For the first few months of the War in the Pacific, the Japanese Navy and Imperial Marines rapidly occupied Allied positions in the Pacific. The Philippines had fallen, along with British Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies. In August 1942, the Allies got word that the Japanese were constructing a major airfield on the island of Guadalcanal that would bring Australia within range of Japanese bombers. If left unchecked, the Japanese might even be able to invade Australia itself. The Allies couldn’t let that happen and US Marines were dispatched to see that it didn’t.
The Marines launched a massive amphibious invasion of the island, storming the beaches and driving the Japanese defenders deep into the jungle-covered heights. As the Marines took control of the beachhead, they set to building an airfield to help support further operations, calling it Henderson Field after an Allied Airman who had recently been killed. But that October, 15,000 fresh Japanese troops landed on the island to reinforce the defenders.
Over the next few weeks, the Japanese quietly moved into position around Henderson Field against which they would launch the main force of a devastating counter-attack. And that was where John Basilone and his men of “D” company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines found themselves on the night of October 24th. Basilone patrolled the perimeter of the field, peering into the inky-black Jungle, struggling against the calls of tropical birds and the swarming insects to detect the sound of approaching Japanese.
Suddenly, out of the jungle came a deafening cry of “Banzai,” or ten thousand years for the Emperor, as 3,000 Japanese troops of the Sendai division hurled themselves at the wire surrounding Basilone’s position. Rifles barked to life as Basilone leaped behind his heavy Browning machine gun and poured withering fire into the charging Japanese. Within five minutes, the night grew silent. Basilone’s men looked over their defenses to see over two hundred of the enemy lay dying on the field. Basilone’s quick thinking and accurate fire had completely broken the first wave. The respite Basilone had won wouldn’t last. And within the shadows, the next wave of Japanese picked up the cry and began charging towards the American position. The Japanese were fanatical in their devotion to their nation and their emperor, offering their bodies as a sacrifice to victory.
The unrelenting tide of their assault began to overwhelm American positions. Basilone watched as his defenses began to falter and his men were crippled by shrapnel from Japanese grenades. And worst of all, ammunition was beginning to run low. Unholstering his .45, Basilone rushed through Japanese lines, firing point-blank at the enemy. He ran from position to position, bringing much-needed ammunition and repositioning machine guns to where they were needed most. Over the course of the next few hours, thousands of men died in some of the most intense fightings of the war. Dawn broke and the Japanese withdrew, but for Basilone and his men, the fight had just begun.