THE PACIFIC -Episode 8; Basilone and Iwo Jima

To preface this commentary on the latest episode of HBO's The Pacific I'll recall a line from James Bradley's Flags of Our Fathers.....

"The Japanese were not on Iwo Jima. They were in Iwo Jima"

For me, Episode 8 of The Pacific was the saddest. I knew what was going to happen; anybody who had grown up in post World War II New Jersey could tell you the story of John Basilone, the hero of Guadalcanal who re-upped after winning the Congressional Medal of Honor and was a national celebrity, only to die on the first day of the assault on Iwo Jima in February, 1945. Basilone died the warrior's death, and became a legend. And Episode 8 of "The Pacific" fills in some more of the gaps of Basilone's life between Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, including his romance and marriage to Marine Sgt Lena Riggi.

The episode begins on Pavuvu with Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and Snafu recovering from the hellish fighting on Peleliu, with Sledge increasingly agitated and embittered, a man who has aged beyond his years.

John Basilone (Jon Seda) was in New Jersey, visiting his family, becoming evermore annoyed at the celebrity thrust upon him. After trying again to return to the Corps he is finally granted his wish, and is reassigned to Camp Pendleton in California to train new troops, most of whom are learning the intricacies of machine gun warfare.

Basilone meets Sgt Lena Riggi (Annie Parisse, left) who he is attracted to. Lena rebuffs Basilone at first- she is unfazed by his celebrity, but John is persistent and continues to ask Lena out.

Eventually she warms to him...and he proposes to her, and Lena accepts.

Lena and John marry, and not long afterward John decides to re-enlist. He is sent to Iwo Jima. On February 19, 1945 the United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima, a 7.5 mile pile of volcanic rock and ash, the last major step before the Japanese home islands. The Japanese had built an intricate network of fortresses and tunnels on the island, and were ordered to fight until the last man; there would be no surrender from the Japanese defenders.

Basilone and his men hit the beach of Iwo Jima...he yells, screams, and curses his men to get off the beach and to advance before they are killed by Japanese fire. Basilone heroically leads the assault, but is cut down by enemy gunfire, and dies.

The final shot of the episode shows Lena Riggi Basilone in her uniform, staring out over the waves of the Pacific, knowing that out there was the place where the man she loved was taken from her. There is silence, and then the closing credits.


This episode was different from the ones preceding it in that it had to flashback more than a year to tell the story of the Riggi-Basilone romance and marriage. Once those gaps were filled the story of the Pacific war went back into sequence, with Iwo Jima following Peleliu.

For those interested about the battle of Iwo Jima, please check out the two films Clint Eastwood directed several years ago, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. They are companion pieces, and tell the story of the battle from the perspective of both the Americans and the Japanese. If you are a fan of THE PACIFIC, these two movies are MUST sees.

Jersey War Hero JOHN BASILONE- His Story To Be Told in HBO's THE PACIFIC

When you read of the World War II exploits of United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone it seems like something as impossible as a scene from a RAMBO film....one man leading two other survivors of a squad that was wiped out, fighting off and all but annihilating about 3,000 enemy Japanese in the Battle of Guadalcanal over October 24 and 25th, 1942.

He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics. Basilone went on a successful bond tour to raise money for the war effort. He was initially denied his requests to be sent back into combat, and was offered an officer's commission...which he refused.

John Basilone rejoined the Marines for the assault of Iwo Jima....it was time for some additional acts of heroism from "Manila John"

On Sunday night,March 14th at 9:00PM HBO will debut the story of Basilone in The Pacific, a 10 part mini-series. Jon Seda, (left) who formerly starred in the crime drama Homicide; Life on the Street as well as many other television and film roles, plays John Basilone. I won't go into details about what happens to Basilone at Iwo Jima....if you are of a certain age or live in Central New Jersey, you know the outcome (Buffalo native Basilone was raised in Raritan, New Jersey). For more information on Basilone, it can be found at the John Basilone Parade website.

The Pacific also has two other main characters- Robert Leckie, Philadelphia born but also New Jersey raised, who became a reporter and author after the war; and Alabama native Eugene Sledge, who went on to be an author and a professor of sciences at various universities in a long and distinguished career. The memoirs of Leckie and Sledge, Helmet For My Pillow and With The Old Breed, respectively, formed the source material for much of The Pacific. James Badge Dale plays Leckie, and Joe Mazello portrays Eugene Sledge in the series.

Star-Ledger television columnist Alan Sepinwall has written a very positive review of the series, and it does seem like it is indeed, a must see, like its companion piece, 2001's Band Of Brothers. The series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks, and co-executive produced and directed by Tony To.

I'm looking forward to seeing the series- I've always had a special place in my heart for the Greatest Generation in general, but also for those who served in the Pacific theater- my Dad was one of those who was there, on the USS Mt. McKinley as the war was winding down. And, like many families, we lost someone there; I had a cousin who died at Iwo Jima; I was years away from birth.

When I put on the news and I see self proclaimed "patriots" protesting perceived socialism, taxes, or the legitimacy of the current President of the United States, I always have this thought...they have no clue.

Men like Basilone, Leckie, and Sledge were patriots...their country called and they did their jobs. And they went back for more.

When the job was completed, those who came back ushered us into a modern age of a new America. They were raised during a depression and fought in the most destructive war in history. And they went on with their lives....brave men and women who sacrificed more of themselves than anyone in subsequent generations can imagine.

Maybe a history lesson on Sunday nights is in order for a large segment of our population.

I'll be watching.