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Some Fresh Stuff about the POTUS

The mayor of Livermore California explains Trump’s popularity and success. This is perhaps the best explanation for Trump's popularity

The mayor of Livermore California explains Trump’s popularity and success. This is perhaps the best explanation for Trump’s popularity

Julian McCall

Julian McCall

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Marshall Kamena is a registered Democrat and was elected mayor of Livermore, CA.. He ran on the democratic ticket as he knew a Bay Area city would never vote for a Republican. He is as conservative as they come. He wrote the following from an article, originally written by Evan Sayet and his opinion he expressed as a columnists for Townhall.com were his own and did not represent the views of Townhall.com, were mistakenly attributed to Marshall Kamena by me.
Trump’s ‘lack of decorum, dignity, and statesmanship’ By Evan Sayet in his article “He Fights
My Leftist friends (as well as many ardent #NeverTrumpers) constantly ask me if I’m not bothered by Donald Trump’s lack of decorum. They ask if I don’t think his tweets are “beneath the dignity of the office.”
Here’s my answer: We Right-thinking people have tried dignity. There could not have been a man of more quiet dignity than George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency.
We tried statesmanship.
Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized “collegiality” as John McCain?
We tried propriety – has there been a nicer human being ever than Mitt Romney?
And the results were always the same. This is because, while we were playing by the rules of dignity, collegiality and propriety, the Left has been, for the past 60 years, engaged in a knife fight where the only rules are those of Saul Alinsky and the Chicago mob.
I don’t find anything “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper” about Barack Obama’s lying about what went down on the streets of Ferguson in order to ramp up racial hatreds because racial hatreds serve the Democratic Party.
I don’t see anything “dignified” in lying about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and imprisoning an innocent filmmaker to cover your tracks.
I don’t see anything “statesman-like” in weaponizing the IRS to be used to destroy your political opponents and any dissent.
Yes, Obama was “articulate” and “polished” but in no way was he in the least bit “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper.”
The Left has been engaged in a war against America since the rise of the Children of the ‘60’s. To them, it has been an all-out war where nothing is held sacred and nothing is seen as beyond the pale.. It has been a war they’ve fought with violence, the threat of violence, demagoguery and lies from day one – the violent take-over of the universities – till today.
The problem is that, through these years, the Left has been the only side fighting this war. While the Left has been taking a knife to anyone who stands in their way, the Right has continued to act with dignity, collegiality and propriety.
With Donald Trump, this all has come to an end. Donald Trump is America ’s first wartime president in the Culture War.
During wartime, things like “dignity” and “collegiality” simply aren’t the most essential qualities one looks for in their warriors. Ulysses Grant was a drunk whose behavior in peacetime might well have seen him drummed out of the Army for conduct unbecoming.
Had Abraham Lincoln applied the peacetime rules of propriety and booted Grant, the Democrats might well still be holding their slaves today.
Lincoln rightly recognized that, “I cannot spare this man. He fights.”
General George Patton was a vulgar-talking.. In peacetime, this might have seen him stripped of rank. But, had Franklin Roosevelt applied the normal rules of decorum then, Hitler and the Socialists would barely be five decades into their thousand-year Reich.
Trump is fighting. And what’s particularly delicious is that, like Patton standing over the battlefield as his tanks obliterated Rommel’s, he’s shouting, “You magnificent bastards, I read your book!”
That is just the icing on the cake, but it’s wonderful to see that not only is Trump fighting, he’s defeating the Left using their own tactics. That book is Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals – a book so essential to the Liberals’ war against America that it is and was the playbook for the entire Obama administration and the subject of Hillary Clinton’s senior thesis.
It is a book of such pure evil, that, just as the rest of us would dedicate our book to those we most love or those to whom we are most indebted, Alinsky dedicated his book to Lucifer.
Trump’s tweets may seem rash and unconsidered but, in reality, he is doing exactly what Alinsky suggested his followers do. First, instead of going after “the fake media” — and they are so fake that they have literally gotten every single significant story of the past 60 years not just wrong, but diametrically opposed to the truth, from the Tet Offensive to Benghazi, to what really happened on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri — Trump isolated CNN.. He made it personal.
Then, just as Alinsky suggests, he employs ridicule which Alinsky described as “the most powerful weapon of all.”… Most importantly, Trump’s tweets have put CNN in an untenable and unwinnable position. … They need to respond.
This leaves them with only two choices. They can either “go high” (as Hillary would disingenuously declare of herself and the fake news would disingenuously report as the truth) and begin to honestly and accurately report the news or they can double-down on their usual tactics and hope to defeat Trump with twice their usual hysteria and demagoguery. The problem for CNN (et al.) with the former is that, if they were to start honestly reporting the news, that would be the end of the Democratic Party they serve. It is nothing but the incessant use of fake news (read: propaganda) that keeps the Left alive.
Imagine, for example, if CNN had honestly and accurately reported then-candidate Barack Obama’s close ties to foreign terrorists (Rashid Khalidi), domestic terrorists (William Ayers & Bernardine Dohrn), the mafia (Tony Rezko) or the true evils of his spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright’s church.
Imagine if they had honestly and accurately conveyed the evils of the Obama administration’s weaponizing of the IRS to be used against their political opponents or his running of guns to the Mexican cartels or the truth about the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the Obama administration’s cover-up.
So, to my friends on the Left — and the #NeverTrumpers as well — do I wish we lived in a time when our president could be “collegial” and “dignified” and “proper”? Of course I do.
These aren’t those times. This is war. And it’s a war that the Left has been fighting without opposition for the past 50 years.
So, say anything you want about this president – I get it – he can be vulgar, he can be crude, he can be undignified at times. I don’t care. I can’t spare this man. He fights for America!
Please pass this on..over and over, and again and again…
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A Victory! Born again Cynic! Good News for a change! I am so grateful!! Interesting stuff

Now for something nice about the Old Place!

‘I’ll Never Be the Same’: My Ukrainian Wife’s First Trip to the United States

Nolan Peterson /  /

For Lilya Peterson—shown here in Boca Grande, Florida—visiting the United States was a lifelong dream. “This is the greatest country in the world,” she said. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

KYIV, Ukraine—How do you measure America’s greatness?
By the size of its economy, or the strength of its military?
By the height of its city skylines, or the audacity of the moon landings?
Perhaps, by the heroism of the Marines who landed on Iwo Jima, or of the Army soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach?

Maybe. But America’s greatness is not always measured like in the movies or a campaign speech. Sometimes, an anonymous act of gratitude is proof enough, even if we, as Americans, don’t always see it that way.

At Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For one month, the author and his wife, Lilya, traveled across the United States for their honeymoon. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

In August, my wife, Lilya, and I were at dinner in Geyserville, California, with my younger brother, Drew, and his girlfriend, Gabrielle.
We’d been wine tasting all afternoon and had rounded off the day with a few cocktails to boot. Feeling a bit loosened up, my brother and I, as is our habit, slipped into a familiar topic of conversation—the war in Afghanistan.
You see, both Drew and I are U.S. military veterans. And, naturally, we get to talking about our wartime experiences whenever we’re together. Often a bit too loudly, as Lilya and Gabrielle gently suggested on that night in Geyserville.
In any case, as we wrapped up dinner and asked for the check, the waitress informed us that someone had already paid our bill. We asked who this person was, but he or she had already left, the waitress explained.
“They asked me to tell you, ‘Thank you for your service,’” she said.
My brother and I were speechless. It is, after all, all too easy to assume the country has moved on and forgotten about our wars when so many of the things that divide us seem to occupy so much of the news.

The United States is an inspiration for many people fighting for their freedom around the world, such as these Kurdish peshmerga soldiers outside Mosul, Iraq, in 2016. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

On the walk back to the hotel that night, my wife, who is Ukrainian, told me, “I’m so shocked and impressed. I’ve never seen such a kind gesture by a stranger. It was magnificent.”
I was moved by the gesture, too. But it wasn’t the first time someone in America had bought me a drink for being a veteran. What I didn’t immediately understand is that from my wife’s point of view, it was a singularly unprecedented, characteristically American, display of gratitude.
A week later, Lilya and I were having a drink at a bar in my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. We chatted with the barman and it came up that I was a former Air Force pilot and a war correspondent.
When it was time to square up the tab, the barman said with a smile that he wouldn’t take my money.
“Thank you for your service,” he simply explained.
On our way out the door, my wife stopped, took my hand, turned to me, and said, “This is the greatest country in the world.”
Love and War
In the summer of 2014, I left for Ukraine to report on the war, thinking I’d be gone for only two weeks. More than four years later, the war isn’t over and I still live in Ukraine. Most importantly, I’m now married to Lilya.
In August, Lilya and I traveled across the United States on our honeymoon. It was her first trip to America. For my part, I’d spent only a handful of weeks in the U.S. since I first left for Ukraine in 2014. So, this trip was a homecoming of sorts for me, as well as a chance to take stock of how much America had changed in the years I’ve been away.

At the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

You, dear reader, surely understand all the challenges facing our country. You’re likely bombarded with reminders of these challenges each time you go online or turn on your TV.
Yet, I want to share with you a perspective of your country that might be as foreign to you as the conflicts on which I’ve reported. It’s the perspective of my wife—a 22-year-old Ukrainian woman who was born in the shadow of the Soviet Union and spent most of her young life amid the backdrop of revolutions and war.
Despite all the broken dreams in her country, Lilya, like so many Ukrainians of her generation, possesses a clear vision of the life she wants and deserves. And you, dear reader, are already living it.
When the jet broke through the clouds and out the window we saw the lights of the New York City skyline, Lilya smiled and said, “This is the dream of all my life.”
Checkpoints
We started in New York City. Despite my best efforts not to, I wept at ground zero, remembering things from my youth I don’t often revisit. Like watching on TV as the towers fell during a morning class at the Air Force Academy. I was only 19, but I understood what that day meant for my future.

The author and his wife, Lilya, in the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

We marveled at the skyscrapers in New York and Chicago, and we visited all of Washington, D.C.’s monuments. Later, under the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, we visited the Air Force Academy, my alma mater.
I won’t lie, I bursted with pride to show Lilya that place.
We walked across the terrazzo—the academy’s massive central courtyard—and Lilya shook her head in disbelief at the spectacle of the freshmen (known as doolies) who ran along the marble strips, dutifully stopping to recite volumes of memorized knowledge at the upper class cadets’ behests.
At the academy’s War Memorial—a black stone monument to graduates who fell in battle—I took a quiet moment alone and ran my fingers across the freshly engraved names of remembered faces.

The U.S. Air Force Academy terrazzo. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

During our visit, I was honored with the opportunity to speak to a couple classes, as well as with the faculty, to share my wartime experiences. During one classroom session, the professor put Lilya on the spot and asked for her impression of America.
Impromptu public speaking in a foreign language isn’t easy. But she nailed it.
Without missing a beat, Lilya replied: “This is the greatest country in the world. But most Americans don’t know it.”

The author speaking to faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy. (Photo: Lilya Peterson)

Gratitude
From Colorado we flew to Phoenix and drove across the desert to the Grand Canyon and then on to Las Vegas. In California, we visited Hollywood, drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, hiked in the redwood forests, and enjoyed wine country to its fullest. We doubled back across the country to Florida and toured the Kennedy Space Center, where we saw the Space Shuttle Atlantis and a Saturn V moon rocket.
In the end, we traveled from sea to shining sea and concluded our journey in Sarasota, where Lilya met my 93-year-old grandmother, Joan, for the first time.

Lilya with her grandmother-in-law, Joan Peterson, in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

As they held hands and chatted, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we were able to find a way to America while there was still time. And while more than 70 years separated their lives, I also observed a special bond between my wife and grandmother.
They both possess a unique appreciation for life’s little pleasures. And for good reason. My grandmother has lived through the Great Depression, wars, and societal upheavals. For her part, my young wife has already lived through two revolutions and a war.
Of course, you don’t have to endure such historic challenges to appreciate life’s blessings. But, I must say, it’s all too easy to misjudge the gravity of life’s problems when you’re used to peace and prosperity—after all, there’s no microaggression, no trigger, no slur or verbal insult that could ever compare with the impartial brutalities of revolution and war.

The author with his grandmother, Joan Peterson, in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

The truth is, every American, each and every one of us, is privileged. We’re privileged because we are American.
If you don’t think so then lift your eyes to the horizon, over which exists a world where the overwhelming majority of humanity does not enjoy the self-evident entitlements we so flippantly take for granted—things like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The more cynical among us will likely roll their eyes at the preceding sentence, writing it off as overwrought jingoism. But when hardship and war comprise your daily reality, you don’t take America’s greatness lightly, or for granted.
Whether we want it or not, we Americans have inherited an awesome responsibility. We are the caretakers of the promise of democracy for people around the world who yearn for it.
Of course, we’re not the only democracy in the world. But I’ve seen firsthand how the ideal of American democracy stands alone in the eyes of Ukraine’s soldiers, the Kurds in Iraq, or even octogenarian Tibetan freedom fighters. For them, America symbolizes a dream worth fighting for.
I was proudest of my homeland when I showed it to my wife for the first time and saw her eyes illuminate in witness of a dream foretold. I also silently hoped that America wouldn’t let her down.

The author and his wife at dinner at the top of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

Yes, we may fail in our time to realize the promise of our founding for every American.
Yet, despite the long shadow of our past sins and the gravity of our contemporary shortcomings, we haven’t quit yet and better make sure we never do.
Because the world is always watching us. Always. And there are plenty of dark forces in this world held at bay by the simple fact that America is still a dream worth fighting for.
Yes, we aren’t perfect. But if not us then who?
Common Bonds
The front lines against tyranny aren’t always found on the battlefields against goose-stepping armies. Sometimes, that battle is won at the dinner table, in a classroom, in a random encounter on the sidewalk, or even in a Facebook post.
Sometimes, victory is measured by the courage to show decency and respect and to find common purpose with someone with whom you share nothing in common except for being American.
After everything I’ve seen, I still believe that if the better angels of our nature win in America, then they will win everywhere. The world is watching us, remember.

In Las Vegas, Nevada—one stop on a monthlong, cross-country trip for the author and his wife, Lilya. After more than four years of reporting on the war in Ukraine, it was a homecoming of sorts for the author. (Photo: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)

So, how do you measure America’s greatness?
My wife saw our moon rockets and our skyscrapers and our monuments and our natural wonders. Yet, in the end, what impressed her most were those unnecessary and unsolicited acts of thanksgiving for my military service by total strangers.
“I never thought that random people would be so kind to strangers just because they respect them,” Lilya told me.  “America really is the greatest country on earth.”
She paused for a beat and then added, “This trip changed the way I see everything, and I’ll never be the same.”

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A Victory! Soldiering The Green Machine War

Peleliu Beach Landing – Sept. 15 1944 – Orange Beach II

https://youtu.be/LJeA4fpXwM0Image result for Peleliu Beach Landing - Sept. 15 1944 - Orange Beach II

To paraphrase General Patton, what a waste of Fine Infantry. In my humble opinion.
As the 1st Marine Division was one of Americas best Division. In my opinion was in the same league of the following units of WWII America.
Like the Big red One US Army 1st ID (Infantry Division) , The 3rd ID, 4th Armored Division, The 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne Division or the 2nd Marine Division.
So to waste such a fine unit for a very questionable target like Peleliu. Which turned out to be of very questionable use later on.
Leads me to question the Brasses thinking. Yeah I know its easy to do this in hind sight.  But other folks at the time also asked the sames questions.
Your comments on this subject are welcome! Grumpy

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If you have not done so already, GET UP OFF YOUR ASS & VOTE!!!

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Well I thought it was funny & should upset our Gun fearing friends! Grumpy

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A Victory! All About Guns

Care to guess on What new Rifle that am doing the California paper work on?

Yes I t finally showed up at Lock Stock & Barrel investment (My Fantastic Sponsor by the Way)
For those who are not in the know. This is a Greener Martini Rifle in 218 Bee!
As soon as I can get it out of Gun jail and have a scope put on it. I will get to the range and let you know how it worked ASAP! All I know is that I have a good feeling about this rifle! Grumpy
https://youtu.be/off8pwk6QjQ
W. W. Greener, Ltd. - Matrni Cadet heavy barreled .218 Bee - Picture 1
W. W. Greener, Ltd. - Matrni Cadet heavy barreled .218 Bee - Picture 2
W. W. Greener, Ltd. - Matrni Cadet heavy barreled .218 Bee - Picture 3
W. W. Greener, Ltd. - Matrni Cadet heavy barreled .218 Bee - Picture 4
W. W. Greener, Ltd. - Matrni Cadet heavy barreled .218 Bee - Picture 5
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A Victory! Dear Grumpy Advice on Teaching in Today's Classroom Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad I am so grateful!! Interesting stuff Leadership of the highest kind The Green Machine This great Nation & Its People War

A Stud of a Man! Gunnery Sgt John Basilone USMC

Related image
John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who was killed in action during World War II.
He received the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle for Henderson Field in the Guadalcanal Campaign, and the Navy Crossposthumously for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both of these decorations in World War II.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 3, 1940, after serving three years in the United States Army with duty in the Philippines.
He was deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and in August 1942, he took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal.
In October, he and two other Marines used machine guns to hold off an attack by a far numerically superior Japanese force. In February 1945, he was killed in action on the first day of the invasion of Iwo Jima, after he single-handedly destroyed an enemy blockhouse and led a Marine tank under fire safely through a minefield.
He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations, and two United States Navy destroyers.

Early life and education

Basilone was born in his parents’ home on November 4, 1916, in Buffalo, New York.[2] He was the sixth of ten children. His five older siblings were born in Raritan, New Jersey, before the family moved to Buffalo when John was born; they returned to Raritan in 1918.[1]
His father, Salvatore Basilone, emigrated from Colle Sannita, in the region of Benevento, Italy in 1903 and settled in Raritan. Basilone’s mother, Dora Bencivenga, was born in 1889 and grew up in Manville, New Jersey, but her parents, Carlo and Catrina, also came from Benevento. Basilone’s parents met at a church gathering and married three years later.
Basilone grew up in the nearby Raritan Town (now Borough of Raritan) where he attended St. Bernard Parochial School. After completing middle school at the age of 15, he dropped out prior to attending high school.[3] Basilone worked as a golf caddy for the local country club before joining the military.[4]

Military service

Basilone enlisted in the United States Army in July 1934[4] and completed his three-year enlistment with service in the Philippines, where he was a champion boxer.[5]
In the Army, Basilone was initially assigned to the 16th Infantry at Fort Jay, before being discharged for a day, reenlisting, and being assigned to the 31st Infantry.[6][7]
After he was released from active duty, Basilone returned home and worked as a truck driver in Reisterstown, Maryland.[8]
After driving trucks for a few years, he wanted to go back to Manila and believed he could get there faster by serving in the Marines than in the Army.

U.S. Marine Corps[edit]

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940, from Baltimore, Maryland. He went to recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, followed by training at Marine Corps Base Quantico and New River.
The Marines sent him to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba for his next assignment, and then to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands as a member of “D” Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.[8]

Guadalcanal

In October 1942, during the Battle for Henderson Field, his unit came under attack by a regiment of about 3,000 soldiers from the Japanese Sendai Division. On October 24, Japanese forces began a frontal attack using machine guns, grenades, and mortars against the American heavy machine guns.
Basilone commanded two sections of machine guns which fought for the next two days until only Basilone and two other Marines were left standing.[9][10]
Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He then repaired and manned another machine gun, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived.
As the battle went on, ammunition became critically low. Despite their supply lines’ having been cut off by enemies in the rear, Basilone fought through hostile ground to resupply his heavy machine gunners with urgently needed ammunition.
When the last of it ran out shortly before dawn on the second day, Basilone, using his pistol and a machete, held off the Japanese soldiers attacking his position.
By the end of the engagement, Japanese forces opposite their section of the line had been virtually annihilated. For his actions during the battle, Basilone received the United States military’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.[11]
Afterwards, Private First Class Nash W. Phillips, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, recalled from the battle for Guadalcanal:

Basilone had a machine gun on the go for three days and nights without sleep, rest, or food. He was in a good emplacement, and causing the Japanese lots of trouble, not only firing his machine gun, but also using his pistol.[8]

War bond tours[edit]

In 1943, Basilone returned to the United States and participated in war bond tours. His arrival was highly publicized, and his hometown held a parade in his honor when he returned.
The homecoming parade occurred on Sunday, September 19 and drew a huge crowd with thousands of people, including politicians, celebrities, and the national press. The parade made national news in LIFE magazine and Fox Movietone News.[12]
After the parade, Basilone toured the country raising money for the war effort and achieved celebrity status. Although he appreciated the admiration, he felt out of place and requested to return to the operating forces fighting the war.
The Marine Corps denied his request and told him he was needed more on the home front. He was offered a commission, which he turned down, and was later offered an assignment as an instructor, but refused this as well.
When he requested again to return to the war, the request was approved. He left for Camp Pendleton, California, for training on December 27. On July 3, 1944, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps.[13]

Marriage

While stationed at Camp Pendleton, Basilone met his future wife, Lena Mae Riggi, who was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve.[14]
They were married at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Oceanside, California, on July 10, with a reception at the Carlsbad Hotel.[15] They honeymooned at an onion farm near Portland, Oregon.[16]

Iwo Jima and death

John Basilone’s headstone in Arlington National Cemetery

After his request to return to the fleet was approved, Basilone was assigned to “C” Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division.
On February 19, 1945, the first day of invasion of Iwo Jima, he was serving as a machine gun section leader on Red Beach II.
While the Marines landed, the Japanese concentrated their fire at the incoming Marines from heavily fortified blockhouses staged throughout the island. With his unit pinned down, Basilone made his way around the side of the Japanese positions until he was directly on top of the blockhouse.
He then attacked with grenades and demolitions, single-handedly destroying the entire strong point and its defending garrison.
He then fought his way toward Airfield Number 1 and aided a Marine tank that was trapped in an enemy mine field under intense mortar and artillery barrages.
He guided the heavy vehicle over the hazardous terrain to safety, despite heavy weapons fire from the Japanese. As he moved along the edge of the airfield, he was killed by Japanese mortar shrapnel.[17][18]
His actions helped Marines penetrate the Japanese defense and get off the landing beach during the critical early stages of the invasion.
Basilone was posthumously awarded the Marine Corps’ second-highest decoration for valor, the Navy Cross, for extraordinary heroism during the battle of Iwo Jima.[19]
Based on his research for the book and mini-series The Pacific, author Hugh Ambrose suggested that Basilone was not killed by a mortar, but by small arms fire which hit him in the right groin and neck, and nearly took off his left arm.[20]

Burial

Basilone is interred in Arlington National Cemetery, in Section 12, Grave 384, grid Y/Z 23.5.[21]
His widow, Lena M. Basilone, died June 11, 1999, aged 86, and is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.[22] Lena’s obituary notes that she never remarried and was buried still wearing her wedding ring.[23]

Awards and decorations

GySgt. Basilone’s military awards include: [24]

A light blue ribbon with five white five pointed stars
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
USMC Rifle Sharpshooter badge.png
Medal of Honor Navy Cross Purple Heart Medal
Navy Presidential Unit Citation with one star Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal American Defense Service Medal with one star
American Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars World War II Victory Medal
United States Marine Corps Rifle Sharpshooter badge

Medal of Honor citation

Basilone’s Medal of Honor citation reads as follows:
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

SERGEANT
JOHN BASILONE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

Medal of Honour

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 machine guns, 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 gun crews, 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.[11]

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Navy Cross

Basilone’s Navy Cross citation reads as follows:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the NAVY CROSS posthumously to

GUNNERY SERGEANT
JOHN BASILONE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

Navy Cross

For extraordinary heroism while serving as a Leader of a Machine-Gun Section, Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, 19 February 1945. Shrewdly gauging the tactical situation shortly after landing when his company’s advance was held up by the concentrated fire of a heavily fortified Japanese blockhouse, Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE boldly defied the smashing bombardment of heavy caliber fire to work his way around the flank and up to a position directly on top of the blockhouse and then, attacking with grenades and demolitions, single handedly destroyed the entire hostile strong point and its defending garrison. Consistently daring and aggressive as he fought his way over the battle-torn beach and up the sloping, gun-studded terraces toward Airfield Number 1, he repeatedly exposed himself to the blasting fury of exploding shells and later in the day coolly proceeded to the aid of a friendly tank which had been trapped in an enemy mine field under intense mortar and artillery barrages, skillfully guiding the heavy vehicle over the hazardous terrain to safety, despite the overwhelming volume of hostile fire. In the forefront of the assault at all times, he pushed forward with dauntless courage and iron determination until, moving upon the edge of the airfield, he fell, instantly killed by a bursting mortar shell. Stouthearted and indomitable, Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE, by his intrepid initiative, outstanding skill, and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of the fanatic opposition, contributed materially to the advance of his company during the early critical period of the assault, and his unwavering devotion to duty throughout the bitter conflict was an inspiration to his comrades and reflects the highest credit upon Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

For the President,
JAMES FORRESTAL
Secretary of the Navy

Other honors

Basilone has received numerous honors, including the following:

Sgt. Lena Mae Basilone, USMC(WR), widow of John Basilone, prepares to christen the destroyer USS Basilone (December 21, 1945)

Marine Corps

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton:

  • An entry point onto the base from U.S. Interstate 5 called “Basilone Road”;[25]
  • A section of U.S. Interstate 5 running through the base called “Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone Memorial Highway”;[26]
  • A parachute landing zone called “Basilone Drop Zone”.[27]
  • During the Crucible portion of Marine Corps Recruit Training on the West Coast, there is an obstacle named “Basilone’s Challenge” that consists of carrying ammunition cans filled with concrete up a steep, wooded hill.[28]

Navy

Public

Public honorable recognitions include:

  • In 1944, Army Barracks from Washington State were moved to a site in front of Hansen Dam in Pacoima, California and rebuilt as 1,500 apartments for returning GIs. This development was named the “Basilone Homes” and was used until about 1955. The site is now a golf course.

Dedication sign for the Basilone Memorial Bridge

In media

  • The film First to Fight (1967) features Chad Everett as “Shanghai Jack” Connell, a character based on “Manila John” Basilone.