HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH!!!!!!!!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Master Sergeant Mike C. Pena (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 4, 1950, at Waegwan, Korea. His citation reads:

Pena is being recognized for his actions on the evening of Sept. 4, 1950, near Waegwan, Korea, when his unit was fiercely attacked. During the course of the counter-attack, Pena realized that their ammunition was running out, and ordered his unit to retreat. Pena then manned a machine-gun to cover their withdrawal. He single-handedly held back the enemy until morning when his position was overrun, and he was killed.

Corporal Charles F. Pendleton (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on July 17, 1953, near Choo Gung-Dong, Korea. His citation reads:

Cpl. Pendleton, a machine gunner with Company D, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. After consolidating and establishing a defensive perimeter on a key terrain feature, friendly elements were attacked by a large hostile force. Cpl. Pendleton delivered deadly accurate fire into the approaching troops, killing approximately 15 and disorganizing the remainder with grenades. Unable to protect the flanks because of the narrow confines of the trench, he removed the machine gun from the tripod and, exposed to enemy observation, positioned it on his knee to improve his firing vantage. Observing a hostile infantryman jumping into the position, intent on throwing a grenade at his comrades, he whirled about and killed the attacker, then inflicted such heavy casualties on the enemy force that they retreated to regroup. After reorganizing, a second wave of hostile soldiers moved forward in an attempt to overrun the position and, later, when a hostile grenade landed nearby, Cpl. Pendleton quickly retrieved and hurled it back at the foe. Although he was burned by the hot shells ejecting from his weapon, and he was wounded by a grenade, he refused evacuation and continued to fire on the assaulting force. As enemy action increased in tempo, his machine gun was destroyed by a grenade but, undaunted, he grabbed a carbine and continued his heroic defense until mortally wounded by a mortar burst. Cpl. Pendleton's unflinching courage, gallant self-sacrifice, and consummate devotion to duty reflect lasting glory upon himself and uphold the finest traditions of the military service.

Staff Sergeant Jack J. Pendleton (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on October 12, 1944, at Bardenberg, Germany. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 12 October 1944. When Company I was advancing on the town of Bardenberg, Germany, they reached a point approximately two-thirds of the distance through the town when they were pinned down by fire from a nest of enemy machineguns. This enemy strong point was protected by a lone machinegun strategically placed at an intersection and firing down a street which offered little or no cover or concealment for the advancing troops. The elimination of this protecting machinegun was imperative in order that the stronger position it protected could be neutralized. After repeated and unsuccessful attempts had been made to knock out this position, S/Sgt. Pendleton volunteered to lead his squad in an attempt to neutralize this strongpoint. S/Sgt. Pendleton started his squad slowly forward, crawling about 10 yards in front of his men in the advance toward the enemy gun. After advancing approximately 130 yards under the withering fire, S/Sgt. Pendleton was seriously wounded in the leg by a burst from the gun he was assaulting. Disregarding his grievous wound, he ordered his men to remain where they were, and with a supply of handgrenades he slowly and painfully worked his way forward alone. With no hope of surviving the veritable hail of machinegun fire which he deliberately drew onto himself, he succeeded in advancing to within 10 yards of the enemy position when he was instantly killed by a burst from the enemy gun. By deliberately diverting the attention of the enemy machine gunners upon himself, a second squad was able to advance, undetected, and with the help of S/Sgt. Pendleton's squad, neutralized the lone machinegun, while another platoon of his company advanced up the intersecting street and knocked out the machinegun nest which the first gun had been covering. S/Sgt. Pendleton's sacrifice enabled the entire company to continue the advance and complete their mission at a critical phase of the action.


Happy Birthday to my sweet niece Leah (Teresa Lynn’s oldest)!!!!!!! I’m sure I’ve said this before (& hope I say it again every year on her birthday), but I remember the day she was born. I was a sophomore at Winthrop living in Richardson. I came back to my room after taking a shower and saw a note from my roommate that my sister had her baby. So I called Teresa Lynn to find out all the important things (I was going to be a “good uncle” and write down things like size, weight, name… knowing that I would only really remember the name part). I asked the important questions and, as I suspected, I have since forgotten all of the answers… except one. When I asked for her name, I was given the always memorable answer of “We don’t know yet”. Now, I don’t know how long Teresa Lynn knew she was pregnant, but let’s be conservative and say she knew she was pregnant for at least 6 months. That’s six months she knew she’d need to have a name picked out. I don’t remember if she knew she was having a boy or girl, but I think it’s safe to say she knew it would be either a boy or a girl. So, knowing this information, we now can safely assume that Teresa Lynn had 6 months to pick a boy name and/or a girl name. 20 year old Greg with no children (which I was back then) thought that this was plenty of time to come up with a name. 35 year old Greg with 3 children can confirm that 20 year old Greg with no children was, as I suspected, completely right. I don’t remember how long it took Teresa Lynn and Brent to pick a name, but I think it was more than a day. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH!!!!!!!!! WE hope you have a GREAT day!!!!!!!!!!