Hero of the Pacific_ The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone - James Brady [33]
“[Another] day the entire camp went on parade. There were to be presentations and awards. A group of us were assembled along the parade ground waiting for instructions when Colonel ‘Chesty’ Puller came smartly over to us as we all came to attention and rendered a snappy salute. Chesty grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘Sergeant Paige, you’re senior here, oh, yes, now you’re a looie,’ as he twisted his jowls to one side and with a warm smile said, ‘You’ll always be a sergeant to me. You know the backbone of the Corps is the non-commissioned officer.’ Then he said, ‘Sergeant Basilone, you will march next to Paige,’ and then he lined up the rest of our group. The band struck up a march number and Chesty marched us front and center as my spine tingled with pride, being with such men. Chesty halted us directly in front of the Division commander, General Vandegrift. My citation was read and then in the name of the Congress and of the President of the United States, General Vandegrift placed the Congressional Medal of Honor around my neck. After which, I stepped over next to Colonel Merrill ‘Red Mike’ Edson and I continued to stand at attention as Johnny Basilone’s citation was read and he, too, received the Congressional Medal of Honor from General Vandegrift. The 1st Marine Division Band and all the troops then passed in review as General Vandegrift, Colonel Edson, myself and Johnny Basilone received the honors—all four of us with the Congressional Medal of Honor and all for Guadalcanal.”
Here, from the official records, is how Basilone’s citation read:
For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the First Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in the Lunga Area, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on October 24 and 25, 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines’ defensive positions, Sergeant Basilone, in charge of two 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 Sergeant Basilone’s sections, with its gun crews, was put out of action, leaving only two 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, Sergeant 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 a 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 United States Naval Service.
The citation was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Chesty Puller, that legendary Marine, would eventually, in the time of Korea, win his fifth Navy Cross, but he never possessed what Paige and John Basilone now had, the Medal of Honor.
That night, tired of being gawked at in the barracks, Basilone and his closest buddies visited their old haunts on Flinders Street and, in Basilone’s words, “got shit-faced” as he clowned about, wearing his cap sideways and mugging. Newly minted second lieutenant Paige, now an officer and gentleman, presumably celebrated in more decorous fashion.
Paige continued, “A couple of days later Johnny came to see me and said, ‘Listen, we’ve got a ticket home right away.’ That afternoon a jeep pulled up to our battalion headquarters and I was summoned to Colonel Amor LeRoy Sims’ office to see General Vandegrift and Colonel Edson. The general told me that Basilone