Eastern Railroad Discussion > Are these people train watching?

Judging from a quick glance, an observer might believe these people are watching this NJT train on the Raritan Valley line in Raritan (NJ). Actually, they are all waiting for the 26th John Basilone parade to start to honor a home town boy who enlisted in the Marines and would later come to be described as a ."Marine's Marine...". Leading off this year's parade lineup was the USMC band from Quantico, Virginia. A little history about who John Basilone was. He enlisted in the Army in 1934 and would serve four years. In 1940, he re-enlisted with the Marines because, as he told his mother, "The army's not tough enough for me." During the WW II battle of Guadalcanal in September, 1942, he would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in helping to ward off a Japanese regiment. Winning this medal assured John a stateside role in the military but he had promised his men he would return to fight. Landing on Iwo Jima in the first wave, John would guide a trapped tank away from a mine field. Under heavy fire, he also single-handedly destroyed a Japanese blockhouse. On February 19, 1945, John Basilone would be killed in action. He was 28 years old. John Basilone is the only soldier in history to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, given posthumously, for his actions on Iwo Jima and a Purple Heart.

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and there's an off ramp on I-5 in San Clemente CA also named in his honor.

not only was there the off ramp you mentioned named after him, but the postal service honored John Basilone with a stamp and his story will be told in a special upcoming on HBO in the future...

Did any Rutgers students (aka freedom's freeloaders) show up to boo and cuss out the military?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070922/cm_uc_crbbox/op_233905

If I had to choose between watch a train and something else, about the only thing that I'd choose over the train is a Marine Corps band.

Pattenburg Wrote:
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> Judging from a quick glance, an observer might
> believe these people are watching this NJT train
> on the Raritan Valley line in Raritan (NJ).
> Actually, they are all waiting for the 26th John
> Basilone parade to start to honor a home town boy
> who enlisted in the Marines and would later come
> to be described as a ."Marine's Marine...".
> Leading off this year's parade lineup was the USMC
> band from Quantico, Virginia. A little history
> about who John Basilone was. He enlisted in the
> Army in 1934 and would serve four years. In 1940,
> he re-enlisted with the Marines because, as he
> told his mother, "The army's not tough enough for
> me." During the WW II battle of Guadalcanal in
> September, 1942, he would be awarded the Medal of
> Honor for his actions in helping to ward off a
> Japanese regiment. Winning this medal assured John
> a stateside role in the military but he had
> promised his men he would return to fight. Landing
> on Iwo Jima in the first wave, John would guide a
> trapped tank away from a mine field. Under heavy
> fire, he also single-handedly destroyed a Japanese
> blockhouse. On February 19, 1945, John Basilone
> would be killed in action. He was 28 years old.
> John Basilone is the only soldier in history to be
> awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy
> Cross, given posthumously, for his actions on Iwo
> Jima and a Purple Heart.

The US Navy paid John Basilone a supreme compliment by naming a destroyer, the USS Basilone (DD-824) after him.

Thank you for your service to this country
Thank all of you service men/women for your service to this country