John Basilone was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Basilone, the son of Sicilian Napoli immigrants Salvatore Basilone and Dora Bencivenga, was born on November 4, 1916 in Buffalo, New York, and was raised in Raritan, New Jersey. At age fifteen, he completed middle school but did not go on to high school. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in July 1940, Basilone was trained at Parris Island in South Carolina. He was stationed at Guantanamo Bay before being sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands as a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On October 24, 1942, Japanese forces began a frontal attack at Guadalcanal, using machine guns,
John Basilone was the only enlisted Marine in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. Basilone, the son of Sicilian Napoli immigrants Salvatore Basilone and Dora Bencivenga, was born on November 4, 1916 in Buffalo, New York, and was raised in Raritan, New Jersey. At age fifteen, he completed middle school but did not go on to high school. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in July 1940, Basilone was trained at Parris Island in South Carolina. He was stationed at Guantanamo Bay before being sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands as a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On October 24, 1942, Japanese forces began a frontal attack at Guadalcanal, using machine guns,