If the men of “D” company hoped that the morning would bring peace from the Japanese attacks, they were soon disappointed. The human wave attacks continued throughout the morning as the Marines fought desperately to survive. And as the Japanese fell before the American guns, Basilone realized his men faced a new problem. The dead were beginning to pile up in front of their position, creating a wall of corpses that allowed the enemy to creep closer out of sight before swarming over the dead and trying to overwhelm the Marines with bayonets.
Basilone jumped into action again, using breaks in the fighting to clear bodies out of the way, often under heavy fire, before returning to coordinate the defense and clear jams from the machine guns. And as the fighting continued on the ground, Japanese planes came screaming through the air. Mitsubishi Zeros launched strafing attacks and dive bombers dropped heavy explosives on the runway of Henderson Field, preventing Allied planes from getting airborne.
The fighting continued nonstop for two days as the Marines struggled without food or water. By the time the smoke cleared on the final day, an entire regiment of Japanese soldiers lay dead and the fight for Guadalcanal was essentially over. After word of Basilone’s actions spread throughout the Corps, he was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor. And after the American public heard of Basilone’s heroism, he became a major celebrity. The Marines decided that Basilone was needed back home, where he gave speeches to packed audience halls calling on everyone to buy war bonds to help fund the war effort. But once again, Basilone felt the call to action. He couldn’t abide staying at home while his men fought and died in the Pacific.
After months of lobbying the military, Basilone was finally transferred back to active duty and sent to join a Marine regiment preparing to invade the southern Japanese island of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was to serve as one of the final staging areas for an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. Taking Iwo Jima would be one of the final nails in the coffin for the Japanese war effort. The Imperial Navy knew this as well as the Americans and so they resolved to hold the island at any cost. They dug extensive fortifications into the volcanic rock and swore to hold them to the last man.
Basilone joined the other Marines in the early stages of the assault. Basilone led his men in their assault on the Japanese positions. As the Marines stormed up the beaches and into the heights, Basilone personally destroyed several Japanese bunkers with grenades and machine-gun fire. But as he led the charge, mortar fire exploded nearby, launching razor-sharp shrapnel into Basilone. The wound proved fatal, and Basilone fell on Iwo Jima along with hundreds of other marines. But his heroism in battle provided an example of courage that inspired the nation through one of the darkest hours in world history.