John Basilone.

In 1940, there were roughly 270,000 in the US Army, with some 5,000 in the Philippines. The USMC had about 28,000 with about 1,700 in the Philippines. Even if you did not have a choice, the odds of serving in the Philippines favored the USMC.

 

Thanks. Still curious about the 1,700 Marines, where they were stationed. Presumably some for security at our naval bases, but 1,700 seems like a lot just for that.

 

It would include all the Marines stationed in the 16th Naval District, so the Marine Barracks Cavite, Olongapo, and Canacao, housing the various Marine Guard Detachments as well as all the Marine Detachments on the ships of the Asiatic Fleet.

 

Nope. They were part of the Navy's "Outlying Stations", in this case the China Station. For the Marines, it included the Peiping Embassy Guard, the 4th Marines at Shanghai, and the Marine Detachment Tientsen. The other Outlying Stations were American Samoa, Guam, Guantanamo Bay, Puerto Rico, and St Thomas.

 

The 4th Marines were in various posts in China in the late 30s, and were in the process of being relocated to the Philippines when the war started for us. Most were already in the PI, just a few were still in China and were captured in 1941. In the 1941-42 PI Campaign, the 4th Marines were posted on Corregidor.

 

75 years ago today John was killed.

 

They broke the mold....