on July 10, 1944 at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Oceanside, California. A month after their wedding, in the same setting that they first met, the newlyweds bid farewell in a Camp Pendleton chow hall. Basilone returned to the Pacific to continue fighting in the war.
“We talked of our life after the war – what we would name the first boy and the first girl,” Basilone said in ‘Hero of the Pacific’. “She held up pretty well while we talked. She didn’t cry, and pretended she was okay… I told her, ‘I’m coming back,’ and she believed me.”
Although the romance was a whirlwind and the conditions were not ideal, the two seemed destined for a life together. According to Lena’s niece, Fiddle Viracola, Lena would always say “Great love only happens once.”
For Lena, her ‘great love’ never returned home from the Pacific. John was killed on Iwo Jima February 19, 1945 just seven months after marrying the love of his life and seven months before the allies would declare victory in the Pacific.
Although she was just 32 years old at the time of his passing, Lena never remarried, which was a testament to the unwavering bond she and John shared. She spent the remaining 54 years of her life in California where she would continue serving in the Marine Corps and volunteering throughout her community. When she died, she was still wearing the wedding ring that John gave her.
While John and Lena have both passed, their love still lingers in the halls of St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church. If you visit Oceanside today, the church remains in the same place it was in 1944 when the couple said their vows. This summer, 1st Marine Division plans to dedicate a plaque at the church to commemorate the anniversary of their wedding and to honor the story of their undying love.
It is stories like John and Lena’s that teach us about the foundations of trust, commitment, and sacrifice on which military relationships are built and remind us to cherish the time we have with the ones we love. When we spend every day with the people we care about, it is easy to overlook the concept of living without them. This Valentine’s Day, take a step back to recognize these people and don’t forget that time is the most precious gift you could give them