United States Marine in the Pacific Theater during World War II who notably received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Guadalcanal Campaign as well as a posthumous Navy Cross for actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima, the only enlisted Marine to receive both decorations during the war.
ShelfmarkVita CCXX
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1 series (4 eps)
3.9/5
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across 1 rated title
3h 34m
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across 1 title
4 years of a 29 year life depicted onscreen
13.8%
Distinct years the archive depicts, against John Basilone’s lifetime (1916 – 1945) — 13.8% of it.
A thread follows one event or historical theme across the archive, wherever and whenever it appears. Pick a tab to read one; they are in the order they are filed on the timeline. Pulling a thread opens up a narrowed timeline view filtered to every year that thread touches.
The surprise strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the American naval base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Intended to be a decisive blow that would cripple the American Pacific Fleet in anticipation of war with the United States, the strike left over 2,400 Americans dead and several capital ships, notably four American battleships, sunk. However, the absence of American aircraft carriers from port on the day of the attack left the fleet in better overall shape afterwards than Japanese planners had hoped.
The brutal struggle for control over the Solomon island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific during World War II. With its key location threatening access to Australia, the island became the site of a prolonged campaign between Japanese and American / ANZAC forces on land, at sea, and in the air.
The fierce campaign by the United States to seize control of the island of Iwo Jima from Japanese forces in order to secure a launching platform for continued bombing raids against the Japanese home islands.
