Seventy-nine years after he was killed in action at the battle of Iwo Jima, the service, selflessness and heroism of U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone still resonates with the military and with his home state of New Jersey.
Twice in November the memory of the World War II hero was honored.
First, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new destroyer the USS John Basilone in New York Harbor on Nov. 9.
Second, the New Jersey Hall of Fame hosted a Remembrance Day in Basilone’s honor at American Dream on Nov. 18.
“It seems his legacy keeps growing,” said Kim Van Note, Basilone’s niece and the co-founder of the Basilone Memorial Foundation, a Raritan-based non-profit that raises funds for charitable causes. “When the Navy twice names a destroyer after him, it certainly helps keep his legacy alive.”
The new destroyer, the USS John Basilone, is the second destroyer named in the war hero’s honor. The first was commissioned in 1949.
Among the guests of honor at the commissioning were Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, members representing Basilone’s 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, as well as Gold Star family members Ryan Manion and Amy Looney Heffernen. Manion’s brother and Heffernan’s husband died in the line of duty.
On Nov. 18, the New Jersey Hall of Fame hosted a display at American Dream to honor Basilone’s life and service.
Basilone, who had no children, was represented by his two nieces Diane Hawkins and Van Note. Hawkins was interviewed by Raritan mayor Nick Carra and she shared family stories and memorabilia with the audience.
“It is an honor for my family to participate in these events,” Van Note said. “But this is not just about my uncle. It’s about all our veterans. I know enough about John Basilone to know he never wanted the limelight and would not be comfortable in it. If my uncle knew these events were to help and to honor veterans, he would be happy with that.”
Also honored at the NJ Hall of Fame event was Edward Danbury, a former board member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and a disabled veteran.
Basilone was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic stand against waves of Japanese attackers at the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. He returned to the states to receive the medal and then, along with a cadre of other Medal of Honor recipients, Basilone toured the country selling war bonds.
The Pentagon wanted to assign Basilone to an administrative job in Washington DC for the duration of the war, but Basilone would not have it.
“I need to stay with my boys,” he famously said before joining them in time for the invasion of Iwo Jima in January 1945.
Before he was killed in the invasion’s first wave, he single-handedly destroyed a Japanese blockhouse.
Basilone earned the Navy Cross for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima, the only marine to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross in World War II.
