BASILONE DD 824

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Gearing Class Destroyer Keel Laid 7 July 1945 - Launched 21 December 1945 as DD-824 Work Halted January 1946 - Work Resumed November 1947 Redesignated Escort Destroyer (DDE) 28 January 1948 USS BASILONE DDE-824 Commissioned 26 July 1949 USS BASILONE DD-824 Reverted to Destroyer (DD) 7 August 1962 Decommissioned 1 November 1977 Struck from Naval Register 1 November 1977 Sunk 9 April 1982 as target off Florida

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Basilone Covers Page 1     (1949-77)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDPS 2(n)

1949-08-01

As DDE-824. First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2(n) (DD)

1950-07-14

As DDE-824
Using "DD" strike

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1975-02-22

As DD-824
Keel Laying of the USS Mississippi DLGN-40, cachet by Tazwell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1975-12-22

As DD-824
Merry Christmas, cachet by Fred Karcher

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1976-03-26

As DD-824. Official Business

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u) (DDE)

1958-03-08

As DDE-824

 

Locy Type 9ef(n+u) (USS,NY)

1973-10-15

As DD-824

 

Locy Type P [2t(n+u) with "E" removed]

1963-03-25

As DD-824

 

Locy Type LDPS 2(n+)

1977-10-15

As DD-824. Last Day Postal Service

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, USMC - (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945)
      Basilone was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who received the nation's highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroism during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross in World War II.
      Basilone served three years in the United States Army (1934-37) with duty in the Philippines. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940 and was deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and then to Guadalcanal where he held off 3,000 Japanese troops after his 15-member unit was reduced to two other men. On the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was killed in action, after which he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations, a United States Navy destroyer and a US postage stamp.
      Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone earned the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart Medal with one Gold star, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon with one bronze star, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze stars and the World War II Victory Medal.

Two US Navy ships have been named in his honor - USS Basilone DD-824 and USS John Basilone DDG-122.

The ships sponsor was Sgt. Lena Mae Basilone, USMCWR, GySgt John Basilone's widow.

 

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