All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio.
This is Veterans Radio.
Welcome to Veterans Radio.
I am Jim Fossone.
I'm the officer of the deck today.
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We're going to tell you a story about a Marine known as Manila John Baseline out of New Jersey.
Spent some time in the Army, really felt strongly about the Philippines.
The heroics that the Marines tell, this is part of their immense history.
It's a subject we've written on for HomeofHeroes.org, which is a website that tells the stories
of men and women who have received valor awards, including the Medal of Honor.
You can find the story there.
We've also written on it in a chapter for a book, a series of books called Beyond Belief
by Doug Sterner.
Once or twice a year, a group of military authors, amateurs, some of them like myself,
come together and write on specific topics.
I think you'd find that whole series, which you can find on like amazon.com, look up Beyond
Belief and Doug Sterner and you'll find a whole series of his efforts and writers with
him.
So we wrote it about it there.
But I wanted to tell the story audio from that chapter.
So this is that story that I think you're going to find interesting in something a little
different.
All right.
We're diving deep today, folks, into the life of a true American legend, John Baseloni.
Yeah, this guy, he's a badass, right?
You said it.
More than earned that title.
Here's more to him than just, you know, being awesome in battle.
Way more.
I mean, think about this.
This is a guy who earned two of the nation's highest military honors, the Medal of Honor
and the Navy Cross practically unheard of, right?
To get both almost impossible.
Plus, get this, his story crosses paths with Douglas Monroe.
You know, the only Coast Guardsman to ever receive the Medal of Honor.
Crazy how these things connect.
But before we get there, we got to rewind a bit back to the beginning.
Back to where it all started.
To figure out like what made this guy tick.
Picture it the 1930s.
Raritum, New Jersey.
Small town.
Big Italian family.
Not a lot of opportunity going around, especially with the depression hitting everyone hard.
Yeah, tough times.
He drops out of school.
Ends up then listing in the Army.
Seems almost, I don't know, expected.
Young guy, tough times, looking for some direction.
Absolutely.
But you got to remember what was happening back then.
The bonus Army incident in DC.
Oh, right.
Those World War I vets who...
Mass Brits for their benefits.
I got it.
Blashed with the government.
Didn't leave a good feeling.
No.
A lot of veterans felt betrayed.
Plus, you got the Nazi Party rising in Europe.
Growing threat.
Couldn't ignore it.
Even if it was far away.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So even indirectly, those events, they're probably had some influence on young Bass alone.
You think?
Oh, I think so.
Stories about serving, about duty, about the world, you know, not being such a safe place.
Makes you think how everything connects.
Now, his first enlistment, it takes him to the Philippines.
World away from Jersey.
And he loved it, right?
Oh, yeah.
Frived there.
I mean, compared to the struggles back home.
The Philippines must have felt like a different planet.
Probably did.
But here's what gets me, even after those three years.
After seeing a different life.
He was drawn back to Manila.
He reenlisted and asked to go back.
Interesting, isn't it?
What do you think that was about?
I mean,
It's got to be something more than just liking the tropics.
Right.
Maybe it was the camaraderie, you know.
The purpose he found in the military.
Oh, maybe.
The seeds of heroism.
Yeah.
Maybe they were already starting to grow.
Fueled by what was happening in the world.
That's a good point.
But whatever it was, he wasn't just drifting.
No.
He was looking for something.
Seeking something out.
And that search, it led him to a pretty surprising decision, at least to me.
What's that?
It was the army.
Okay.
But instead of settling down.
He joins the Marines, 1940.
Now, I don't know if a lot of people realize this, but switching branches like that.
It wasn't common.
Not at all.
It shows you he wanted something more.
More challenging.
More intense.
Especially with, you know.
War on the horizon.
Exactly.
By 1940, things were getting really tense.
Japan's actions in the Pacific, they were escalating.
And everyone knew.
A clash with the US was coming.
Just a matter of time.
And when it finally did.
It happened on this little island.
Called Guadalcanal.
Guadalcanal.
Man, that name.
Carries a lot of weight.
Especially for the Marines.
It was their first major land offensive against the Japanese.
Brutal fighting.
Months long battle for this airfield.
Vital airfield, strategically speaking.
And the outcome there.
It set the tone for the whole Pacific War.
The Marines, their whole reputation.
Everything was on the line.
You can't even imagine the pressure.
And this is where Baseloni's story runs into Douglas Monroe, right?
That's right.
Big fight.
Group of Marines pinned down on the beach.
Baselon's one of them.
Bad situation.
Dyer, really.
Douglas Monroe, he's a Coast Guard signalman.
Volunteers to lead a rescue mission.
Using Higgins boats.
Those were, what?
Landing craft?
Yeah, designed for amphibious assaults.
Crucial for getting troops ashore.
Makes sense, especially in that kind of environment.
And Monroe, what he did that day, it was incredible.
Drew enemy fire onto his own boats, gave the Marines cover to escape.
Baselon included.
Wow.
Earns in the Medal of Honor, but he's killed in the process.
It's amazing to think that if it wasn't for Monroe, yeah.
Baselon might not have become the legend we know.
Might never have had the chance.
But Guadalcanal, it was just the beginning for Baselon.
Oh yeah, just the start.
His most famous actions.
They were still to come.
And they took place on a ridge that earned a pretty fitting name.
Let me guess.
Bloody Ridge.
Yikes.
That sounds rough.
It was.
Bloody Ridge.
I mean, the name kinda says it all, doesn't it?
No kidding.
Brutal fight.
The Japanese, they wanted that airfield back.
Henderson Field.
The one we talked about.
Vital for them.
And Bloody Ridge.
Well, that was the key to their plan.
They just kept coming.
Wave after wave of attacks right at the Marines dug in on that ridge.
And this is where Baselon, he really becomes a legend.
You could say that this is his moment in charge of two machine gun sections.
Up against what?
A whole regiment of Japanese soldiers.
3,000 of them.
Outnumbered.
Facing this crazy onslaught.
For how long?
Two days.
Non-stop fighting.
And Baselon, he's right there in the middle of it all.
Manning guns, fixing them under fire, running through enemy lines to get more ammo for his
guys.
I read somewhere he even used machete at one point.
And a pistol.
When he ran out of bullets.
Sounds almost superhuman, right?
It does.
But that was Baseloni.
I mean, the guy just wouldn't quit.
And his actions, they were crucial.
They held that ridge.
Think about it, against all odds, they just kept fighting, repelling, attack after attack.
Yeah.
Bought precious time for reinforcements.
So they really turned the tide.
Without a doubt.
The whole battle could have gone a different way if they hadn't held on.
And that's what got him the Medal of Honor.
That's it.
He grasped that kind of courage, you know?
Facing that kind of danger, knowing every second could be your last.
Absolutely.
And then after all that, after receiving the highest honor, getting hailed a hero.
Sent back home on this victory tear.
Baseloni does something incredible.
He asks to go back.
To the front lines.
Back into the fight.
He could have just stayed home, right?
Enjoyed the fame, the safety.
Why would he go back?
Said a lot about the man, doesn't it?
He wasn't in it for the glory.
It was duty.
Loyalty to his fellow Marines.
A belief in what he was fighting for.
Yeah, he couldn't just sit back while others were risking their lives.
Not Baseloni.
And remember, this is before anyone really understood things like PTSD.
We can't imagine what Greilsona did to him mentally.
But he still went back.
Knowing exactly what he was getting into.
We often forget that war heroes, they aren't just symbols of strength, you know?
They're real people with real emotions.
Dealing with things most of us can't even comprehend.
Exactly.
Speaking of the human side of things, Baseloni's story takes an interesting turn while he's
back home.
Oh yeah.
He's training new recruits at Camp Pendleton.
Okay.
And he meets Lena May Riggie.
Who's that?
A sergeant in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve.
You know, it's kind of hard to imagine finding love in the middle of all that.
Preparing for war.
Yeah.
But they did.
Fell in love, got married in 44.
Makes his decision to go back even more powerful.
Doesn't it?
He found happiness a whole new life.
And yet.
Duty call.
It did.
And that call led him to Iwo Jima.
One of the most brutal battles of the whole war.
Iwo Jima, when I hear that name, I always think of that picture.
A flag raising.
Yeah.
Iconic.
But man, the fighting there.
Awful.
One of the costliest battles the Marines have ever faced.
It was strategically important.
Rouge.
Americans needed it for landing damaged bombers staging the invasion of mainland Japan.
But the Japanese, they dug in.
Turned the whole island into a fortress.
A death trap.
Where did Basilon fit in?
First wave.
Leading his men right into that mess.
Enemy fire everywhere.
Intense.
Beyond intense.
The Japanese resistance, it was fanatical.
They were fighting to the death.
I bet the fighting was even worse than Guadalcanal.
Oh yeah.
Way worse.
There are stories of Basilon taking out a whole Japanese block house by himself.
Used explosives, just pure grit.
Another time, he guided a tank through a minefield while they were getting pounded by enemy fire,
saved the whole crew.
It's like something out of a movie.
Except it was all too real.
And tragically, Basilon's luck, it finally ran out.
Oh no.
February 19th, 1945, just days after the invasion started, he's killed by mortar fire.
After surviving so much.
I know, it's tough to think about.
Fell in the final stages of the war.
It's a huge loss.
Devastating for his men for the whole nation.
But even in death, Basilon's actions on Iwo Jima earned him the Navy Cross.
So he got both.
The Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross.
It's almost unheard of.
Shows you the impact he had throughout the war.
From Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima.
A true leader.
Courageous, selfless, inspired everyone around him.
And what about Lena May?
What happened to her?
She never remarried.
Dedicated her life to his memory.
Wow.
Kept serving in the Marines, retired as a captain, lived a long life, passed away in
1989, 86 years old.
And you know what?
She was buried with her wedding ring.
That's powerful.
It is.
The bond they had.
The impact he had on her life.
So he talked about his bravery, his dedication.
But something that keeps sticking with me.
He went back to combat.
Not once, but twice.
Why?
What drove him to make that choice?
It's the question, isn't it?
Historians, anyone who studies Basilonite, they all wonder.
It's more than just patriotism, more than just duty.
There's something deeper there.
Something about the human spirit itself.
It really makes you think, what can we learn from a life like that?
This guy, he achieved the highest military honor.
Could it just walked away?
But he didn't.
Went back to the worst of it.
Challenge is how we think about heroes, doesn't it?
It does.
Makes us look deeper.
Beyond the medals and the stories.
What really drives someone to those kinds of actions.
It's not about glory.
No.
Not about getting recognition.
It's something bigger.
Way bigger.
You know he had that tattoo, death before dishonor?
More than just tough guy saying?
Oh yeah.
It was how he lived his life.
Commitment to what he thought was right, no matter what.
You see it all through his actions in the war.
He wasn't reckless.
He was a good leader, strategic smart, but always ready to put himself out there.
To protect his men.
Get the job done.
Led by example.
It's funny, you hear stories about soldiers who, after seeing so much, they come back
disillusioned.
Yeah.
Cynical even.
Understandable.
You see, he seems different.
Held onto his ideals, that sense of duty, even after Guadalcanal, even after Iwo Jima.
That's what makes him so interesting.
He saw the worst of it, but it didn't break him.
Kept believing in what he was fighting for.
Amazing strength.
Inner strength.
Yeah.
Resilience.
It's remarkable.
So someone's listening to this, someone who might never see combat themselves.
Yeah.
What's the biggest thing they should take away from Vasilloni's story?
I think it's this.
Yeah.
It doesn't have to be on a battlefield or some big, dramatic thing.
It can be in everyday life.
Exactly.
The choices we make.
Standing up for what you believe in, even when it's tough, especially when it's tough.
Doing the right thing when nobody's looking.
I like that, that courage, that selflessness.
We can all do that.
Absolutely.
Whether it's helping someone who's being picked on or speaking out against something
that's wrong.
Vasilloni's legacy, it's not just about remembering what he did.
It's about living that way ourselves.
Keeping that spirit alive.
Powerful message.
And we need to hear it now more than ever.
John Vasilloni might be gone.
But his story, it stays with us, challenges us to be better, braver.
Live up to those ideals.
You showed us what that means.
His life, it really shows you what humans are capable of, the courage.
Selflessness.
Yeah.
It's a legacy we should all remember, a legacy worth trying to live up to.
Hope you enjoyed that interview, that discussion really about John Vasilloni.
That was AI generated from a chapter that I wrote.
So kind of a new, cool thing that's available to take the written word and turn it into
a conversation that you can listen to.
Maybe while you're in the car, maybe when you're out doing your walk or your run.
So something we're trying here on Veterans Radio to convert some of the stories that
we have in the written word from Home of Heroes or Beyond Belief books into something we can
get out to you, our loyal veteran radio listeners.
So hope you enjoyed that and probably more to come.
And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today.
I am Jim Fossone.
It's been a pleasure to be your host.
I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans.
And you can reach us at 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web.
You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio
shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org.
That's veteransradio.org.
And until next time, you are dismissed.
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And until next time, you are dismissed.