[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9816-H9818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE POST OFFICE

  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2815) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, as 
the ``Sergeant John Basilone Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2815

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New 
     Jersey, shall be known and designated as the ``Sergeant John 
     Basilone Post Office''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Sergeant John Basilone Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Gianforte) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Montana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2815, introduced by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance). The bill names the United States 
Post Office at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, after 
Sergeant John Basilone.
  Sergeant Basilone was among the first wave of marines to storm the 
shores of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. I thank Representative Lance 
for introducing this bill to pay tribute to the life and sacrifice of 
Sergeant Basilone.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) to explain his bill.
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an American hero and a 
proud son of New Jersey, Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, and I offer 
this bill to name the post office in Raritan, New Jersey, in his honor.
  Gunnery Sergeant Basilone is an exemplar of brave service in our 
Armed Forces, and a member of the Greatest Generation, whose collective 
bravery and selflessness won World War II and liberated millions from 
oppression.
  In Congress, there are many actions we take to honor and remember 
those who serve our Nation. These commendations matter. Younger 
generations ask whose name is inscribed on monuments and flag posts or 
on Federal properties; and in retelling these stories, we inspire young 
Americans to appreciate the generations that came before in public 
service.
  Sergeant Basilone, indeed, has a tremendous story. Born on November 
4, 1916, in Buffalo, New York, he was 1 of 10 siblings born to 
Salvatore and Dora Basilone. His father, an immigrant from Italy, and 
his mother, a native of Manville, New Jersey, decided to raise their 
family in the Somerset County, New Jersey, Borough of Raritan.
  At just barely 18 years of age, a young Basilone decided to enlist in 
the United States Army in the 1930s. He would begin his military career 
with a tour of the Philippines.
  In the Army, he was popular, extremely well-liked. He boxed and 
contributed to a sense of camaraderie that put the young men who were a 
world away from home at ease. He would later be honorably discharged 
from the Army and return home.
  But in 1940, the trumpet summoned him again, and he re-enlisted, this 
time in the Marines. He would be dispatched to the height of battle in 
the Pacific theater.
  Sergeant Basilone and many fellow marines were part of Operation 
Watchtower to regain territory in Guadalcanal, the site of a Japanese 
airfield. On August 7, 1942, the group took the airfield and defended 
it bravely from Japanese attempts to reconquer the territory.
  In October of 1942, the Japanese began another land attack to regain 
control of Guadalcanal. Sergeant Basilone fought bravely for 2 days and

[[Page H9817]]

ultimately contributed to the annihilation of a considerable portion of 
the Japanese regiment.
  In a moment of selfless service to his fellow marines, Sergeant 
Basilone endured brutal enemy fire during the assault to assist nearby 
machine gunners in trouble.
  Seeing the immediate danger, he killed eight encroaching Japanese 
soldiers and quickly provided aid and equipment to the pinned marines. 
He saved many lives that day and, in later testimony, his fellow 
marines credited Sergeant Basilone's gallantry and heroic conduct for 
saving their lives, actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor in 
recognition of his actions at Guadalcanal.

                              {time}  1445

  Sergeant Basilone would return home for a short time, selling war 
bonds to continue doing what he could for the country he loved and the 
work of which he was so proud.
  However, staying stateside was not where he wanted to be. He 
volunteered to go back to the Pacific. Before he left Camp Pendleton 
and returned to battle, he married Lena Mae Riggi on July 10, 1944.
  One of Gunnery Sergeant Basilone's greatest traits was his tremendous 
regard for the safety of his fellow warriors. He could not let the 
narrow escape in Guadalcanal happen again, so he worked diligently to 
train recruits on proper machine-gun use. His trainees became known as 
the Basilone Boys.
  One of his recruits, William Douglas Lansford, spoke of the pride and 
confidence Gunnery Sergeant Basilone instilled in him. ``We wanted to 
be just like him,'' Lansford was known to have said.
  While he could have remained stateside at home with his new wife, he 
insisted on staying with the Basilone Boys. Gunnery Sergeant Basilone 
and his men stormed the shores of Iwo Jima with the first wave of 
marines on February 19, 1945.
  The Japanese returned heavy fire. Sergeant Basilone ran toward one of 
the block houses, the source of Japanese fire, and quickly destroyed it 
with grenades and demolitions. After this, he scrambled to rescue an 
American tank that was trapped in a minefield.
  But in a moment that will forever live in our hearts, Sergeant 
Basilone and a handful of his fellow marines were then hit by heavy 
mortar fire. He died alongside the brave men who stepped forward to 
serve this country and the men he wanted to return to battle to protect 
and defend.
  Thanks to his bravery and his fellow marines, the Allied Forces were 
able to complete the invasion. He would be awarded, posthumously, the 
Navy Cross, the United States Navy's highest decoration, for his 
sacrifice and service on that fateful day, becoming the only marine in 
the war to receive both the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.
  In the generations that have followed, Sergeant Basilone has 
rightfully taken his place as an American hero of the Second World War. 
Raritan has held a parade in his honor every September. His statue 
stands in the heart of the borough. His legacy of love and service to 
the country has been maintained by his extended family, such as his 
niece Kim Van Note, through the Basilone Foundation. Kim joins us today 
in the House gallery.
  Gunnery Sergeant Basilone, more than self, his country loved, and it 
is that great love of country and an American spirit I hope that 
inspires future generations for years--might I suggest, decades--to 
come. It is the least we can do in the House of Representatives to name 
Raritan's post office in his honor. I am honored to sponsor this 
legislation.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join my colleagues in consideration of 
H.R. 2815, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Post 
Office located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, as 
the Sergeant Basilone Post Office.
  We have already heard he was born in 1916 and enlisted in the United 
States Army at the young age of 18. While serving in the Philippines, 
Sergeant Basilone developed a reputation as a championship boxer.
  He returned to the United States in 1937 to begin work as a truck 
driver, but we have heard that that was not enough. He reenlisted in 
the Marines in 1940.
  Sergeant Basilone earned the reputation as the marine who proved that 
the opposition was not invincible. Sergeant Basilone was a hero. As 
stated, upon his death, he was awarded a Navy Cross, the Navy's highest 
decoration.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pass this bill to name the post office in 
Raritan, New Jersey, after their hometown hero so that future 
generations might continue to be inspired by his selfless and heroic 
service.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 2815, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentlewoman from 
Florida aware that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to 
close.
  Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), my colleague.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, Sergeant Basilone was the first enlisted 
marine to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in the war. In 1943, 
the Sunday News captured his picture with his award, the first that he 
would receive and the first of anyone in that war. I have had it in my 
office for the years that I have been on this particular issue, Mr. 
Speaker.
  It is a great honor to salute Sergeant Basilone's family, a native of 
New Jersey, and a hero of our Italian-American community.
  He started serving his country, as you already heard, very early in 
the U.S. Army; and then 3 years later, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine 
Corps, where he was sent to a position on the Tenaru River in 
Guadalcanal and placed in command of two sections of heavy machine 
guns.
  Despite being outnumbered, Sergeant Basilone and his men successfully 
defended Henderson airfield from the Japanese assault. In the process, 
he crossed enemy lines to replenish ammunition, he repaired artillery, 
and he went several days and nights without food or sleep to lead his 
troops. He led his troops to victory.
  Sergeant Basilone's unprecedented heroics in the Pacific theater 
during World War II have become part of the Marine Corps lore, and for 
his brave service, we worked together a few years back to immortalize 
John Basilone with a postage stamp. How fitting, today, we want to name 
a post office after him.
  Thanks to the campaign that spread through the Italian-American clubs 
and veterans halls nationwide, the United States Postal Service's 
Distinguished Marines stamp series included John Basilone, beginning in 
2005.

  He embodied the best we could hope for in a servicemember and was a 
true New Jersey guy: a scrappy fighter who always wanted to be on the 
front lines.
  After his first tour, the Marine Corps offered to commission him as 
an officer, but Basilone responded: I ain't no officer. I ain't no 
museum piece. I belong back with my outfit.
  He opted to return to the front lines rather than ride out the war 
helping promote war bonds here at home.
  Tragically, Sergeant John Basilone died when he returned to the front 
lines while fighting at Iwo Jima, 27 years old. He earned the 
Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart, and the 
deep appreciation of a grateful nation.
  John Basilone's story was brought to life to the masses in the 2010 
award-winning HBO miniseries ``The Pacific.'' Montclair State 
University has a Basilone dormitory, and just last year, the U.S. Navy 
commissioned a destroyer as the USS Basilone.
  I marched in that parade several years ago. I know that the people of 
Raritan, New Jersey, have never forgotten their favorite son, and they 
will be honored to have a Basilone Post Office.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Italian American Congressional 
Delegation, I thank my colleague Leonard Lance for introducing this 
measure, and I encourage my colleagues and all Americans to learn about 
the storied history of Sergeant Basilone.
  Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.

[[Page H9818]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2815.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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