by Hugh Ambrose
56 Lena Basilone interview, Traditions Military Video, www.militaryvideo.com.
57 Ibid.
58 Scout Article.
59 Cmdr. Harold L. Buell USNR, "Death of a Captain," Proceedings, February 1986, p. 92.
60 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, Box 953, RG 38, NARA.
61 Ibid.
62 Bush Memoir.
63 Ibid.
64 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 327.
65 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, Box 953, RG 38, NARA.
66 Scout Article.
67 Barbara Garner interview with Dustin Spence, author's collection.
68 Lena Basilone interview, Traditions Military Video, www.militaryvideo.com.
69 Lena Riggi Basilone Service File, NRC.
70 Witty, Marines of the Margarita.
71 "Reply to NPRC Inquiry," 24 July 1999, Lena Riggi Basilone Service File.
72 USMC Personnel Files of John Basilone and Lena Riggi Basilone.
73 Tatum, Red Blood Black Sand, quoting Lena Basilone.
74 Barbara Garner interview with Dustin Spence, author's collection.
75 Photograph of John with Lena and her friends, March 8, 1944, Lucille Stacy Otis Collection.
76 "Chock to Chock."
77 Ibid.
78 After Action Report, VB-2, entry of March 30, 1944, National Museum of Naval Aviation.
79 The After Action Reports of Bombing Two (VB-2) are difficult to decipher, since the times and dates of strikes do not coincide with the dates in Micheel's log book nor those of Hornet's War Diary, nor do they make sense (e.g., most strikes are listed as having occurred at midnight). The author concluded that this discrepancy was due to the VB-2 AAR practice of using GMT time, not the local time. The Hornet War Diary, which put times and dates in local time, and Micheel's log book, both of which the author considers reliable documents, were used.
80 After Action Report, VB-2.
81 Micheel USN Personnel File, NRC.
82 After Action Report, VB-2.
83 Bush Memoir; After Action Report, VB-2, entry of April 1, 1944.
84 Bush Memoir.
85 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 331.
86 Ibid. p. 332.
87 Cmdr. Harold L. Buell USNR, "Death of a Captain," Proceedings, February 1986, p. 94.
88 Ibid.
89 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 335.
90 Bush Memoir.
91 After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
92 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, p. 230.
93 Bush Memoir.
94 After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
95 John Basilone to Dear Mother and All, April 22, 1944, Basilone Family Collection.
96 John Basilone letter, undated, Basilone Family Collection.
97 Conner, The Spearhead, p. 3.
98 Clinton Watters letters to author, July 5 and 10, 2007, author's collection; Calvin Anderson interview with author, May 2004.
99 William Douglas Lansford, "The Life and Death of 'Manila John,' " Leatherneck, October 2002, vol. 85, #10, p. 25.
100 Clinton Watters letter to author, May 22, 2007.
101 William "Bill" Lansford (HQ-1-27) interview, Playtone Collection; Jim Turner (A-1-27) interview with author, March 22, 2004; Calvin Anderson (C-1-27) interview with author; Charles Tatum (B- 1-27) interview, Playtone Collection.
102 Bush Memoir.
103 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, 1-30 April, 1944, Box 953, RG 38, NARA.
104 "Annex A and Annex B to ACA 1 Report 20-44," After Action Report, VB-2.
105 The Hornet War Diary for May 1-28, 1944, notes the explosion of the 100- pound bomb, but not the loose 500-pound bomb. This latter incident comes from the author's interview with Vernon Micheel and from the VB- 2 memoir of William "Billy" Bush.
106 Bush Memoir.
107 Hoffman's great biography of Colonel Puller, Chesty, stated that he held his first inspection after the replacements came in (see p. 261). John "Deacon" Tatum's diary on the date of Chesty's first inspection, however, was clear. Puller would not come through again for another five days.
108 Cmdr. Harold L. Buell USNR, "Death of a Captain," Proceedings, February 1986, p. 95.
109 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 339.
110 Cressman et al., A Glorious Page in Our History, pp. 214-216. Written by a group of leading historians of naval aviation in WWII, this book argues that Miles Browning was a master of tactics who had played an essential role at Midway, despite his personality problems. For an opposing view of Browning's abilities, see Buell's "Death of a Captain" article in Proceedings (February 1986). Buell repeats Clark's story about Browning almost running Hornet aground the first time he took it into that atoll. Clark Reynolds's biography of Jocko Clark, On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers, though, asserts that this was the admiral's misapprehension, not the captain's oversight.
111 Conner, The Spearhead, pp. 1, 5.
112 Lena Basilone interview, Traditions Military Video, www.militaryvideo.com.
113 Scout Article.
114 Ibid.
115 Romus Valton Burgin interviews with the author, 2003-2009, author's collection.
116 Merriell Allen Shelton USMC Personnel File, NRC.
117 Mike Jernigan, "Through Memories, Sledge Reveals the Horrors of Warfare," Auburn Alumnews, May 1990, pp. 9-10; Dr. Sidney Phillips interview with author, May 19, 2009.
118 Daily Diary of John Wesley "Deacon" Tatum, entry of June 6, 1944, author's collection.
119 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, 1-30 June, 1944, Box 953, RG 38, NARA. In his fine biography of Admiral Clark, On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers, Clark Reynolds stated on p. 342 that USS Hornet sortied from Kwajalein, but on this point the carrier's War Diary was clear.
120 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 335.
121 Bush Memoir.
122 After Action Report, VB-2, author's copy courtesy of The National Museum of Naval Aviation.
123 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, p. 212.
124 After Action Report, VB-2.
125 USS Hornet War Diary, 1-30 June, 1944, NARA.
126 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 347. Hornet's War Diary makes it clear Clark returned at 1518, not 1600 as Reynolds has it.
127 USS Hornet War Diary, 1-30 June, 1944, NARA.
128 John Basilone to Dearest Mother, undated, Basilone Family Collection.
129 Lee W. Merideth, Grey Ghost: The Story of the Aircraft Carrier Hornet (Sunnyvale, California: Rocklin Press, 2001), p. 43.
130 Bush Memoir; After Action Report, VB-2.
131 After Action Report, VB-2.
132 Ibid.
133 DFC Commendation of July 1947, Micheel Personnel File, NRC; After Action Report, VB- 2 (see map for strike location).
134 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, June 1-30, 1944; After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
135 In On the Warpath (pp. 352-353) Reynolds made it clear that at least one pilot recalled hearing the admiral's idea. Although neither Micheel, nor Bush, nor Buell could recall fifty to sixty years later having heard of this idea, the author included it as a supposition because (a) pilots loved to gossip about such an important idea and so if one of them heard it, it likely passed quickly, (b) the idea itself would have been almost self-evident to veteran pilots, and (c) as difficult as it is for a man to recall details half a century after they occurred, it is even more difficult for him to recall events that did not occur.
136 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, June 1-30, 1944; After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
137 "Chock to Chock."
138 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, June 1-30, 1944; After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
139 Ibid.
140 Ibid.
141 The Hornet War Diary and the VB-2 After Action Report have some minor discrepancies as to numbers.
142 After Action Report, VB-2.
143 Official USN Flight Log Book of Vernon Micheel.
144 Buell, Dauntless Helldivers, p. 264.<
br />
145 Ibid. p. 261.
146 Ibid. pp. 263-264.
147 After Action Report, VB-2.
148 Ibid.
149 In his book On the Warpath, Reynolds states that these hits on Zuikakau were scored by Yorktown planes. He may be referring to information received later or it may have been a typographical error. The author is concerned with what Bombing Two knew at the time. The hits were entered into the After Action Report of VB-2.
150 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, June 1-30, 1944; After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
151 Interview with Lena Basilone, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated, Chuck Tatum Productions.
152 Interview with Monsignor Paul Bradley, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated, Chuck Tatum Productions; see also "Father Paul's Quiet Heroism," by Judy Peet, Newark Star- Ledger, July 8, 2005, RPL; and "Retired Navy Chaplain Recalls Raising of Flag at Iwo Jima," AMS News, Summer 2002, RPL. Father Paul Bradley earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service with the 28th Marines on Iwo Jima.
153 Lena Basilone Interview, Scout Article.
154 John Basilone USMC Personnel File.
155 Lena Basilone interview; Scout Article.
156 "Guadalcanal Hero to Wed," AP story, July 8, 1944, USMC Historical Division file on John Basilone.
157 George W. Garand and Truman R. Strobridge, History of the U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II: Western Pacific Operations, Volume IV (Washington, D.C.: USMC Historical Division, 1971), p. 89.
158 Ibid., p. 52.
159 "Third Battalion," in the file "Headquarters, 1st Marine Division FMF in the field/station lists (25 Aug 1944)," Box 305, RG 127, NARA.
160 Ibid.
161 Garand and Strobridge, USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. IV, p. 90.
162 Machine Gun Platoon Co. "C" Roster, 1945, copy courtesy of Clinton Watters; photographs of the Riggi-Basilone wedding ceremony courtesy of Lucille Stacy Otis, Barbara Garner, and Basilone Family Collection.
163 Wedding ceremony photographs, Basilone Family Collection and Barbara Garner Collection; Basilone marriage certificate, Lena Basilone USMC Personnel File, NRC; Lucille Otis interview, author's collection.
164 USMC Official Press Release, July 12, 1944, Official of Assistant Director of Public Relations (West Coast Area), USMC Official John Basilone File. This press release incorrectly listed Edward Johnston as a corporal. His rank on the Company C roster was sergeant.
165 Interview with Lena Basilone, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated, Chuck Tatum Productions.
166 Interview with Monsignor Paul Bradley, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated, Chuck Tatum Productions.
167 Lucille Stacy Otis interview with Dustin Spence, author's collection; USMC Official Press Release, July 12, 1944, Official of Assistant Director of Public Relations (West Coast Area), USMC Official John Basilone File. While sources gave different lengths of their furlough--Lena herself has given several different accounts--the author used the information in the USMC Official Press Release printed the day after their marriage.
168 After Action Report, VB-2; USS Hornet War Diary, July 1-31, 1944; Vernon Micheel interview with author.
169 After Action Report, VB-2.
170 Merriell Allen Shelton USMC Personnel File.
171 Romus Valton Burgin interview, author's collection; USMC Personnel File courtesy of R. V. Burgin.
172 Gen. Gordon Gale interview with author. General Gayle commanded 2/5 during the Battle of Peleliu and later wrote a monograph on it.
173 Garand and Strobridge, USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. IV, p. 91.
174 General Gayle interview, August 1, 2005, author's collection; Thomas Stanley to Eugene Sledge, "Thoughts on Bucky's Notes," August 17, 1981, SCAU.
175 Henry "Hank" Boyes to Eugene Sledge, December 16, 1979, SCAU; Eugene Sledge, With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa (Novato, California: Presidio Press, 1981), p. 70 footnote.
176 Garand and Strobridge, USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. IV, p. 103.
177 Eugene Sledge to Henry "Hank" Boyes, January 14, 1980, SCAU; Thomas Stanley, "Canal Men Who Made Peleliu," unpublished MS, September 15, 1980, SCAU.
178 Boyes to Sledge, January 28, 1980; R.V. Burgin interview, Playtone Collection; William "Bill" Leyden interview, Playtone Collection.
179 Reynolds, On the Warpath, p. 383.
180 Interview with Lena Basilone, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated, Chuck Tatum Productions.
181 Lena Basilone interview, Traditions Military Video, www.militaryvideo.com.
182 Adolf Bursa interview, author's collection; William Lansford interview, author's collection.
183 Interview with Lena Basilone, in the documentary The Saga of Manila John, undated Chuck Tatum Productions.
184 Lena Basilone interview, Traditions Military Video, www.militaryvideo.com.
185 Wells, Give Me Fifty Marines, p. 110.
186 Conner, The Spearhead, p. 13.
187 Ibid. p. 15.
188 Wells, Give Me Fifty Marines, pp. 112-113.
189 Appendix #1 Annex E to Operation Plan 1-[?], CT-5, Cont'd p. 3, file: B13- 1 5th Marine Regiment, administrative order 1-44 (11 August 1944), NARA.
190 Garand and Strobridge, USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. IV, p. 95.
191 Report on Fitness of Officers of the USMC, Lt. Col. Austin Shofner USMC File, August 18, 1944, to September 20, 1944, signed by Colonel Harris.
192 "Operations of the Fighter-Bomber Group," Annex A, After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
193 F6F Hellcat, documentary, produced by Teleteam, Inc.
194 Captain Flagg, War Diary: Peleliu, RG 127, Box 299, NARA.
195 USMC Photo #57862, Still Pictures Branch, NARA.
196 Boyes letter to Sledge, January 28, 1980, SCAU.
197 Conner, The Spearhead, pp. 15-16.
198 Tatum, Red Blood Black Sand, p. 82.
199 Clinton Watters photographs and interviews with author.
200 Basilone letter, undated, Basilone Family Collection. This letter was written before September 15, since Lena's photo of George and John together in Hawaii was dated September 17, 1944.
201 USS Hornet (CV-12) War Diary, September 1-30, 1944, NARA.
202 After Action Report, VB-2, NARA.
203 Sid Phillips letter to Mrs. Sledge, October 1, 1944, SCAU.
204 Sterling Mace (K-3-5) interview, author's collection.
205 This meeting is based on an entry in John Basilone's Service Record Book, stipulating his 20-minute flight on September 14; on the photograph of him and George that Lena had dated September 17; and on the undated clipping "Basilones Meet in the Pacific," from an unidentified newspaper, which described the meeting, in the Basilone Family Collection.
206 Pfc. George W. Basilone to Sgt. Lena Basilone, May 8, 1945, Basilone USMC Personnel File.
207 Sterling Mace interview, author's collection.
208 Appendix #1 Annex E to Operation Plan 1-[?], CT-5, Cont'd p. 3, file: B13- 1 5th Marine Regiment, administrative order 1-44 (11 August 1944), NARA.
209 Sterling Mace interview, author's collection.
210 R. V. Burgin interview with author.
211 Record of Operations of the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, FMD, During the Period 26 August 1944 to 7 November 1944, SCAU, original in NARA (hereafter 3/5 Record).
212 Eugene B. Sledge interview in "Combat Leadership," USMC training film, courtesy of the USMC.
213 Sledge, With the Old Breed, p. 57. Sledge wrote that his LVT stalled after a near-miss from an enemy shell. In his recorded interviews, and in the memories of R. V. Burgin, it was the coral reef that stalled their craft.
214 Dr. Eugene B. Sledge interview, in the documentary Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific, Kenwood Productions, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1991 (hereafter KPI). The unedited version of this interview was provided to the author by R. V. Burgin.
215 Dr. Eugene B. Sledge interview, Lou Reda Productions, use
d by permission (hereafter LRP).
216 3/5 Record; Captain Flagg War Diary: Peleliu, RG 127, Box 299, NARA.
217 Air Intelligence Group Excerpts from Narratives of Action--Palau, US Army Report, NARA.
218 LRP.
219 Thomas Stanley to Sledge, February 18, 1980, SCAU.
220 Henry "Hank" Boyes to Sledge, May 5, 1980, SCAU.
221 R. V. Burgin interview, author's collection.
222 Sterling Mace interview, author's collection.
223 Photograph of 3/5 HQ on the morning of September 15, 1944, USMC Photo #95503, 127-GW-713, Still Pictures Branch, NARA.
224 Thomas Stanley to Sledge, December 17, 1981, SCAU.
225 D-2 Journal, 1st Marine Div., Peleliu, RG 127, Box 299, NARA.
226 Sterling Mace interview, author's collection.
227 Henry "Hank" Boyes to Sledge, May 5, 1980, SCAU. Reconciling the many interviews and the official sources became easier when a distinction was drawn between the airfield and the airstrip.
228 Ibid
229 Ibid. Boyes earned a Silver Star for this action, and a copy of his citation (typed by Hank) is in the Sledge Collection. Sledge, however, wrote on p. 70 of With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa that the marine who performed this act was "tragically . . . killed by a sniper." He may have been referring to the first individual who approached the tank.
230 D-2 Journal, 1st Marine Div., Peleliu, RG 129, Box 299, NARA.
231 Garand and Strobridge, USMC Operations in WWII, Vol. IV, p. 118.
232 3/5 Record, p. 3. The grid maps "Special Map--Oct. 4, Central Section," which were used by 3/5, were used by the author to chart the daily course of 3/5 during the battle for Peleliu. The Special Map was found in folder B12-3 1st Marine Div. Field Orders--Peleliu, Box 305, "Geographic Files, Peleliu," RG 127, NARA (hereafter Special Map).
233 3/5 Record; Boyes to Sledge, January 28, 1980, SCAU.
234 R. V. Burgin interview, author's collection.
235 Lieutenant Colonel Shofner to Commandant of the Marine Corps, 9 March 1950, RG 127, Box 6, NARA.
236 LRP.
237 KPI. There are a number of differences between the events he recounts in the Kenwood Productions documentary Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific as opposed to his book With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa and in his LFP interviews.