Wedding Report

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Commander Howard Walter Gilmore (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on February 7, 1943, on board the USS Growler. His citation reads:

For distinguished gallantry and valor above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Growler during her Fourth War Patrol in the Southwest Pacific from 10 January to 7 February 1943. Boldly striking at the enemy in spite of continuous hostile air and antisubmarine patrols, Comdr. Gilmore sank one Japanese freighter and damaged another by torpedo fire, successfully evading severe depth charges following each attack. In the darkness of night on 7 February, an enemy gunboat closed range and prepared to ram the Growler. Comdr. Gilmore daringly maneuvered to avoid the crash and rammed the attacker instead, ripping into her port side at 11 knots and bursting wide her plates. In the terrific fire of the sinking gunboat's heavy machineguns, Comdr. Gilmore calmly gave the order to clear the bridge, and refusing safety for himself, remained on deck while his men preceded him below. Struck down by the fusillade of bullets and having done his utmost against the enemy, in his final living moments, Comdr. Gilmore gave his last order to the officer of the deck, "Take her down." The Growler dived; seriously damaged but under control, she was brought safely to port by her well-trained crew inspired by the courageous fighting spirit of their dead captain.

Major John C. Gilmore (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 3, 1863, at Salem Heights, Virginia. His citation reads:

Seized the colors of his regiment and gallantly rallied his men under a very severe fire.

Private Patrick Ginley (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 25, 1864, at Reams State, Virginia. His citation reads:

The command having been driven from the works, he, having been left alone between the opposing lines, crept back into the works, put 3 charges of canister in one of the guns, and fired the piece directly into a body of the enemy about to seize the works; he then rejoined his command, took the colors, and ran toward the enemy, followed by the command, which recaptured the works and guns.


First, we aren’t going to have our regular weigh-in because with all of the travel this weekend I wasn’t able to get all of our weights. So, we’ll get back to that next week.

Before I talk about the wedding, let me first talk about the night before the wedding. We went to Tiger Town Tavern... That's about all I remember about the night before. I'm sure it was fun, though. ;)

As for the wedding and reception, I'll tell you what I remember. We will have pictures and videos tomorrow along with some random thoughts I had during the wedding/reception.

The Wife was the wedding director and I have to say she did a great job. Word on the street is that she used the whistle I gave her during the Rehearsal.

The wedding was at the First Baptist Church in Clemson (a sign I saw said they've been there over 100 years). I asked Sonny if that was the church he went to when he was in school. He just laughed and said he didn't think it was there when he was in school. That Sonny...

The wedding was scheduled for 5:00 pm. I assume this was because they wanted to give the temperature enough time to get over 120 degrees.

While it was scheduled for 5:00, the grandparents were seated at 4:55... So I count that as the actual start time.

Congrats to my nephew Austin... He guessed the ceremony would last 39 minutes & I think it ended up lasting about 36-37 minutes. I had guessed 40, while Sonny guessed 45. Cougar guessed 35... which was close, but not long enough.

This might come as a shock, but I was able to show some self control during the ceremony. It was near the beginning… the Mother of the Groom sat on what I assume was the wrong pew (I’m guessing the game plan had her on the pew in front of the one she ended up sitting on). No big deal, except when the Father of the Bride brought the Mother of the Bride down the aisle… He tried to get her to sit on the correct row (following the game plan). The Mother of the Bride, having seen where the Mother of the Groom was sitting, decided to change her seat. This led to one of the best early moments of the wedding with the FOB trying to bump the MOB into one pew while the MOB tried to elbow her way back to the other pew. Honestly, it took no time at all for this whole thing and I’d guess 99% of the people didn’t even notice it. But it was right in front of me so I enjoyed seeing it. Anyway, I’m sure you’re asking yourself how this is an example of me showing self control. Well, as this was going on, I REALLY wanted to yell “OHHHHH, SIT DOWN!!!!!” But I didn’t… because I was showing self control.

Overall, the wedding was great. Everything was perfect (from my point of view, at least).

The reception was also perfect. Mary Ruth caught the bouquet… making a lot of guys who were there with their girlfriends very happy.

Remember to check back tomorrow to see the pictures/videos/and random thoughts from this past weekend.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot… CONGRATS to Susan and Bryan! May your whole marriage be as good as your wedding/reception.