A Better Pipe Smoking Community

'A Company,machine gun squad!' The squad pulled their faces out of the dirt and ran to Chesty. He placed them in a clearing and directed their fire to cover our advance. Men were getting hit all around them but untill gunner Gerald White's skull got creased by a bullet tht punched a hole in his helmut, the squad of gunners was unharmed. The fire stopped but no one wanted to move and give away their position. It was dark now and calls went out to locate the wounded. Private Willie Rowe, a rifleman who was wounded and laying concealed in the bush called out "Leave me alone, Im going to die where I am''. Chesty was having none of that. He sent squads crawling all over until every one of us was pulled back to safety behind our lines. But Chesty wasnt satified. He didint like having enemy gunners close enough to to shoot into our lines. He pulled a maneuver that brought him up from our fearless commander to a living legend among us in the 7th. He walked right up to the forward lin gun emplacement at his full hieght, chest out and shoulders squared, and told them to keep their eyes peeled. Then in the blackness he struck a match and calmly lit his pipe! He took one puff and then dove for cover. The Jap gun emplacement opened up on him, aiming hot lead directly at where his head had been. The forward gun crew saw the enemy muzzle flashes and returned fire to the spot.
The firing stopped and we heard nothing more from that enemy gun. Chesty laid on the ground compleltely releaxed for a moment puffing his pipe. '

Im Staying With My Boys, p. 174. The story of John Basilone, Medal of Honor ,Guadalcanal, 1942.