Search results
Learn about the life and service of Lena Mae Riggi, who became Lena Mae Basilone after marrying John Basilone, a famous Marine hero of World War II. She was a field cook, a widow, and a volunteer for veterans' causes.
14 lut 2019 · Her name was Lena Mae Riggi, a sergeant at the time serving as a field cook in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Her fellow female Marines fawned over Basilone and his heroism but she...
Great Love Happens Once: The Enduring Story of John and Lena Basilone Some ties run deep, like service to country or commitment to family. For one Marine, those two paths were...
He was killed on February 19, 1945 in an exchange of heavy gunfire on Iwo Jima. Lena was notified of his death on March 7, 1945 -- her 32nd birthday. In 21 Dec 1945 Lena christened a Navy destroyer ship named the USS Basilone in her husband's honor. Lena never remarried.
John Basilone was a US Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who fought in World War II and received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. He was married to Lena Mae Riggi, a nurse he met in Guadalcanal, and had a son named John Jr.
26 cze 2017 · Lena Basilone, former Marine, tireless volunteer and wife of America’s first Word War II Medal of Honor recipient, died Friday. She was 86. Lena Mae Riggi was born March 7, 1916 in Portland, Ore. to Italian Sicilian immigrants.
1 sty 2024 · Lena Riggi was a Women's Marine Corps Reserve sergeant who married John Basilone, a decorated war hero, in 1944. They had a short but passionate love story, as John died in Iwo Jima only seven months later.
