Lena Basilone returns John's Medal of Honor
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Lena Basilone returns her late husband's Medal of Honor to his family.
From HBO's "The Pacific", episode 10 of 10.
I claim nothing in this video. It's simply for entertainment purposes.
John Basilone is now buried at Arlington National Cemetery among almost 400,000 other heroes. I visited his grave a few years ago on Memorial Day. His headstone was covered with coins and rocks from other visitors. He’s still remembered decades later.
John Basilone was actually raised in my town. There's a statue of him on the main road with his gun and a parade every year in his honor. The high school has a huge mural of him. He's the local hero. Pretty cool to see this
Nice, he is a hero to many of us throughout this great country. Thank you for your post. GOD bless you and your family.
Well he is the second most famous Marine to date.
Caesar Seriona Who's the 1st?
Chesty Puller perhaps?
Sorry I missed it this year.
As a Marine Veteran.....I am "lucky" enough to be honored to drive on Interstate 5 Freeway frequently. "The Gunny Basilone Memorial Highway near Camp Pendleton.
I am a Marine too, my Great Uncle was with 1/27 the same unit as Gunny Basilone on Iwo, I know Basilone road well too. Semper FI.
In another life I was Corpsman attached stationed on Pendleton, I remember Basilone road on the base.
Semper Fi MF.
Indeed!!
years ago I was on that part of HWY 5 and saw the signage...Then I researched who Basilone was. What a hero. Just unbelievable what he did. RIP.
What brought me to tears was she never remarried, everyone should hope to have a love like that.
Such a horrible thing, gilded with the honor, and sadly shared, between the people who loved him most. Semper Fi.
RIP
John's story is truly amazing...I just met a man who survived 4 campaigns in the Pacific ...he let me touch the flag from tarawa, where he fought as a marine. It gave me goose bumps. Real hero and one of just a few left
Wow 4 campaign s as a Marine in wwtwo truly is the greatest generation
I know what you mean in 1990-94, I got to meet one of the 4 or 5 inch main guns from the USS Ward, she fired the first shot at Pearl Harbor sinking a IJN mini sub that was trying to slip into the harbor for the attack.... He told me how the first shot missed, second shot hit the coning tower at the base just above the main body... I want to say he was on the gun that didn't fire.... He was telling me this then had showed me how the stations worked to turn and lift the gun... That gun is sitting at the Minnesota state capital as most of the crew came from the state. I was 6-10 years old.... What a honor to get to meet the vet and get first hand account of some of his time in the service....This was well before the U of Hawaii found the mini sub to confirm it the story...
One of the most moving moments in the entire miniseries......expertly directed, superb acting. Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice.
Had a tear at this one....
John's dad was most devastated, because of that realization of John's passing. How could you even compensate for something like that. What a scene/
I agree
John Basilone is buried in Arlington cemetery, Lena M. Basilone is buried in riverside California. She was buried with her wedding ring that John gave her
They should have been buried by each other...🥺🇺🇸💙❤
vin 950 She declined to be buried at Arlington because she thought burial there should be for the men who fought and died.
Dig em up
@@whosyourdaddy5719 not true; many wives/dependents buried there as well as veterans. Lee Marvin and Audie Murphy are there, they didn't die in combat.
@@whosyourdaddy5719 wrong!
My Uncle served with John. I kept his photos and mementos. I am very proud of him!
Really? That's amazing!! How proud you must be of your Uncle!! God Bless the United States Marines!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My Great Uncle was with 1/27 the same unit as John on Iwo Jima, he met him on the ship on the way to the Iwo.
My uncle is a dentist. He's a dickhead to be honest.
Mike Silk 😂😂😂
What an HONOR!
Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone my hero since I was 10 years old and the reason why I joined the Marine Corps.
Thank you for your service.
Semper
you need to understand Italian parents to see what is happening here. John never brought Lena to meet the family -- a major sin in the family's eyes. she is a complete stranger to them -- an outsider who is not family. When she shows up, the mom answers the door -- because she is only one in the house [besides sons] who can speak English. she recognizes Lena immediately and has a hard look in her eye -- here is the woman who stole my son [because that is now Italian moms think. no one is good enough for their first born, and she never came over for pasta to boot]. what does she want? money? is she pregnant? why is she here NOW. Lena shows her true grit when she asks for nothing but gives something instead -- something more precious to her than anything else -- a piece of John. She does so quietly and without fanfare and with total respect. And then she cries. She knows she has turned over John to where he rightfully belongs. Mom knows this, and the tough out Italian momma, who is right off the boat from the old country, who learned English on her own, who raised her boys to be American soldiers, who is basically head of the household, consoles her - not the other way around - not Lena consoling mom, but mom consoling the bride, a member of her family. beautiful.
Nicely put,,,
You literally hit the nail on the proverbial head...
Well written.
Summed it up perfectly!
They didn’t meet yet because there wasn’t time during the war. They were in CA and NJ is on the other side of the country. She stayed in touch with them and she never remarried.
The woman who plays John's mother in this scene is a briliant actress. The pain in her face from the moment she opens the door... what a great scene!
My Dad was on Iwo as well. Tomorrow will be the 66th anniversary 2/19/11. Dad was in the 4th Marine Div, and was wounded the first day, but kept fighting and he later received the Purple Heart. Dad died 11/4/10, at the age of 86 but some of him died 66 years ago. Rest well Dad with all your brothers who fought by your side 66 years ago. Semper Fi.
God's good rest, Marine.
Amen brother .
Brother I want to thank your father for his service, and having a fine man for a son thank you just know you are loved and your family is highly respected......my boy will know what your daddy did for us I swear to you that brother. May the lord bless and keep your father in paradise forever at his side and may you and your family be blessed and good fortune always be onto you ok.🇺🇸
Thank you for your service sir
God bless him. I had the honor to meet and work with some Iwo guys on the Jersey City Police Department. My Dad lost a leg as a medic in the Philippines . These were the greatest American generation.
As a Marine myself, I can barely get through this. Such a powerful scene and miniseries.
Lena Basilone never remarried. When asked about that later in life (she passed June 11, 1999, at the age of 86), she expressed no regret and said "true love only happens once." I've always found that sad, though she never did.
Great scene...very emotional. The cost of war. Although his parents had 5 other children, how do you get over losing a child? To me, Mr. Basilone crying right at the end of the clip really got me.
To those that brought forth this series and its predecessor, Band of Brothers, I give my unending gratitude.
Without you, many would not have seen those sacrifices that the Greatest Generation made FOR US.
"Even today, on a real cold night, we go to bed, my wife will tell you this first thing I'll say 'I'm glad I'm not in Bastogne'."
No fucking shit there are things called books, but plenty dont read books, or they find an interesting book to read AFTER seeing the series.
***** Please. Talk about sanctimonious. Look at your own posts.
"Also, they were not the greatest generation as the book would indicate...its a myth, a fantasy."
No, not really. That generation served us in WWII and then sent man to the moon had one of the best years of post-war growth the US has ever seen, period.
"If they were so great, African Americans would have been able to do something as simple as sit at the lunch counter in a diner without being arrested, or women would not have been thought of as fungible, objectified household servants with zero rights, or gays would not have been dismissed as subhuman, or there would have been no need for SEPARATE black units or there would have been no need to put into prison camps an entire race of people who were in fact American and who's ancestral homeland was at war with us...the lost goes on. Hardly so great."
I said GREATEST GENERATION, not PERFECT generation. I love how you spout off about my words and other Americans as "sanctimonious", yet you judge this generation not on it's whole as a society but on its failings. And I say this as a Native (Ho-Chunk) who has served in three military branches.
"I would love to see truth...not some nationalistic homogenized version of what Americans need to see to validate ourselves. Truth is more important than well done drama that makes us out to be heros."
The truth is that they WERE heroes. Yes, IMPERFECT, FLAWED heroes. I have no problem with having great respect for humans that were FLAWED but real. Apparently, you need your "heroes" as ABSOLUTELY TRUTHFUL and PERFECT in every way. I don't, I'm much more realistic about who I hold up to the standard of hero. Combat and the world we live in has brought me to this point of view.
***** Yes, they were the greatest generation. Again, flawed and imperfect, yet the greatest. What that generation accomplished is far beyond what GenX did for the US, and that's coming from a GenX'er.
"As I said. In fact, if we were to measure put metrics around the measurable positive effects of each generation to include literally everything from industry to technology to peace, war etc...the generation of people born in the 1920's was measurably not the greatest. That is empirical."
OK, so start spilling out your metrics. I want to see how they are not above any generation before or after them? In terms of economic and technologic achievements. Most of the society we have today still owes it's roots to that founding era. If you want to make this a statistics debate, fire away.
"You again, drown your comment in nationalism, sanctimony and fallacy. Its not enough to simply say...Yeah the guys that went around lighting japanese soldier afire and tortured them, or the guys that literally took tanks and ran over their own wounded men who were crushed and screaming in the streets of europe as flawed. These were brutal, disgusting murderous things...not flaws or defects as in some systems glitch...but rather, purposeful, maleficent, inhuman events."
Yes, those were brutal and murderous things. But it was not the WHOLE GENERATION that did those things. Those were the failings of some. Did this generation try to exterminate the Jews? No, that was the German Nazi regime.
"I do love how you try to throw yourself int he mix of those to be sanctimoniously worshiped as though having a combat action ribbon somehow makes you a better critical thinker...it doesnt. My degree from Columbia does, not my ten years in the suck."
I have no idea where you get that, that's your own twisted take on my actual words. I would never even claim to want the respect I give to those of that generation. I simply put my military experience there as a backdrop to explain that I understand the realities of war, nothing more.
If you supposedly were in "the suck", you just contradicted yourself. When you said earlier that "combat and the world we live in has brought ME to this point" yet you say that your degree from Columbia makes you a better critical thinker. Nope, don't think so.
If I'm reading you right, you were in the Marines, got out, went to and grad from Columbia? So how does a Columbia degree give you a better perspective and worldview than mine? Or appreciation of real-world knowledge that supposedly "led you to where you are" now?
I was in the Marines for five years, grad from Nebraska-Lincoln, then USN officer, then USAF reserve. In all of those times, I learned the most about the world when I was overseas with the military. Not simply fighting wars, but meeting and exploring other peoples/cultures during off-times and port calls. I would put those experiences far above what I learned in college. So now, when I apply my already critical thinking to the real-world, it is tempered with the knowledge and understanding of REAL PEOPLE and my experiences.
***** "Yet again drowned in nationalism and false, fallacious patriotism and glorifying an entire generation because you watched a mini-series...thats brilliant"
Nope. You made that assumption. I glorify an entire generation because I have read about all the things they have done. As I've said, I was grateful the producers made the series to give others a glimpse into what I have read about and maybe take up and interest in history themselves.
"Ok then lets put our a metric...or two or three. In 1941 Japanese Americans had zero freedoms, zero constitutional rights and lost everything they owned including businesses, family fortunes and their liberties. Today, Japanese enjoy 100% more freedoms. Thats an improvement of 100 percent...its a solid empirical metric...I do this for a living there slappy...quantitative analysis that is."
Seriously, you call that a metric? Where did you say you went to school? Columbia? You need to go back to them and get your money back... If you call that "quantitative analysis", then you are seriously doing some powerful drugs.
Metrics in favor of your argument would show that because of improper imprisonment, Japanese/American nationals or immigrants earnings were affected.
"So lets talk about Black Americans and use similar metrics...I think you see where this going. You said '(y)es, those were brutal and murderous things. But it was not the WHOLE GENERATION that did those things.' and ipso facto that means that not everyone was great as well."
Sure, lets talk about it, since race seems to be the DOMINANT THEME (from a Columbia grad, not surprising) of your counter-argument.
No, not everyone was great, but their accomplishments as a whole, from the time of Post-Depression America, to the so-called Space Race, this generation was easily the greatest.
"..'I would never even claim to want the respect I give to those of that generation. I simply put my military experience there as a backdrop to explain that I understand the realities of war, nothing more.' Lol ok . You absolutely put yourself in with them...there is no point at all to say that you were in combat except to align yourself with those who you are revering and complimenting thus you try to include yourself as someone who has experienced combat ...like those of the 'greatest generation' you dont make a point no to want respect but rather to show how you should be respected and how your combat and life experience has made you knowledgeable."
Again, you make the mistake of assuming that I put my military experience to say that I was "one of them". I wasn't. I was putting out my military experience to show that I understand how rough combat is on people, and I don't armchair QB their fallacies when they happen. I am twisting nothing.
"Also, you say "Did this generation try to exterminate the Jews? No, that was the German Nazi regime." lol, seriously? Yes, that is the same generation..."
Are you seriously arguing that "the greatest generation" tag involves non-Americans? I don't see the GenX tag that applies to Europeans, does it? Or any other country than America. Those generational tags are Americana, not worldly. Your point is just fucking stupid. Get a refund on that "Columbia education".
"Gen X effectuated technological advancements that exponentially have advanced medicine, energy, life, freedoms, rights, awareness and more. We fought wars, created the largest stock market, built the wealthiest country on the planet where trillions of dollars are created, advanced the cause for peace and assistance to third world countries building hospitals, schools and other measurable positive effect."
GenX created technological advancements ON THE BACKS of the technology PIONEERED by the "greatest generation". Can you honestly say that the US would have the military, technological, or financial edge it does without the developments of the late 40s/50s/60s? If yes, again, smoking crack.
Militarily... easy. M-16 rifle (second to AK-47 worldwide today), F-15, F-16, F-18 were all borne of programs of the 1960s.
Technological...easy. Multiple US development and patents in transistors and computer development. Laser development, 1958. All the benefits of the Moon Landings, that turned civilian.
Financial...easy. Under Eisenhower, the US became the financially dominant world power and continues to this day. As a matter of fact, the US highway system still bears his name, the Eisenhower highway system, and still maintains those guidelines.
"Anyone could easily argue that GENX is a much greater generation in terms of actual measurable achievements...perhaps not a great dramatic mini series but better. If you write more I wont write until later tonight."
Nope. I'm a GenX'er and wouldn't even attempt to argue something soo pitiful. Granted GenX'ers have alot to be proud of, we took alot of the work the "greatest generation" did and moved it far more forward than any other previous generation, but we did it ON THE BACKS of the works they accomplished decades before.
Your foolish counter-argument that I used this mini-series to make my determination that this is the "greatest generation" is simply bad. I made no such determination. I simply said I was grateful the producers made this series so that others could see what I saw in how the "greatest generation" handled WWII.
Nothing like walking away from an argument and not having anything to reply to when I cite actual statistics of what was accomplished.
"Ivory Towers" eh?
Funny that you should mention that, yet have nothing to back up your counter-arguments. What's new for your generation? Damn, Gen Y'ers. Can't do a damn thing, except argue about arguing. Oh well.
He could have had any USMC preference posting but chose to return to combat among other marines.......and was then killed in action and buried beside other Marines in foreign soil......! Semper Fi.....!
He might have been temporarily buried on Iwo Jima, but John Basilone is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
I believe because of Basilone, Medal of Honor recipients are no longer allowed to continue service in combat zones for PR purposes
He's back home now. All Marine war dead are now home.
My son is a Marine. He volunteered to go too Iraq with RCT 8. And when RCT8 went to Afghanistan gunny Galloway ask him to come with them . So he volunteered. He could have came home early from Afghanistan but gave his set up for other Marines he felt needed to be home worse then him. He was there three extra month's. I am very proud of him. And so blessed he is home safe. And I think I understand the Frustration John's parents must have felt when he went back. God how you hate to see them leave.
@Tony Lam I think you misunderstood the comment. Jeremy Mendoza wasn't saying Basilone went back to combat for the publicity. He means that now MoH winners are not usually allowed to go back into combat due to the bad publicity it causes to have one killed.
There's a "Basilone Rd" exit off of I-5, near Camp Pendleton, as you drive south from LA to San Diego. Until I watched The Pacific I kind of vaguely knew he was a medal of honor winner but didn't know much more. This series inspired me to learn more about him and what an outstanding person he was.
Heartbreaking....just a brilliant series....me and my girlfriend cried for a long time watching this...and we also got to learn a lot about people we had never even heard of before....and now they have a special place in our hearts.
IMHO, the best written, directed and acted scene in the whole series. Touching and poignant.
Brought to you by the same gentlemen who filmed the famous Gold Star mother non-verbal scene in Saving Private Ryan, which I thought equally as powerful as this Basilone scene.
You might be right. Such a hard competition though
Seeing an old woman cry is one of the saddest things ever.
After John died even though she was still young enough, Lena never remarried! She kept her love for him in her heart for the rest of her life!
'The Pacific' series was underrated (my opinion)...
Such a great scene. Hard not to tear up every time I watch it.
My father was friends with John Basilone.
They drink and chased girls in D.C. in 38 and 39(they meet back up in Australia). John taught my father machine guns, Dad was a mortar man, but it was weapons company. They had time.
It broke my Dad's heart(John's death), but he lost so many friends in the war, he would say he did not have any(friends).
There were people like John Basilone, who never returned home, but in some way, escaped the horrors and trauma and the difficulties of post-war life.
There are others like Robert Leckie, who survived and suffered physical injuries but managed to reajust to normal life rather easily and get married.
Then there were people like Eugene Sledge who survived mostly physically unscathed but returned traumatized and with nightmares and had mental scars that never fully healed.
Robert Leckie (in real life) did suffer from PTSD. His wife Vera was interviewed a few years ago and she said he had nightmares throughout his entire life and had to be calmed down, also when he was losing his memory to dementia he still vividly remember his war experience.
Such a wonderful and meaningful series. Of course I bought it and will watch it many more times as long as my life continues. It has taught me so much.
As a Marine who deployed twice this rocks me every damn time I see the Dad open that box.
There are some women who just carry 40s clothing. Annie Parisse is one of them. Elizabeth Shue is another.
Something a lot of people don't know.... Lena Basilone never remarried and stayed close the Basilone family for the rest of her life. She and John had less than three weeks together as husband and wife.
I have been reading about John Basilone since I was 10 years old. My Dad and my Mom and all their cousins fought in WW2. Dad a medic. Mom a nurse. I am 72 and have watched The Pacific 3 or 4 times. This, Private Ryan , Band of Brothers, Glory and many more should be what they teach American girls and boys when they are in early Grammar School. Not the crap and video games they are addicted to. My Uncles were in many Pacific landings, D-Day in the 101st Airborne, Bastogne. My uncle Gene in 8 Pacific Islands as a Marine. My friends Fathers were there too. Best friend and some of my former fellow co-workers were on Iwo At the flag raising . I don't care about politics but we need to preserve the real history of America for our children . Thank you John Basilone and all of my relatives and friends who gave me a wonderful American life. I look forward to thanking you in person someday.
Unselfish, beautiful, and truly loved John and his family. Even after death. What a remarkable human being!
My parents were of the war generation, the Greatest Generation, but I didn't learn the story of GySgt Basilone until twenty years ago, having my hair cut in a town next to his hometown. An old, preserved clipping was in a display case. My barber, actually a retired gent, explained it all to me. Now, it seems like I see a reference to him everywhere. God's good rest to a hero, and all like him.
No matter how many times I watch this, that particular scene always brings me to tears
This is one of the most soul touching scenes I've ever seen, and I've watched a lot.
This is a very touching, emotional, and difficult scene to watch. I have the highest respect for John Basilone and his wife Lena.
Lena also gave John's mother the $10,000 life insurance check that the USMC gave to all widows of Marines KIA during WWII.
This is among the most gripping piece of drama among the annals of cinema.
Of all the war movies and war tv shows not many have this impact where it makes you realise that millions of men never came home. Millions of families were grieving their son who never had a chance of living a life because of the war. The Pacific was brilliantly made, same with Band of Brothers. I've heard soldiers say heroes are the ones who didn't make it back home. If it weren't for every soldier who fought in that war, we wouldn't be where we are today. They were all heroes.
I am proud to have been able to serve, on the USS Basilone (OI Div), DD-824, 1971 - 1973. The new USS John Basilone, DDG 122, should be joining the fleet before too long. She started sea trials last March.
the part of this scene very little said verbally but said with faces and music nothing more to say and the feelings it brought it.. fantastic movie making
It was men like John that gave the there lives for our freedom we have today. A lost breed. Rip from a fellow veteran. Southern Ohio
Such a heart wrenching scene...
🙏🏻❤🙏🏻❤🙏🏻❤OH MY GOD! A scene played out so many times! A fallen hero, a grieving family!
Those who chose to stand up for OUR COUNTR,OUR FREEDOM ! Yet, there are those who ran away from their responsibilities and now degrade them and mock them! You know who they are, make them pay!🙏🏻❤🙏🏻❤🙏🏻❤
My stepfather was a Marine platoon of leader combat engineers. He started out with 44 men at Guadalcanal. Only he and three others made it to the end of the war. He was a kind man but very high strung. I think it was the war. He went on to become a highly respected engineer after the war. But I think the war clung to him closely throughout his life.
Truly The Greatest Generation! It's a disgrace what has happened to this Country they gave their lives for!!!!!!! The men and women of that era were people I respected and looked up to!!!!!! I miss you all! God Bless!
Fewer than half the men who earned the Medal in WWII survived to see it awarded.
The same can be said for the men who raised the flags on Iwo, half of them died on that miserable pile of volcanic rock. Of the 20,000 man Japanese garrison, some 200 surrendered. The rest chose death. The fanatical resistance the Japanese offered which intensified as we approached the Home Islands was an important factor in the decision to use the bomb.
We all suffer in war especially the grunts, we're never the same but some pay the ultimate sacrifice, never to be fathers, grandparents, we owe these men and women our profound gratitude. Semper fi first battalion first marines I Corp.
Who is cutting onions while I am watching this? Very touching and well acted. Semper Fi gunny. I'll let you buy me a beer after I get off duty at the pearly gates.
That scene just tears your heart out.
such a sad but beautiful scene.
I am an unemotional, grumpy, old man who cried like a baby when I saw this. Why, because I recognized the severity of the pain felt by all.
If you did not have a tear your not human
What many of you commenters seem to miss is that this woman (GySgt Basilone's widow) does WHAT IS RIGHT. She gives GySgt Basilone's Medal of Honor to his surviving family.
She doesn't ask for compensation of any type. Her only idea is to connect with his family and show gratitude by giving them his Medal of Honor. To give them the respect and closure by giving them his MoH.
It would do well for those of you of this generation of Me to understand this concept.
As a Marine, it doesn't matter what service he was in, it matters that she did WHAT WAS RIGHT and did that for the sake of his family.
fgrimley32 today's generation are more interested in hokey 'parents surprise kids' or 'military bumped up to first class'. That's not what really happens. Real vets come home like regular people and have private reunions. A return to the family should be as sombre as this video (even if the person is alive) and not some kind of party. Of course, today's US soldiers come home from shooting Afghan and Middle Eastern civilians for fun and running over kids with Humvees or serving as extras in TV shows, and not world wars.
+SantomPh Good luck in life as a dick.
+SantomPh Your first couple of lines were relatively accurate, then you veered off into the same uninformed idiocy that was said back in the 1960's.Exactly the same was said about American and Australian servicemen back then, except their 'victims' were Vietnamese, and they didn't have Hummers, so they had to make do with APC'S large trucks, and if they got REAL lucky, the odd tank or two!. (SARCASM).There is but one fundamental rule to be applied both here and now, and back then.If you weren't there, - I was not, then you and I have NO RIGHT to criticise, we never earned that honour, but are at liberty to form and have opinions.If you, or anybody has something to say, then BACK IT UP with cold hard facts from reputable, proven sources, - not Wicki-Fucking-Pedia!.
I don't know who's missing that. However, yes, I agree with what you said.
+emosh73 Bogus statement. I have the utmost respect for both men and I'm a Marine. Don't compare two brave men. The Army and Marine Corps through jabs at each other in most cases out of innocent rivalry but I respect fighting men across the board. My father was World War II US Army and a combat veteran of the 761st Tank Battalion.
That is one of the most valuable pieces of ribbon and brass on the face of this earth. You need to be damn near Superman in order to be awarded the MOH in the Marine Corps.
Lena Basilone should have been on every Marine Recruiting Poster in the country but not as a Pin-Up but as a Model for all the Women who have serve in the Corps.
Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas... Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever.
OMG!!!! I can't stop crying...
Son. Brother. Husband. Such a loss of a great man among us. Semper Fi from this third-generation former Navy man.
This series is so underrated. I've watched it so many times. Salute to the WWII USMC.
I watch an episode every night.
John Basilone is an Amercican badass, gave his all. Salute to a great soldier. A fitting scene to remember his legacy.
One of New Jersey's heroes!
If that scene wont make you tear up then you are dead inside.
War. Such a garden of delights, no?
How far we have fallen, how much we have lost.
Thank you for sharing
BRAVO
Heart wrending, probably happened in so many situations we will never know about!
She was also a hero…
i feel bad for them they had the misfortune to love a hero
soldiers no matter the branch will always tell you the Heroes are the ones who never come home
He had nothing more to prove, He should´ve enjoyed marriage.
It's why that was the Greatest Generation, they felt it was their duty to serve...in his mind he was proving his love and devotion to his country...🇺🇸🥺
He also wanted to share his knowledge of combat with the young Marines, so that they would have a better chance of survival. He says in a letter to Lena that he has to stay with them because they are so young and have no idea of what they were about to face. All good NCOs are supposed to be responsible for the men under their command, repeatedly friends and comrades of John Basilone comment on his total commitment to the men in his squad and then company.
I was a MARINE RESERVIST in the early 80s and while a BOOT CAMP we were shown movies about Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. We never really heard about the first amphibious assault of world war two on Guadalcanal and the heroics of John Basilone and so many others on that island. After I had been out of the reserves for a couple of years an older man who I knew all my life and who was a deacon at our church and just a quiet business man one day while having coffee one morning he came in and sat down with Me. He asked me about my experience in the MARINE CORPS reserves and not thinking he would understand much of What I was saying I told him very little. He then asked me if I knew about BLOODY TARAWA and how the MARINES had to wade 600 to 800 years in over sharp coral because the tide was to low for the landing craft. He then told me he was in the second wave to wade in. I couldn't be this 5' 4" quiet business man who was a deacon at our church was also a COMBAT VET of the Pacific war. He went on to tell me about being wounde on Okinawa. Even though John Basilone was the hero and CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT from Guadalcanal there were lots of MARINES who fought and died without the recognition that John Basilone received. But Manila John did win it from the fierce and aggressive fighting and even after getting 3rd degree burns on his lefr fore arm from holding a scalding hot machine gun barrel to hold off hundreds of attacking Japanese. RIP JOHN BASILONE. RIP URBANE SKINNER. SEMPER FI BROTHERS🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
This scene embodies the word Honor.
From Brazil.
Semper Fi.
Respeitosamente.
Obrigado pelo sacrifício.
(Deus no comando,sempre).
this always makes me cry
Reading Medal of Honor citations are incredible.
Proud to be an American; Proud to be a Marine.
Ma che bella é lei. Ed anche gentile!!!
AWESOME SCENE!!!!
The major road that traverses Camp Pendleton, California is named after John, Basilone Road. Semper Fi. I believe the main road out of Oceanside to Main Side is named Vandegrift Blvd
Lena is buried here in
Riverside Ca . At the national cemetery.
Lena never remarried. She once remarked "When you were married to a real man like John, no one else will ever do."
somebody is cutting onions in here.
At the end of a war. People try to get back some of what was taken from them. Fue do.
What a legend. God bless the U.S military..from England 🏴 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
The weight of that medal is way to heavy for most of us to bear.
This was beautifully done and she's a lovely woman. Can anybody translate what John's father said to Lena here, when she walked in? Thanks.
sit down
He said ,”How beautiful you are.”
.
It's a good cry....
.
When you’ve gained a hero but lost a son.
So dam sad R I P hero basilone
If young men like Jordan Aston (who commented below) can see the mess our society is in, and the lack of morals, value, and direction our society is in now, then there is at least some shred of hope that we will get back there, some day! Semper Fi, Marine! Ex Coelis
***** You think racism is gone? What about slavery? House servants? You think homosexuals are being treated equal? You think this world has good morals and is more open? Where the fuck have you been? That cannot be more far from the truth. All those things are very much alive. Grow a beard, dye it black and go get a dark tan then put on a turban and get on a plane. Bet your ass that the majority of those people are uncomfortable. Why? Because they're racist to a degree. Slavery, very present in today's society, idk where you grew up or what your parents told you but this world is not like a Disney movie.
***** Apologies for coming off the way I did. But your previous comment talks about how the world of the 40's and 50's was terrible and unfair, which is correct. But then you stated that "we live in a much more open, morally correct world then ever," which is false due to the fact that everything that was present 70 years ago is still in our society.
***** Yeah Things are sooo much better now that people can no longer sleep with their windows open and their doors unlocked the way they did in the 40's and 50's.And to think that you don quantitative analysis for a living. Homophobic? xenophobic? Those words had not yet been invented by people who were seeking victim status.Put metrics on things? Yeah you made things easy to understand alright. In your modern utopia we have kids shooting their teachers and class mates,teenage girls having babies out of wedlock by the bushel, police who routinely kill citizens during traffic stops for things like burned out tail lights. But you are correct about one thing society no longer considers it wrong for one man to look at another man's hairy ass and think he can find love somewhere in it. I guess that's what you call metrics..
***** The '40's were called "the greatest generation" because everyone was willing to sacrifice something for the sake of others. Our generation can learn something from them.
***** I don't doubt that there were people who were not devoted to the war effort, but there certainly was more overall support from the people. Unlike most wars that followed, our war with Japan, and hence Germany, was personal. Not only that but I have tons of respect for leaders like Patton, etc. who cared much more for their own soldiers than, say, McNamara in Vietnam. Of course this would give birth to propaganda, but every large conflict gets exaggerated in some way. Not only that, but could you imagine what would have happened to Europe had America not intervened? I wouldn't put it past the SU to take everything between Moscow and France. You've got to give the credit that's due to the soldiers who fought for what I'd like to think is a righteous cause.
the look on his dads face...
La médaille d'honneur est la plus haute distinction qu'un militaire américain puisse recevoir , décerné à ceux qui ont fait montre d'un courage et une détermination exceptionnel et exemplaires.
Rendons hommage à ceux
The look of the dad. ;_;
Great casting choice too, the real Lena was a beautiful woman.
02:56- I wish my father loved me like that......
Bless her. Hopefully they will be reunited in heaven.
@barmtrail YOU ARE 100 PERCENT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU !
When I think of all the poor women of all social stratus, ethnicities, different races all suffering the same and in some maybe many cases suffering alone knowing they will never again look in to the living, loving eyes of a son, brother, father, lover or husband and nowadays a daughter, sister, mother or wife it makes one hate even more the poisonous greed behind almost every war.
Lena never got married again and wore the ring John gave her until her death.
Feel sorry all of them
She never remarried. when asked why she wouldn't, she replied. "I had the best. I won't settle for second best."
+Canaan B Bravo Zulu
She's medal of honor material, too.
Canaan B Behind every great man there is always a greater women. John and Lena surely embody that saying.
+80811x Not always.
Canaan B 😭😭😭😥😥😥