Medal of Honor: Anthony Casamento – Guadalcanal, World War II – November 1, 1942
Pinned down on a blood-soaked ridge at Guadalcanal, Corporal Anthony Casamento refused to fall back — manning his machine gun alone, bleeding, and surrounded, he held the line until reinforcements arrived.
November 4, 2025
Name: Anthony Casamento
Rank: Corporal
War: World War II (Battle of Guadalcanal)
Date of Action: November 1, 1942
Unit: Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division
Born: November 16, 1920 – Brooklyn, New York
Entered Service At: Brooklyn, New York
Summary of Action
On the jagged ridges near the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal burned with the fury of close combat. Corporal Anthony Casamento, leading his machine gun section of the 5th Marines, was tasked with covering the advance of two flanking units under withering Japanese fire. In minutes, every man in his section was dead or gravely wounded — all except Casamento.
Wounded himself, bleeding from multiple hits, he dragged himself back to his weapon. Alone, he reloaded, realigned, and kept firing. When Japanese soldiers surged forward, he cut them down. When enemy machine guns opened up, he destroyed one and engaged another, refusing to yield. His defiance, his sheer will to fight, bought his company the time it needed to reorganize and counterattack.
For hours he held that ridge alone, firing until reinforcements arrived — a one-man bulwark of Marine tenacity. His stand became one of the enduring legends of Guadalcanal, the fight that turned the Pacific war.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 1 November 1942.
Entered service at: Brooklyn, New York.
Born: 16 November 1920, Brooklyn, New York.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands, in action against the enemy Japanese forces on 1 November 1942. Serving as a leader of a machine gun section, Corporal Casamento directed his unit to advance along a ridge near the Matanikau River where they engaged the enemy. He positioned his section to provide covering fire for two flanking units and to provide direct support for the main force of his company which was behind him. During the course of this engagement, all members of his section were either killed or severely wounded and he himself suffered multiple, grievous wounds. Nonetheless, Corporal Casamento continued to provide critical supporting fire for the attack and in defense of his position. Following the loss of all effective personnel, he set up, loaded, and manned his unit’s machine gun, tenaciously holding the enemy forces at bay. Corporal Casamento single-handedly engaged and destroyed one machine gun emplacement to his front and took under fire the other emplacement on the flank. Despite the heat and ferocity of the engagement, he continued to man his weapon and repeatedly repulsed multiple assaults by the enemy forces, thereby protecting the flanks of the adjoining companies and holding his position until the arrival of his main attacking force. Corporal Casamento’s courageous fighting spirit, heroic conduct, and unwavering dedication to duty reflected great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
