While Privates Eugene Sledge (K-3-5) and Robert Leckie (H-2-1) face the intimidating task of crossing Peleliu's airfield under intense Japanese fire, we fired up the Movie Magic Time Machine this week and whirled back to before L-Day on Iwo Jima to spend some time with Manila John Basilone. He completed the fund raising chores on the War Bond Drive and found himself fretting and frustrated in an admin billet at the Washington Navy Yard. The Corps concluded that the Medal Of Honor Guadalcanal hero should be given a respite. That would suit most people who've been through what he has right down to the deck, but not John Basilone. These days he lists his occupation as "professional Marine" and he wants to do what professional Marines do, namely train to fight and then fight. As far as Basilone is concerned anything other than that is just grab-ass. He's made a visit to LtGen. A. A. Vandegrift, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and a fellow Canal Vet, to plead for assignment to a line unit. General Vandegrift recognized Basilone's sincerity and granted a transfer to the 5th Marine Division just forming at Camp Pendleton along with the nucleus for a 6th Marine Division. Manila John arrives on the West Coast to find his fame has preceded him but not much else. He's assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines at Tent Camp #1, Las Pulgas, only to discover that the weapons platoon he's supposed to train only contains two Marines. The rest are coming, he's told, as fast as they can be shoved through boot camp and trucked up the road to Pendleton. While he's waiting and training his two Marines to be machinegunners, Basilone reenlists, gets promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and makes his first ever acquaintance with Women Marines. One of those women, Sgt. Lena Riggi, will become the first and only Mrs. John Basilone before the 5th MarDiv ships out for combat in the Pacific. We've gone to some lengths to recruit and train females for this portion of our story because of their importance to the survival and success of the Corps back in the darkest days of World War II. As CMC Vandegrift said after the war, these women could "feel responsible for putting the 6th Marine Division in the field; for without the women filling jobs throughout the Marine Corps, there would not have been sufficient men available to form that division." Semper Fidelis.