John Basilone, a New Jersey resident returned home after Guadalcanal to a richly deserved hero's welcome and a parade. But he asked to rejoin his comrades and died on the opening day of the attack on Iwo Jima in February 1945.
Breaking a bottle on the ship's bow was Ryan Manion, a woman who lost her brother in an ambush in Fallujah, Iraq. Her brother, Travis Manion, was killed by a sniper when he exposed himself to enemy fire to divert attention from his unit in 2007.
Manion, who is one of the ship's sponsors, is president of the Pennsylvania-based Travis Manion Foundation, which aims to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes.
A Ship Honoring Two Heroes. --GreGen
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