461st plaque

461st Bombardment Group (H)

Our Neighbors in Uniform

Irvin Basiliere
Irvin Basiliere
Robert Basiliere
Robert Basiliere
Henry Basiliere
Henry Basiliere
Leo Basiliere
Leo Basiliere

The four Basiliere brothers, sons of Mr. and Mrs. W. Henry Basiliere of 118 Magill Street, are all in the Army.  They hold different grades and are in different branches.  Three of them are overseas.

Pvt. Irvin F. Basiliere, 19, is stationed with an engineer combat battalion in France.  A former foundry worker for the H. & B. American Machine Company, he was inducted into service in June 1943.  He trained at Fort Belvoir, Va., Miller Field, Staten Island N. Y., and Camp Reynolds, Pa., before leaving for England in December 1943.

A brother, M/Sgt. Robert F. Basiliere, 23, husband of Mrs. Claire (Bellevance) Basiliere, of 74 County Street, Attleboro, Mass., is stationed in Italy with an Army Air Force bomber squadron.  As crew chief of his plane, a B‑24, he named it the ‘Rhode Island Red’ and designed the insignia which appears on the plane.  He attended East Senior High School and was formerly employed as a machine operator at the Haskell Manufacturing Company.  In civilian life, be played football for the Central Falls Harps and in 1939, during the N. Y. A. state‑wide boxing championship, he won first place in the 147‑pound class.

He enlisted in the Air Force in December 1941, four days after Pearl Harbor and received training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, the Chicago Aeronautical University, Inc., Illinois, McDill Field, Florida, Gowen Field, Idaho, Kearns Field, Utah, Orlando, Florida, Wendover Field, Utah, and Hammer Field, California, before going overseas in February of this year.

Another brother, Pfc. Henry W. Basiliere, 26, husband of Mrs. Eileen M. (Goodreau) Basiliere of 645 Woodward Road, North Providence, is with an Army Air Force base unit at Bradley Field, Conn., as an airplane mechanic.  Inducted in July 1942, he trained at Miami. Florida, Philadelphia, Pa., Greenwood, Miss., Tyndall Field, Florida, Wilmington, North Carolina, and Farmingdale, New York, where he attended P‑47 school.

Another brother, Corp. Tech. Leo Basiliere, a former shipping clerk at the A. O. G. Corporation, is in Normandy, France, with a quartermaster bakery mobile unit.  Before his induction in March 1943, he attended East Senior High School.  He trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, Miller Field, Staten Island, New York, and Camp Ellis, Illinois, before leaving for England in January.