I'm Staying with My Boys: The Heroic Life of Sgt. John Basilone, USMC - Paperback

by Jim Proser (Author), Jerry Cutter (Author)

The true story behind the character depicted in HBO's critically acclaimed, award-winning miniseries, The Pacific

I'm Staying with My Boys is a firsthand look inside the life of one of the greatest heroes of the Greatest Generation. Sgt. John Basilone held off 3,000 Japanese troops at Guadalcanal after his 15-member unit was reduced to three men. At Iwo Jima he single-handedly destroyed an enemy blockhouse, allowing his unit to capture an airfield. Minutes later he was killed by an enemy artillery round. He was the only Marine in World War II to have received the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, and a Purple Heart and is arguably the most famous Marine of all time.

I'm Staying with My Boys is the only family-authorized biography of Basilone, and it features photographs never before published. Distinctive among military biographies, the story is told in first person, allowing readers to experience his transformation, forged in the horrors of battle, from aimless youth to war hero known as "Manila John".

Author Biography

Jim Proser's first book, I'm Staying with My Boys, was awarded the United States Marine Corps Commandant's Recommendation. Prosner wrote and directed, with Jerry Cutter, a documentary of the same name, and I'm Staying with My Boys was used as source material for HBO's critically acclaimed, award-winning miniseries, The Pacific.

Jerry Cutter is the nephew of Sgt. John Basilone. He also collaborated with Prosner on the documentary version of his uncle's story. He lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina.