[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 218 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 218

Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative postage stamp 
   should be issued honoring Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, a great 
                             American hero.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2003

Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Holden, Ms. DeLauro, 
 Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Doyle, 
and Mr. Fossella) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative postage stamp 
   should be issued honoring Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, a great 
                             American hero.

Whereas Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York, 
        son of Salvatore and Dora Basilone, one of 10 children;
Whereas John Basilone was raised and educated in Raritan, New Jersey;
Whereas, at the age of 18, John Basilone enlisted in the United States Army, 
        principally seeing garrison service in the Philippines;
Whereas, after his honorable discharge in 1937, Sergeant Basilone, known by his 
        comrades as ``Manila John'', returned to Raritan;
Whereas, seeing the storm clouds of war hovering over the Nation, and believing 
        that his place was with this country's fighting forces, Sergeant 
        Basilone enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in July 1940;
Whereas, on October 24 and 25, 1942, on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Sergeant 
        Basilone was a member of ``C'' Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, 1st 
        Marine Division, and was in charge of 2 sections of heavy machine guns 
        defending a narrow pass that led to Henderson Airfield;
Whereas, although Sergeant Basilone and his machine gunners were vastly 
        outnumbered and without available reinforcements, Sergeant Basilone and 
        his fellow Marines fought valiantly to check the savage and determined 
        assault by the Japanese Imperial Army;
Whereas, for this action, Sergeant Basilone was awarded the Congressional Medal 
        of Honor and sent home a hero;
Whereas, in December 1944, Sergeant Basilone's restlessness to rejoin his fellow 
        Marines, who were fighting the bloody island-to-island battles en route 
        to the Philippines and Japan, prompted him to volunteer again for 
        combat;
Whereas, on Iwo Jima, on February 19, 1945, Sergeant Basilone again 
        distinguished himself by single-handedly destroying an enemy blockhouse 
        while braving heavy-caliber fire;
Whereas, minutes later, an artillery shell killed Sergeant Basilone and 4 of his 
        platoon members;
Whereas Sergeant Basilone was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple 
        Heart, and a life-sized bronze statue stands in Raritan, New Jersey, 
        where ``Manila John'' is clad in battle dress and cradles a machine gun 
        in his arms;
Whereas, in 1949, the United States Government commissioned a destroyer the 
        U.S.S. Basilone, and in November 1951, Governor Alfred E. Driscoll 
        posthumously awarded Sergeant Basilone the State of New Jersey's highest 
        decoration;
Whereas, following World War II, Sergeant Basilone's remains were reinterred in 
        the Arlington National Cemetery;
Whereas Sergeant Basilone was the first recipient of the Congressional Medal of 
        Honor awarded in World War II;
Whereas Sergeant Basilone was also awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart, 
        giving him the distinction of being the only enlisted Marine in World 
        War II to receive all 3 medals; and
Whereas commemorative postage stamps have been commissioned to honor other great 
        heroes in American history: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the 
        United States Postal Service honoring Gunnery Sergeant John 
        Basilone; and
            (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend 
        to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
                                 <all>