# Talk:John Basilone

A regiment of 300,000 Japanese soldiers?  Really?  That'd be something like 20% of the entire Imperial Japanese Army, right?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.105.236.204 (talk) 07:12, 16 May 2010 (UTC) 
the edit of 3,000 to 300,000 was done 21:08, 31 March 2010 and again 16 May 2010 by IP number 70.185.223.52; all you can do about that kind of vandalism is just correct it. Naaman Brown (talk) 15:45, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

I did correct it yesterday. There were "only" 36,000 Japanese on the island. I changed it to 3000, which is in line with the number of soldiers in a US regiment, not sure what a Japanese regiment size was. Niteshift36 (talk) 17:48, 17 May 2010 (UTC)
The guy was pure badass. Rambo incarnate.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.196.201.32 (talk) 03:00, 25 February 2012 (UTC) 

According to interview with John Basilone USMC conducted by Capt Martin on Sept 1 1943 regarding Oct 24-25, 1942.  Ref: http://www.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=33866  On page 37 of this document John Basilone tells Capt Martin that he did not attend boot camp (Parris Island), but went straight to D Company, 1st Batallion 5th Marines at Quantico, Virgina, as he had already served in the Army. PhatrRick (talk) 07:50, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Basilone was awarded his MOH for actions that occured on 24-25 October 1942.  The first MOH awarded was actually to a Sgt Clyde Thomason of the 2nd Raider Battalion in August of 1942 during the Makin Raid.  I think the myth spread because Basilone was actually awarded his first and also because it tends to lend itself to the legend.--Looper5920 22:57, 18 March 2006 (UTC)
NO, BUT HE WAS THE FIRST ENLISTED MAN TO RECEIVE MOH  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.160.185.126 (talk) 01:26, 14 December 2008 (UTC) 
Where is the verification for Bridgewater-Raritan High School being renamed for John Basilone?  I attended BRHS for four years, after 1995, and as far as I know no one EVER called it Basilone High School.  Maybe they were thinking of renaming the school when it was rebuilt, which doesn't surprise me, but I don't think it actually happened.--Rskovacs 24:21, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

What story? It's not in this article, must have been deleted --AW 00:25, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

I heard that he grabbed and lifted an M1917, a pretty heavy weapon for that time and requiring TWO men.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Joao 10 1996 (talk • contribs) 21:35, 29 January 2008 (UTC) 

I have lifted two M1917s at once, and I am not strong.  I understand that the standard tripod for the gun is heavy, but a strong Marine could do it. Normally one person carried the gun and the other the tripod.
Saltysailor (talk) 00:57, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

I corrected the reference to I5. It goes through Camp Pendleton.  The Marines can often be seen practicing on both sides of the Freeway. Basilon Rd intersects I5 at the north end of I5's run through the Camp.  Basilon Rd is the main North / South through the Camp.
Saltysailor (talk) 01:01, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

more should be added to this section, theres Basilone Place in raritan ( http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.5686869&lon=-74.6411857&z=19&l=0&m=h&v=2&search=raritan)
theres another bridge in raritan named after him too, connecting first ave to hillsborough, near the statue on canal street ( http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.564734&lon=-74.637039&z=19&l=0&m=h&v=2&search=raritan )
not to mention, the john basilone annual parade.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.193.123.213 (talk) 21:28, 29 September 2008 (UTC) 

In the article it says:

"The story about the 38 Japanese bodies comes from Private First Class Nash W. Phillips, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who was in the same unit with Basilone on Guadalcanal."
What story? There is no story that this sentence references. 
Didn't anybody else see this/catch this? Poor writing. 
- 4.240.159.188 (talk) 00:54, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
The first iteration of the article created 04:49 3 Oct 2005 by an IP editor included this:  

Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, of Raritan, New Jersey, was awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his outstanding heroism at Guadalcanal. Later, during the Iwo Jima campaign, he was killed in action on D-Day, 19 February 1945.
At Guadalcanal, where he was serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, he used a machine gun and a pistol to kill 38 of the enemy from his emplacement and earn the nation's highest military decoration.

The text was sourced to (and taken verbatim from) http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who/Basilone_J.htm which has been moved to United States Marine Corps History Division, Who's Who in Marine Corps History, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, USMC (deceased) Apparently, some editor removed what appeared to be material used in violation of copyright while leaving material that referenced the deleted material. Naaman Brown (talk) 13:30, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

How long did he live in Buffalo?  Why did his parents move there and then return to central NJ? 98.221.124.80 (talk) 05:27, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Shouldn't the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal shown have two bronze stars for his two campaigns?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.249.114.177 (talk) 13:59, 20 April 2010 (UTC) 

Wasn't GySgt Basilone awarded any Good Conduct Medals?  I would think that he was awarded at least one Army GCM and one Marine Corps GCM.SonnyJim (talk) 10:22, 7 November 2010 (UTC)
I agree with both entries above, but wonder why they have not either been commented on, if incorrect, or a change made to the Campaign Stars and Good Conduct Medals For Basilone. Good Conduct Medals are awarded for three years of good conduct in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. Having participated in two campaigns (Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima) he should have received a star for each.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.30.60.70 (talk) 03:56, 11 November 2013 (UTC)
He fought in 2 campaigns = two 3/16" stars. The two 3/16" bronze stars for the APCM were added on 3/14/14 (one star was removed and given a numeral 1 on 8/17/16, which I corrected on 10/20/16). He is entitled to two not one 3/16" bronze star for his PUC (added 10/20/16). He is entitled to the Army Good Conduct Medal if he completed 3 years during 1934-37 (?) and the Marine Good Conduct Medal which was added on 3/14/14 (required 4 years service WWII). Also, he is entitled to the Combat Action Ribbon (if applied for) which he earned. YahwehSaves (talk) 22:42, 20 October 2016 (UTC)

What was Basilone's rank in the Army? Add that to the article.
202.156.14.98 (talk) 14:58, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

In the article in mentioned that while serving in the Army he was a Army boxing champ.  Per "The Pacific" by Hugh Ambrose (the non-fiction novel, not the miniseries"  This was a rumor started by his own family.  He fought golden gloves but admitted in an interview that he was not that good.  I deleted the comment about the boxing.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.11.109.186 (talk) 19:08, 2 September 2010 (UTC) 

I'm readding the info with a reference. FieldMarine (talk) 02:47, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

The article says Basilone grew up in the "Boro of Raritan."  However, Raritan was not a boro until after Basilone died. At the time Basilone lived there it was Raritan Town and it was a subdivision of Bridgewater Township.  It didn't become Raritan Boro until 1948, Basilone died in 1945.  He never lived in Raritan Boro, parts of which are not a part of what was Raritan Town.  Basilone grew up in the Raritan Town section of Bridgewater Township.173.3.14.73 (talk) 06:22, 1 June 2011 (UTC)
http://www.raritanboro.org/overview.htm

OK, thanks.  I'll make the change.  Semper Fi! FieldMarine (talk) 11:31, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

I know most sources say he was killed by a mortar, but here says that Hugh Ambrose went through the Marine archives, and uncovered the fact that he was killed by gunshot wounds, (Which was why it portrayed him getting killed by a bullet in the HBO series, The Pacific.
Do you think we should add that? --AnyGuy (talk) 04:51, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

The eyewitness accounts I've read say mortar fire.  Marine Record keeping is often incorrect.   I'd stay with mortar fire.  FieldMarine (talk) 01:44, 24 August 2011 (UTC)
This section needs tidying up. The "EDIT" part that says he was killed via different means is not in keeping with a Wikipedia article. Either include it in the main paragraph, i.e. "however there are conflicting reports of how he was killed..." or get rid of that part entirely. I don't know enough about this to correct it myself. --3atc3 (talk) 04:50, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
I've edited the sentence mentioning Ambrose's research slightly and inserted a citation needed tag. Someone with a copy of Ambrose's book could insert the correct citation. There is also this interesting collection of contemporary clippings covering his death, attributed to "Japanese artillery fire", from a site dedicated to Raritan history that may be a helpful source if someone continues to re-work this section: http://www.raritan-online.com/jb-death.htm Kestral84 (talk) 17:03, 13 August 2013 (UTC)
My father was on Iwo Jima and took a photo of his grave there.  It was a hand made stone with his name carved in it. I'm guessing he was disinterred and moved to the USA later?  I can upload the photo if there is a desire to have it here.  From the photos my dad took, it almost looks like Iwo Jima was just a giant cemetery after the fighting was over.  My dad was one of the soldiers interviewed for the Library of Congress WWII memories project.  He was sent home from there in 1946.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jnels10 (talk • contribs) 05:00, 11 May 2020 (UTC) 

My sincere thanks for the service of your father. If you upload the photo, please upload on Commons at this link. As long at you have the copyright, you are good to go. That would be a great tribute to him. Semper Fi! FieldMarine (talk) 10:36, 11 May 2020 (UTC)

If the article states when he receives his various promotions, sorry, I am not seeing it. Varlaam (talk) 17:32, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

Does anyone know if John Basilone actually fought using a machete in hand-to-hand combat on Guadalcanal? If this story is true it should not be very difficult to find a reliable source that mentions it. My edit has been reverted and labelled vandalism by some guy named FieldMarine. Can any more experienced wikipedia users help with this issue?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.83.30.92 (talk) 02:33, 3 April 2012 (UTC) 

Read the history of edits.  Saying he took a dump on the Medal of Honor is vandalism.  Semper Fi! FieldMarine (talk) 04:45, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
If you do read the history, one sees you reverted edits by three different IPs together, only two of which were vandalism. But I strongly suggest that 97.83.30.92 get a named account if he wants to avoid summary deletion like this.  Barsoomian (talk) 02:31, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
My apologies…must have glossed over that since in the edit summary the IP editor was calling people an "idiot".  Semper Fi! FieldMarine (talk) 11:51, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Is it notable to mention his brother George? 49.196.156.12 (talk) 12:50, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

I am an amateur military historian. 
I feel that John Basilone’s ribbon rack is wrong. The first row should have the MOH by itself, then the second row would have the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart, and the rest of the ribbons, I believe is in correct order. Look at General Wainwright’s ribbons in Wikipedia and there they have the MOH by itself on the first row. Even though different branches, the MOH is always center on the first row. I believe the reason why is it is the highest medal anyone can get in the military. It is also easy to recognize so anyone approaching him would give that person the honor they deserved.
I did some further checking on the internet and found out that the Medal Of Honor ribbon is worn: before all other decorations. The ribbon is composed of 5 stars in the shape of the letter M with the stars pointing up. (https://www.uniformribbons.com/medal-of-honor/). In other internet locations, the Medal of Honor is Center and on the First Row by itself  (http://www.marzone.com/dog2~7/USMC-R1.htm)
I think we need to have this change in WikiPedia.
thanks
Stephanie Cohu Stephicohu (talk) 02:47, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

I don't think it needs to be changed. Ribbons are usually displayed in rows of 3, Jonathan_M._Wainwright_(general)#Awards shows 5 full rows of 3 below so the only place the MOH can go is the top by itself. File:Galer RE USMC.jpg is another example of displaying the MOH with 5 other ribbons. Of course there are counter-examples: File:Pierpont Morgan Hamilton, Medal of Honor recipient.jpg chose to put the MOH at the top above a row of 2. It could be that he did it due to his own preference or that it was done to avoid covering the MOH partially with the wide collar on that type of uniform. Either way, I don't think anyone is going tell a Brigadier General and MOH recipient that they can wear it like that. Run it through the https://www.uniformribbons.com/army/ page and it always shows as the highest, but it's not shown alone, in it's own row, unless the lower rows are full of 3 each. --Dual Freq (talk) 17:18, 18 June 2023 (UTC)
I would also add that the two photos I linked above have the stars shaped like a "W" rather than "M". Either the ribbons are upside down in the photos or the ribbon has changed since those photos were taken. --Dual Freq (talk) 17:38, 18 June 2023 (UTC)
According to Medal of Honor page, (and here airandspace.si.edu) the "M" is rightside up.  - FlightTime (open channel) 18:24, 18 June 2023 (UTC)