To friends and supporters of the Basilone documentary project:

JULY 1, 2010 -- I write this evening to thank those of you who have supported the “John Basilone: Legacy of A Hero” documentary project by lending your name and money by joining the steering committee. And I want to thank others of you who, while not coming aboard the committee, have made contributions and are encouraging others to contribute. Both your efforts and the response to Iwo Jima veteran Bill Gallo's New York Daily News column (“Diane Hawkins' endeavor to memorialize late uncle Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone worth your generosity”), which was very good, have helped move the project forward.

And the week has been encouraging in other ways: Rocky Sickmann, Director, Military Sales for Anheuser-Busch and one of the Marine Embassy Guards held prisoner for 444 days in the 1979-80 Iranian student revolution who epitomizes the Basilone legacy of courage, honor and sacrifice, has e-mailed that he would like to assist with a generous Anheuser-Busch Military Sales sponsorship.

And he forwarded a request for an even larger donation to the Director for Entertainment Marketing in Los Angeles, whom we plan meet with, if possible, on the July 10-21 trip to the West Coast to meet supporters and interview Iwo Jima Marine veterans who served with GySgt. John Basilone and active-duty Marines about the Basilone Obstacle Course and The Crucible, which Marine recruits must complete before receiving the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and are graduated from boot camp.

Make your contributions to The John Basilone Foundation, P.O. Box 6778, Hilton Head, SC 29938.