MarineSidPhillips.com: John Basilone, the 1st Marine Division, and Melbourne

Following a restful Christmas on the fly-invested island of Espirito Santo, the Marine Corps shipped Sid and the 1st Marine Division to Australia. Some went to Brisbane whereas Sid went to Melbourne, where Australian women and girls lined the docks to greet the “Yanks” who had saved their nation. Sid’s regiment billeted at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, a sports stadium in the city center. Sid stood weakly in ranks at the Cricket Grounds and watched Sergeants John Basilone and Mitchell Paige each receive the Medal of

Sid and friend W.O. Brown
eating fish & chips in Melbourne.

Honor for their actions on Guadalcanal. Sid soon after checked into the hospital with a bout of jaundice. When healed, he was assigned guard duty at the hospital where one day First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt greeted him during an inspection. In the off hours at the hospital, Sid enjoyed listening to sea stories at the guard post from old Marine legend Lou Diamond. For his time on Guadalcanal, Sid received a small fortune in back pay, which, coupled with liberty every other day, proved a delight. He was “Not Sor-ree” that he took a chance on a blind date, only to find the sixteen-year-old Australian girl, Shirley, looked like Elizabeth Taylor. The year in Australia passed by like a dream before reality awoke Sid and he found himself on a landing craft again, this time, bound for a miserable island called New Britain. NEXT>>