Tres de Mayo

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Private Nicholas Fanning (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 2, 1865, at Selma, Alabama. His citation reads:

Capture of silk Confederate States flag and 2 staff officers.

Corporal John Peter Fardy (US Marine Corps) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 7, 1945, on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Islands. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a squad leader, serving with Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Islands, 7 May 1945. When his squad was suddenly assailed by extremely heavy small arms fire from the front during a determined advance against strongly fortified, fiercely defended Japanese positions, Cpl. Fardy temporarily deployed his men along a nearby drainage ditch. Shortly thereafter, an enemy grenade fell among the marines in the ditch. Instantly throwing himself upon the deadly missile, Cpl. Fardy absorbed the exploding blast in his own body, thereby protecting his comrades from certain and perhaps fatal injuries. Concerned solely for the welfare of his men, he willingly relinquished his own hope of survival that his fellow marines might live to carry on the fight against a fanatic enemy. A stouthearted leader and indomitable fighter, Cpl. Fardy, by his prompt decision and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death, had rendered valiant service, and his conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Boatswain’s Mate William Farley (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on December 25, 1863, on board the USS Marblehead. His citation reads:

Served on board the U.S.S. Marblehead off Legareville, Stono River, 25 December 1863, during an engagement with the enemy on John's Island. Behaving in a gallant manner, Farley animated his men and kept up a rapid and effective fire on the enemy throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy's abandonment of his positions, leaving a caisson and 1 gun behind.


The I’m just sayin… Top 2,613 Movies of All-Time Countdown

2313 Love Nest
Joseph Newman
June Haver, William Lundigan, Marilyn Monroe
1951

2312 Carlito's Way
Brian De Palma
Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller
1993

2311 Penny Serenade
George Stevens
Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan
1941

2310 Black Rain
Ridley Scott
Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw
1989

2309 Robinson Crusoe
Rod Hardy
Pierce Brosnan
1997

2308 Service with the Colors
B. Reeves Eason
Robert Armstrong, William Lundigan, Henry O'Neill
1940

2307 Pat and Mike
George Cukor
Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy
1952

2306 Species
Roger Donaldson
Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger, Natasha Henstridge
1995

2305 The Inspector General
Henry Koster
Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates
1949

2304 Rich Man, Poor Man
Bill Bixby, David Greene, Boris Sagal
Nick Nolte, Peter Strauss, Susan Blakely, Ed Asner, Robert Reed, Fionnula Flanagan, Van Johnson, Bill Bixby, Kim Darby, Kay Lenz
1976

2303 The Concrete Jungle
Tom DeSimone
Jill St. John, Tracey E. Bregman
1982

2302 Rings on Her Fingers
Rouben Mamoulian
Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney
1942

2301 Spring Parade
Henry Koster
Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, Mischa Auer
1940

2300 Colors
Dennis Hopper
Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, María Conchita Alonso
1988

2299 Nothing in Common
Gary Marshall
Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason, Eva Marie Saint
1986

2298 Kiss Me Goodbye
Robert Mulligan
Sally Field, James Caan, Jeff Bridges
1982

2297 Heathers
Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty
1988

2296 Moby Dick
John Huston
Gregory Peck
1956

2295 MacArthur
Joseph Sargent
Gregory Peck, G. D. Spradlin
1977

2294 The Hitman
Aaron Norris
Chuck Norris, Michael Parks
1991

2293 Teddy the Rough Rider
Ray Enright
Sidney Blackmer, Pierre Watkin, Arthur Loft
1940

2292 Porky's II: The Next Day
Bob Clark
Mark Herrier, Kaki Hunter
1983

2291 The Five Pennies
Melville Shavelson
Danny Kaye, Louis Armstrong
1959

2290 The Best Years of Our Lives
William Wyler
Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Russell
1946

2289 The Beaver
Jodie Foster
Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence
2011

2288 Above Suspicion
Richard Thorpe
Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt
1943

2287 Major League: Back to the Minors
John Warren
Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Scott Bakula, Bob Uecker
1998

2286 Dressed to Kill
Brian De Palma
Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
1980

2285 Scary Movie
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Carmen Electra
2000

2284 Collateral
Michael Mann
Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith
2004

2283 Brazil
Terry Gilliam
Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
1985

2282 The Legend of the Lone Ranger
William A. Fraker
Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Jason Robards
1981

2281 Bad Boys
Rick Rosenthal
Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Reni Santoni, Ally Sheedy
1983

2280 Nashville
Robert Altman
Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ned Beatty, Ronee Blakley, Lily Tomlin, Barbara Harris, Keenan Wynn, Henry Gibson
1975

2279 Mother
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds, Rob Morrow, Lisa Kudrow
1996

2278 The Milagro Beanfield War
Robert Redford
Sonia Braga, Rubén Blades, Christopher Walken
1988

2277 One Eight Seven
Kevin Reynolds
Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez
1997

2276 The Shepherd of the Hills
Henry Hathaway
John Wayne, Betty Field
1941

2275 State of the Union
Frank Capra
Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn
1948

2274 Meet John Doe
Frank Capra
Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck
1941

2273 Primrose Path
Gregory La Cava
Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marjorie Rambeau
1940

2272 The Betsy
Daniel Petrie
Laurence Olivier, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall
1978

2271 Mo' Better Blues
Spike Lee
Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Spike Lee, Bill Nunn
1990
Bleek: "I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night".

2270 The Alpha Caper
Robert Lewis
Henry Fonda, Leonard Nimoy, Larry Hagman
1973

2269 Miami Vice
Michael Mann
Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li
2006

2268 Striptease
Andrew Bergman
Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames, Burt Reynolds, Robert Patrick, Paul Guilfoyle, Pandora Peaks
1996

2267 The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Charles Walters
Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Jack Kruschen, Ed Begley
1964

2266 The Edge
Lee Tamahori
Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Harold Perrineau, Elle Macpherson
1997

2265 Invincible
Ericson Core
Mark Wahlberg, Elizabeth Banks
2006

2264 Lilies of the Field
Ralph Nelson
Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala
1963

2263 Johnny Suede
Tom DiCillo
Brad Pitt, Catherine Keener
1991

2262 Bitter Sweet
W. S. Van Dyke
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders
1940

2261 Down Argentine Way
Irving Cummings
Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda
1940

2260 Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese
Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Jackie Earle Haley, and Max von Sydow
2010

2259 The Lords of Flatbush
Martin Davidson, Stephen F. Verona
Henry Winkler, Sylvester Stallone
1974

2258 Running on Empty
Sidney Lumet
River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, Martha Plimpton
1988

2257 The Net
Irwin Winkler
Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam
1995

2256 Road to Singapore
Victor Schertzinger
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby
1940

2255 The Last Tycoon
Elia Kazan
Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jack Nicholson
1976

2254 No Country for Old Men
Joel and Ethan Coen
Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin
2007

2253 Newsies
Kenny Ortega
Christian Bale, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret, Bill Pullman
1992

2252 Journey to the Center of the Earth
Eric Brevig
Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem
2008

2251 Hoffa
Danny DeVito
Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante, John C. Reilly, Kevin Anderson, Natalia Nogulich, Frank Whaley, J.T. Walsh, Robert Prosky, Bruno Kirby
1992

2250 The Last Boy Scout
Tony Scott
Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans
1991

2249 The Big Lebowski
Joel Coen
Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Tara Reid, Ben Gazzara
1998

2248 Far and Away
Ron Howard
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman
1992

2247 Network
Sidney Lumet
Peter Finch, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Beatrice Straight, Robert Duvall
1976

2246 Let's Get Harry
Stuart Rosenberg
Michael Schoeffling, Mark Harmon, Robert Duvall
1986

2245 White Nights
Taylor Hackford
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren
1985

2244 Fathers' Day
Ivan Reitman
Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nastassja Kinski
1997

2243 The Mack
Michael Campus
Max Julien, Richard Pryor, Roger E. Mosley
1973

2242 A High Wind in Jamaica
Alexander MacKendrick
Anthony Quinn, Lila Kedrova, James Coburn
1965

2241 McQ
John Sturges
John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Al Lettieri
1974

2240 Blue Bird, The
Walter Lang
Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Nigel Bruce
1940

2239 Godzilla
Roland Emmerich
Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Vicki Lewis, Kevin Dunn, Harry Shearer
1998

2238 Fade to Black
Vernon Zimmerman
Dennis Christopher
1980

2237 Malcolm X
Spike Lee
Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Spike Lee, Al Freeman, Jr.
1992

2236 Mission: Impossible III
J. J. Abrams
Tom Cruise, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames
2006

2235 The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise
1975

2234 The Last Picture Show
Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn, Randy Quaid
1971

2233 On the Town
Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett
1949

2232 Gotcha!
Jeff Kanew
Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino
1985

2231 Leatherheads
George Clooney
George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski
2008

2230 Logan's Run
Michael Anderson
Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov, Farrah Fawcett
1976

2229 New Jack City
Mario Van Peebles
Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles, Chris Rock, Judd Nelson
1991

2228 Murder at 1600
Dwight H. Little
Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane
1997

2227 Flame of Barbary Coast
Joseph Kane
John Wayne, Ann Dvorak
1945

2226 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Rob Marshall
Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally and Geoffrey Rush
2011

2225 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
James Algar, Clyde Geronimi
Bing Crosby, Eric Blore, Basil Rathbone
1949

2224 Speed Zone!
Jim Drake
John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Brooke Shields
1989

2223 Down to Earth
Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Chris Rock
2001

2222 The Glass House
Daniel Sackheim
Leelee Sobieski, Diane Lane, Stellan Skarsgård
2001

2221 50 First Dates
Peter Segal
Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore
2004

2220 Rosemary's Baby
Roman Polanski
Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Charles Grodin, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy
1968

2219 Breakout
Tom Gries
Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, Jill Ireland
1975

2218 Home for the Holidays
Jodie Foster
Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Cynthia Stevenson, Steve Guttenberg, Dylan McDermott, Claire Danes
1995

2217 The Player
Robert Altman
Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Fred Ward, Cynthia Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lyle Lovett
1992

2216 Broadway
William A. Seiter
George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair
1942

2215 Onionhead
Norman Taurog
Andy Griffith, Walter Matthau, Joey Bishop, Felicia Farr
1958

2214 Angels Over Broadway
Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell
1940

2213 Street of Chance
Jack Hively
Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor
1942

2212 The Polar Express
Robert Zemeckis
Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara
2004

2211 Thor
Kenneth Branagh
Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins
2011

2210 Mission to Mars
Brian De Palma
Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, Kim Delaney
2000

2209 The Skulls
Rob Cohen
Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker
2000

2208 The War at Home
Emilio Estevez
Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez
1996

2207 Assault on Precinct 13
Jean-Francois Richet
Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne
2005

2206 Who Was That Lady?
George Sidney
Dean Martin, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh
1960

2205 Rising Sun
Philip Kaufman
Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel
1993

2204 Reap the Wild Wind
Cecil B. DeMille
John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland
1942

2203 The Mission
Roland Joffé
Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro
1986

2202 The Haunting
Jan de Bont
Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, Owen Wilson
1999

2201 I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Dennis Dugan
Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel
2007

2200 Mighty Aphrodite
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Rapaport
1995

2199 The Good German
Steven Soderbergh
George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire
2006

2198 The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick
Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain
2011

2197 Mrs. Doubtfire
Chris Columbus
Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday, Robert Prosky, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson
1993

2196 Exodus
Otto Preminger
Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Sal Mineo, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Jill Haworth, John Derek
1960

2195 Funny Girl
William Wyler
Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Walter Pidgeon
1968

2194 Moonlight and Valentino
David Anspaugh
Elizabeth Perkins, Whoopi Goldberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kathleen Turner
1995

2193 The American
Anton Corbjin
George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli
2010

2192 Gung Ho
Ron Howard
Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, Mimi Rogers
1986

2191 Lone Star
Vincent Sherman
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner
1952

2190 My Best Friend's Girl
Howard Deutch
Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Alec Baldwin
2008

2189 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher
Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson
2011

2188 The Peacemaker
Mimi Leder
George Clooney, Nicole Kidman
1997

2187 Rocky Mountain
William Keighley
Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore
1950

2186 Life with Feathers
Friz Freleng
Tweety, Sylvester
1945

2185 Legal Eagles
Ivan Reitman
Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah
1986

2184 The Freshman
Andrew Bergman
Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando, Bruno Kirby
1990

2183 The Scorpion King
Chuck Russell
Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu
2002

2182 Tea for Two
David Butler
Doris Day, Gordon MacRae
1950

2181 The Wrong Man
Alfred Hitchcock
Henry Fonda, Vera Miles
1956

2180 The Detective
Gordon Douglas
Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset, Jack Klugman, William Windom, Ralph Meeker, Robert Duvall
1968

2179 The Bridges of Madison County
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep
1995

2178 Bolero
John Derek
Bo Derek, George Kennedy, Olivia d'Abo
1984

2177 The Greatest Game Ever Played
Bill Paxton
Shia LaBeouf
2005

2176 Fantastic Voyage
Richard Fleischer
Raquel Welch, Stephen Boyd, Edmond O'Brien
1966

2175 Mac and Me
Stewart Raffill
Christine Ebersole
1988

2174 The Virgin Queen
Henry Koster
Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins
1955

2173 S.O.B.
Blake Edwards
Julie Andrews, William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Robert Preston, Robert Webber, Robert Vaughn, Craig Stevens, Loretta Swit
1981

2172 Alice in Wonderland
Clyde Geronimi
Kathryn Beaumont
1951

2171 That's Entertainment, Part II
Gene Kelly
Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly
1976

2170 The Barefoot Contessa
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Rossano Brazzi, Edmond O'Brien
1954

2169 The Subject Was Roses
Ulu Grosbard
Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen
1968

2168 Executive Action
David Miller
Burt Lancaster, Will Geer
1973

2167 The Musketeer
Peter Hyams
Tim Roth, Catherine Deneuve, Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Justin Chambers
2001

2166 Hitch
Andy Tennant
Will Smith, Kevin James, Eva Mendes
2005

2165 88 Minutes
Jon Avnet
Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, William Forsythe, Neal McDonough
2008

2164 Dark Victory
Edmund Goulding
Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan
1939

Thankful Thursday

I don’t want to sound corny, but today I am thankful to be alive. I was thinking about this the other day while thinking about one of the athletes we will be looking at on here in a couple of weeks. He was in a car accident and died at the age of 20. I won’t get into all the things I did growing up that could have killed me (riding my bike from our house on JI to MaMa and Da’s house in West Ashley… before the JI connector was built, walking/riding bikes down Savannah Highway… stuff like that). Just since the age of 20, I have had a loaded gun pointed at me and been in a wreck so bad that my truck rolled down US17 North smashing the top down. I don’t want to sound like a drama queen here, but people have died from less. I never really thought during either event that I was going to die… maybe that was the hand of God keeping me calm… or maybe God just made me dumb enough that at the time I didn’t know I was knock, knock, knocking on Heaven’s door. I mean really, when a guy points a gun at you and says “Give me your wallet,” the smart move is to give him your wallet. But no… not me. I’m so freakin’ lazy that I (without thinking) talked the guy into just taking my cash. Why? Because I didn’t want to go through all of the crap of getting a new drivers license and calling the bank and credit card companies to tell them my cards were stolen. And this was the Monday after my cousin Louis’ bachelor party weekend… You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that wouldn’t have been the best time for me to die.

Later that same year was when the wreck happened. I was in the left hand lane about to pass a guy while on my way to an American Legion baseball game. I guess he didn’t see me because he went to make a U-turn (yes, from the right hand lane). It happened so fast that all I really remember is thinking if I didn’t swerve I was going to slam right into the backdoor of this guy’s SUV… and I remember seeing a kid sitting in that back seat. At the speed I was going, there was no way I was going to stop in time. So, I jerked the wheel to the left and stepped hard on the gas. For a split second, I thought I had somehow gotten by the SUV so I went to straighten out (didn’t want to cross the median and go into oncoming traffic). Then there was a loud bang/crash-like sound. He hit me in the back of the truck on the passenger side causing me to go into a spin, which caused the truck to go into a roll (and at times slide upside down). I don’t know how long it all took, but I do remember quoting lines from Top Gun (don’t judge me) while I was still moving. The truck ended up right side up in the median. I don’t know how it looked from the outside, but the first people to get to me looked pretty freaked out. It was a bad enough wreck that it probably could have killed me or at least seriously injured me. All I got was a small scratch on my elbow that I don’t think even left a scar. I don’t know why or how I lived through those events… I just trust that God wasn’t ready for me so he kept me alive. Since then I’ve made some great friends and fathered three outstanding children… and, of course, created one of the hottest blogs on the internet today. Life is good… and for that, I am thankful.