World War Ii Pacific Heroes

[Sullivan Maurer]

Meanwhilein Singapore, Elizabeth Choy and her husband helped run a canteen. Despite witnessing the ruthless violence with which Japanese forces treated civilians who did not cooperate, they agreed to become a link between British prisoners and the outside world. The two relayed notes, and helped get food to the severely undernourished men.

Up till recently, men in wartime took almost all the starring roles. They were the heroes who risked their lives in battle. But even before the 21st century, when the US and other Western countries have started giving women larger combat roles, there are abundant examples of women demonstrating courage and strength in wartime.

That said, this book is a noble effort, and worth reading if one is prepared for grisly details. Atwood also shares the broader history of the war in the Pacific in an introduction that nicely encapsulates what everyone should know. In just a few pages, she tells how in the 1850s the Americans forced Japan to sign trade agreements. And how, after World War I, although Japan fought on the side of the western Allies, it was forced to sign humiliating treaties that restricted its power in the Far East. Ultimately, Fascists took control of Japan, and in the 1930s they began a campaign to seize Chinese territory.

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The service of John Basilone, a Medal of Honor and Navy Cross recipient, is unbelievable and made more remarkable by the fact that the only U.S. Coast Guardsman to ever receive the Medal of Honor, Douglas Munro, saved Basilone's life. Only with the backdrop of the World War II Pacific Theatre could this be possible. Not even Hollywood could drum up this story. John Basilone served both in the Army and in the Marines, so both services can claim his heroics. He has been called one of the most badass Marines in U.S. history. Even today, Marines visit and pay their respects to a statue of "Manila John" in Washington, D.C.

Giovanni (John) was born to a large and loud Italian-American family with roots in Buffalo, New York, and Raritan, New Jersey. The ten children in this Catholic family would not have been unusual in the early 1900s. John was the sixth child born to Salvatore, who emigrated from Italy, and Theadora, who grew up in New Jersey. Theadora's parents had also emigrated from Italy. In classic fashion, Sal and Theadora met at a church gathering and they married three years later. John was born on November 4, 1916, at home in Buffalo.

The family returned to Raritan in 1918, as Buffalo averages 89 inches of snow each year as compared to New Jersey's 25 inches and 50 more days of sun. The Basilone's were back home near the big extended Italian family. Basilone grew up in the nearby Raritan Town (now a Borough of Raritan) where he attended St. Bernard Parochial School. After completing middle school at age 15, he dropped out prior to attending high school. Raritan was a small town in 1920 with 4,500 people and today its size has not doubled. The area is between New York City to the northeast and Allentown, Pennsylvania to the west. The Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R Canal) was built in the 1830s to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an important feature of the agricultural area. This was a time of peace and expected prosperity. A strong, hard-working young man could make his way in the world, even if he did not have a clear direction. In 1931, after dropping out of school, Basilone worked as a golf caddy for the local country club before joining the military. But the world was about to change.

Two events that would have been in the news in 1932, but would not have been of interest to young John who was free from the constraints of education. First, World War I veterans were making their way to Washington, D.C. to demand the bonus payments they had been promised. This would have foretold John that not all promises to military recruits are kept.

"In the years after World War I, a long battle over providing a bonus payment ot WWI veterans raged between Congress and the White House. Presidents Harding and Coolidge both vetoed early attempts to provide a bonus to WWI veterans. Congress overrode Coolidge's veto in 1926, passing the World War Adjusted Compensation Act, otherwise known as the Bonus Act.

In May 1932, jobless WWI veterans organized a group called the "Bonus Expeditionary Forces" (BEF) to march on Washington, D.C. Suffering and desperate, the BEF's goal was to get the bonus payment now, when they really needed the money...

Then-President Hoover called out the Army to push the Bonus Army out of the nation's capital. That action impacted Presidential politics and ultimately Congress, with Democrats holding majorities in both houses, passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act in 1936, authorizing the immediate payment of the $2 billion in World War I bonuses, and overrode President Roosevelt's veto of the measure.

Second, young John should also have noted in the news that the NSDAP (Nazi Party) won more than 38% of the vote in Germany's 1932 federal election. The seeds of the next World War had been planted. Little did the Raritan caddy know how the world winds were blowing and if he could rely on the nation's promises to its servicemen.

Storm clouds were brewing in Europe and the Pacific. The Nazis were causing rumblings in Europe and the Japanese were causing rumblings in China and the Pacific. After WWI, there was a natural drawdown of the US armed services. A modest rebuilding of the force strength was occurring during the 1930s and the War Department Chief of Staff was General Douglas MacArthur from 1930 to 1935.

During the same period, the economic crash had many young men looking for gainful employment to support their families. In 1933, Congress passed an act that put large numbers of jobless young men into reforestation and other reclamation work. President Roosevelt directed the Army to mobilize these men and thereafter to run their camps without any way of making the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program. This was not a job the Army wanted, but options were limited.

One option for a young man was to join the regular Army. After John Basilone turned 18 years old, he enlisted in July 1934. As an infantry grunt, Basilone completed basic training and after stateside training, his first overseas assignment was to the Philippines.

The American military had been in the Philippines since the end of the Spanish American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris when the United States took possession of the Philippines from Spain. This arrangement had to be implemented by force in 1898 and American troops were still on the Island in the mid-1930s. Independence would not be achieved until July 4, 1946, when the United States declared the Philippines an independent nation.

Basilone's tour in the islands would have been exotic for a New Jersey boy with little risk of engagement. He enjoyed the food, temperature, women, and comradery of his Army buddies. When he left the Army and returned stateside, he often thought about how to get back to Manila. He drove a truck for three years in Raritan, but the tropical breezes of Manila were always on his mind. The coldest month on average in Manila was 78 degrees and with no snow. John had to feel it was much better than Buffalo, New York, or New Jersey. Good duty if you can get it.

When asked about re-upping or multiple tours a common refrain from veterans is, "it was a blast... but I would never do it again." Maybe for most men, it is the pull of a normal life, family, or age of wisdom, but at 24 years old, John had no such pull to stay in New Jersey. Also, a more experienced John would have been aware of the world events with the Nazi war in Europe and Japanese aggression in China. The Country was getting prepared for what may come. Congress passed several laws related to national defense, including the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which provided drafting and training for men in the Army, Navy, Marines, and National Guard. More than 16 million men registered for the draft. Congress authorized money to build planes and ships, house soldiers, and established new military bases across the Country.

He did this initial training like all Marines, although he was older and more experienced based on the Army stint. He was sent to Guantanamo, Cuba as his first overseas assignment with the Marines. The next assignment would not be as idyllic.

The name "Guadalcanal" is said with reference to the Marine Corps. Even today, finding it on a map in the Pacific would be a challenge. There have been dozens of movies made about the Guadalcanal campaign depicting heroes on air, sea, and land. That tradition continued in 2005 with the film, "I'm Staying with My Boys: The Heroic Life of Sgt. John Basilone, USMC."

As part of the Solomon Island chain, Guadalcanal was the first land campaign against the Japanese in WWII. The Battle of Guadalcanal, code-named Operation Watchtower by American forces was fought between August 7, 1942, and February 9, 1943. Since Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Pacific war was primarily a sea campaign and Japan took islands at will. Nine months later it was time for the Americans to show they could fight the mighty Japanese Army. The reputation and honor of the U.S. Marine Corps were hanging in the balance.

On August 7, 1942, America mounted its first major amphibious landing of World War II at Guadalcanal, using an innovative landing craft built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans. The goal was to capture a strategic airfield site on the island (later named Henderson Field for a US pilot lost in the Battle of Midway). This island was the furthest south the Rising Sun Empire had captured and to halt Japanese efforts to disrupt supply routes to Australia and New Zealand victory was paramount but uncertain. The invasion ignited a ferocious struggle marked by seven major naval battles, numerous clashes ashore, and almost continuous air combat over eight months.

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