The future USS John Basilone may not have officially joined the Navy’s surface fleet just yet, but the warship is apparently already flying a brand-new battle flag as a tribute to its decorated Marine namesake.
In photos published to social media on Friday, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is shown sailing down the Kennebec River from the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine, with what appears to be a fresh battle ensign flapping in the wind ahead of its commissioning in New York City next week.
The Basilone is named for the legendary Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, who received both the Medal of Honor for his "extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry" during the Guadalcanal campaign and a posthumous Navy Cross for his valor during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II -- the only enlisted Marine to receive both decorations during the conflict.
The ship is the second named for Basilone, following the Gearing-class destroyer that was decommissioned in 1977.
The details of the flag are difficult to make out based on the photos, but it appears to contain elements of the new warship’s crest, namely a pair of crossed Browning M1917 machine guns on a blue diamond background surrounded by stars arranged in the shape of a Southern Cross. The machine guns are a reference to Basilone’s role as a machine gunner, while the cross is a tribute to the insignia for the 1st Marine Division in which he served during World War II.
The blue diamond itself is transposed against a field of crimson and flanked by two golden palm branches -- a reference to “the vegetation of Guadalcanal and reference Basilone’s heroic service in defense of Henderson Field,” per the Navy – and the words “Take a Stand” and “Move Forward” in honor of Basilone’s life and service.
Born in Buffalo, New York, in November 1916, Basilone originally enlisted in the Army in 1936 and served for more than two years in the Philippines before leaving the service in 1939. He joined the Marine Corps in July of the following year, where he earned the nickname “Manila John” due to his prior experience in the Philippines as a soldier.
That experience was on full display on the evening of Oct. 25, 1942, when the U.S. military’s months-long struggle to hold the strategically important Henderson Field at Guadalcanal came to a head following two days of constant Japanese assaults. At midnight, hundreds of Japanese troops crossed the barbed-wire boundaries of the field in a ferocious attack on the exhausted and malaria-ridden Marines deployed there.
Basilone, in charge of two sections of heavy machine guns, “fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault,” according to his Medal of Honor citation. “With ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. 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 large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment.”
In the face of the blistering enemy assault, Basilone “was everywhere at once, clearing jams, calming nervous gunners, replacing parts and repositioning guns,” wrote Eric Hammel in a 1992 edition of Leatherneck Magazine, a Marine Corps publication, becoming “the glue that bound” his Marines together amid the intense firefight.
While Basilone earned the Medal of Honor for his valor that day, he declined to receive the award from President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, opting instead for a small field ceremony with his unit and declaring that “only part of this medal belongs to me … pieces of it belong to the boys who are still on Guadalcanal." When the Marine Corps later offered him a commission and a desk job in Washington, he declined both: "I ain't no officer, and I ain't no museum piece … I belong back with my outfit."
Following a stateside tour to boost the U.S. war bond effort, Basilone voluntarily returned to combat duty, deploying once again to the Pacific ahead of the February 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima. He was killed in action during the invasion, where his actions earned him his posthumous Navy Cross for his “intrepid initiative, outstanding skill, and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of fanatic opposition,” according to his citation.
The USS John Basilone is set for commissioning in New York City on Nov. 9, 2024, according to the Navy, after which the warship will depart for its homeport assignment at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
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