The Quantico Marine Corps Band performs for hundreds of spectators in the 19th Annual John Basilone Day Memorial Concert at the Raritan Community College Auditorium in New Jersey on Saturday.
The Quantico Marine Corps Band helped New Jersey celebrate John Basilone Day with performances at the Raritan Community College Auditorium and for the wreath laying ceremony Saturday and Sunday.
The band’s first performance was at the John Basilone Day Memorial Concert at the college where hundreds of people gathered for the patriotic sounds and historical narration of the war hero.
Basilone is best known for holding off 3,000 Japanese troops at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands after his 14-member unit was reduced to just three men. Basilone was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, after which he was posthumously honored with the Navy Cross. He is the only enlisted Marine from World War II to have received the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart. Basilone was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
‘‘Basilone is very inspirational to all Marines,” said Gunnery Sgt. Sean Helms, the enlisted conductor of the band. ‘‘His act of selfless love is motivation to all Marines.”
Helms said the Marines performed well despite a third of the band being new.
A day after their concert performance, the band marched down Somerset Street with at least 125 organizations, including rows of veteran Marines.
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