John Basilone earned the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal, was sent home to headline a war bond tour alongside Hollywood stars, and then demanded to go back to combat. This episode traces the path of a Buffalo-born high school dropout who caddied during the Depression, boxed his way to the nickname Manila John in the Army, tried and failed to settle into civilian truck driving, and joined the Marines in 1940 hoping to return to the Philippines.

It examines the three-day battle for Henderson Field in October 1942, where Basilone kept water-cooled Browning machine guns firing against roughly 3,000 attackers, ran barefoot for ammunition, and fought with a machete and pistol when the ammunition ran out. The conversation then covers his refusal of an officer's commission and a stateside instructor post, his marriage to Marine sergeant Lena Mae Rigg ...