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Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Basilone Road

The Story Behind the Name

 
 
Basilone Road Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 3, 2021
1. Basilone Road Marker
Inscription.
From an Italian-American family of ten children in Raritan, New Jersey, Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone (1916-1945) was a celebrated war hero. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts in Guadalcanal, where he manned a heavy machine gun for three days and nights without sleep or rest, inflicting heavy casualties and repulsing an attack of nearly 3,000 Japanese soldiers.

Basilone came home a war hero and celebrity, touring the country promoting the sale of War Bonds, but felt out of place and requested to return to the war. Stationed at Camp Pendleton in 1943, he was eventually allowed to return to combat in December of 1944.

Basilone was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart following his death on Iwo Jima where serving as a leader of a Machine-Gun Section, he single-handedly took out an enemy machine-gun emplacement that had pinned down his unit, then guided an American tank though a mine field under heavy fire, before being killed by Japanese mortar shrapnel.

The Secretary of the Navy cited his "extradorinaiy heroism and unwavering devotion to duty throughout the bitter conflict as an inspiration to his comrades, reflecting the highest credit upon Gunnery Sergeant Basilone and United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country."

The
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road, which is part of a longer road traversing neighboring Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, is named after Basilone - the only enlisted U.S. Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and Purple Heart during WWII.
 
Erected 2018 by California State Parks.
 
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1944.
 
Location. 33° 23.843′ N, 117° 35.452′ W. Marker is in Camp Pendleton, California, in San Diego County. Memorial can be reached from Cristianitos Road north of South El Camino Real, on the right when traveling north. The marker is along the nearby Panhe Nature Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oceanside CA 92058, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Panhe: Place by the Water (here, next to this marker); Forster City (approx. 1.1 miles away); San Clemente (approx. 2 miles away); San Clemente Pier (approx. 2.3 miles away); Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens (approx. 2.3 miles away); City of San Clemente Lifeguards (approx. 2.3 miles away); San Clemente Island & Catalina Island (approx. 2.4 miles away); La Cristianita (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Camp Pendleton.
 
Basilone Road Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Adam Margolis, October 3, 2021
2. Basilone Road Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 6, 2021, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. This page has been viewed 1,147 times since then and 163 times this year. Last updated on January 3, 2022, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on October 6, 2021, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024