Wednesday, May 09, 2007
The heroics of Marine Gunnery Sgt. John
Basilone of Raritan, the only enlisted Marine in World War
II to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy
Cross and the Purple Heart, will be part of a sprawling HBO
miniseries from executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven
Spielberg.
The Somerset County legend, honored
each year with a parade through the borough, helped hold off
thousands of Japanese troops at Guadalcanal as all but two
other members of his small unit were killed. "'Manila John"
Basilone, who served in the Army in the Philippines before
enlisting the Marines, later fought and died at the Battle
of Iwo Jima.
"The Pacific," considered a companion
piece to HBO's award-winning "'Band of Brothers," set in
Europe during World War II, will follow the Pacific theater
exploits of Basilone and fellow Marines Robert Leckie and
Eugene Sledge. Filming will begin late this summer in
Australia, an HBO spokeswoman says, but no casting has been
announced. An air date for the miniseries has not been set.
-- Vicki Hyman
