Medal of Honor Campaigner Dies at 66
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WEST ISLIP, N.Y. — A wheelchair-bound veteran who picketed the White House for 54 days as part of a successful, 37-year-long effort to obtain the Medal of Honor has died after a long illness. He was 66.
Anthony Casamento of West Islip died Saturday and was buried Wednesday. Casamento joined the Marines in World War II and fought in the battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific in 1942.
He was wounded 14 times, most seriously on Nov. 1, 1942, in a one-man stand against Japanese gunfire and grenades. Casamento took over a machine gun after the American gunner was shot and knocked out several Japanese machine gun nests.
He was awarded the Navy Cross instead of the recommended Medal of Honor, and began a campaign to win the top honor.
Ultimately, after he picketed the White House, he was invited into the executive mansion in 1980 where President Jimmy Carter presented him with the Medal of Honor.
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