HAPPY 1,000th POST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

First Lieutenant John Vincent Power (US Marine Corps) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on February 1, 1944, on Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as platoon leader, attached to the 4th Marine Division, during the landing and battle of Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1 February 1944. Severely wounded in the stomach while setting a demolition charge on a Japanese pillbox, 1st Lt. Power was steadfast in his determination to remain in action. Protecting his wound with his left hand and firing with his right, he courageously advanced as another hostile position was taken under attack, fiercely charging the opening made by the explosion and emptying his carbine into the pillbox. While attempting to reload and continue the attack, 1st Lt. Power was shot again in the stomach and head and collapsed in the doorway. His exceptional valor, fortitude and indomitable fighting spirit in the face of withering enemy fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Lieutenant John James Powers (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions from May 4-8, 1942, in the Coral Sea area. His citation reads:

For distinguished and conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while pilot of an airplane of Bombing Squadron 5, Lt. Powers participated, with his squadron, in 5 engagements with Japanese forces in the Coral Sea area and adjacent waters during the period 4 to 8 May 1942. Three attacks were made on enemy objectives at or near Tulagi on 4 May. In these attacks he scored a direct hit which instantly demolished a large enemy gunboat or destroyer and is credited with 2 close misses, 1 of which severely damaged a large aircraft tender, the other damaging a 20,000-ton transport. He fearlessly strafed a gunboat, firing all his ammunition into it amid intense antiaircraft fire. This gunboat was then observed to be leaving a heavy oil slick in its wake and later was seen beached on a nearby island. On 7 May, an attack was launched against an enemy airplane carrier and other units of the enemy's invasion force. He fearlessly led his attack section of 3 Douglas Dauntless dive bombers, to attack the carrier. On this occasion he dived in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire, to an altitude well below the safety altitude, at the risk of his life and almost certain damage to his own plane, in order that he might positively obtain a hit in a vital part of the ship, which would insure her complete destruction. This bomb hit was noted by many pilots and observers to cause a tremendous explosion engulfing the ship in a mass of flame, smoke, and debris. The ship sank soon after. That evening, in his capacity as Squadron Gunnery Officer, Lt. Powers gave a lecture to the squadron on point-of-aim and diving technique. During this discourse he advocated low release point in order to insure greater accuracy; yet he stressed the danger not only from enemy fire and the resultant low pull-out, but from own bomb blast and bomb fragments. Thus his low-dive bombing attacks were deliberate and premeditated, since he well knew and realized the dangers of such tactics, but went far beyond the call of duty in order to further the cause which he knew to be right. The next morning, 8 May, as the pilots of the attack group left the ready room to man planes, his indomitable spirit and leadership were well expressed in his own words, "Remember the folks back home are counting on us. 1 am going to get a hit if 1 have to lay it on their flight deck.'' He led his section of dive bombers down to the target from an altitude of 18,000 feet, through a wall of bursting antiaircraft shells and into the face of enemy fighter planes. Again, completely disregarding the safety altitude and without fear or concern for his safety, Lt. Powers courageously pressed home his attack, almost to the very deck of an enemy carrier and did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct hit. He was last seen attempting recovery from his dive at the extremely low altitude of 200 feet, and amid a terrific barrage of shell and bomb fragments, smoke, flame and debris from the stricken vessel.

Private First Class Leo J. Powers (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on February 3, 1994, northwest of Cassino, Italy. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 3 February 1944, this soldier's company was assigned the mission of capturing Hill 175, the key enemy strong point northwest of Cassino, Italy. The enemy, estimated to be at least 50 in strength, supported by machineguns emplaced in 3 pillboxes and mortar fire from behind the hill, was able to pin the attackers down and inflict 8 casualties. The company was unable to advance, but Pfc. Powers, a rifleman in 1 of the assault platoons, on his own initiative and in the face of the terrific fire, crawled forward to assault 1 of the enemy pillboxes which he had spotted. Armed with 2 handgrenades and well aware that if the enemy should see him it would mean almost certain death, Pfc. Powers crawled up the hill to within 15 yards of the enemy pillbox. Then standing upright in full view of the enemy gunners in order to throw his grenade into the small opening in the roof, he tossed a grenade into the pillbox. At this close, the grenade entered the pillbox, killed 2 of the occupants and 3 or 4 more fled the position, probably wounded. This enemy gun silenced, the center of the line was able to move forward again, but almost immediately came under machinegun fire from a second enemy pillbox on the left flank. Pfc. Powers, however, had located this pillbox, and crawled toward it with absolutely no cover if the enemy should see him. Raising himself in full view of the enemy gunners about 15 feet from the pillbox, Pfc. Powers threw his grenade into the pillbox, silencing this gun, killing another German and probably wounding 3 or 4 more who fled. Pfc. Powers, still acting on his own initiative, commenced crawling toward the third enemy pillbox in the face of heavy machine-pistol and machinegun fire. Skillfully availing himself of the meager cover and concealment, Pfc. Powers crawled up to within 10 yards of this pillbox fully exposed himself to the enemy gunners, stood upright and tossed the 2 grenades into the small opening in the roof of the pillbox. His grenades killed 2 of the enemy and 4 more, all wounded, came out and surrendered to Pfc. Powers, who was now unarmed. Pfc. Powers had worked his way over the entire company front, and against tremendous odds had single-handedly broken the backbone of this heavily defended and strategic enemy position, and enabled his regiment to advance into the city of Cassino. Pfc. Powers' fighting determination and intrepidity in battle exemplify the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.


This is the 1,000th post of I’m just sayin…!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to take a minute to thank all of you (family, friends, friends of family and friends, NSA agents, Chinese spies…) for taking the time to stop by and visit. I wish I could post something every day, but I did that one year and it almost killed me. So I will stick to the schedule that I have (it seems to be working). I think we’ve done some great things on here and I’m excited to see what the future holds for the I’m just sayin… staff. Perhaps before we reach our 2,000th post we will have won the wars on hunger, poverty and bad music. Until then… Let’s take a look at my Top 5 list…

5   The Andy Griffith Show

4   The Cosby Show

3   Matlock

2   PSYCH

1   NCIS


The I’m just sayin… Top 747 TV Shows of All-Time


Below we will have the rank, show, and years that the show ran (and sometimes any notes/thoughts I might have).


54   Friday Night Lights   2006-2011  

53   Doogie Howser, M.D.   1989-1993   Who didn't love this show? A teenage boy genius who has to deal with "regular" teen stuff while also being a supersmart doctor.

52   Diagnosis: Murder   1993-2001  

51   24   2001-2010   Highly rated show for many years… I know it has a big fan base…

50   Chappelle's Show   2003-2006   This was a GREAT show and would probably be ranked higher if Chappelle hadn't walked away from it…

49   Curb Your Enthusiasm   2000-present   I don't like it as much as some people do… but it does have it's moments

48   30 Rock   2006-2013   A lot of funny people were on this show.

47   JAG   1995-2005   This is the show that spunoff my #1 show. I remember watching this one with Dad while I was in high school and home from college.

46   Card Sharks   1978–1981, 1986–1989, 2001–2002   What a great game! I'm not sure why it never had a long run…

45   Modern Family   2009-present   If you haven't seen this show, you're missing out big time. It is very, very funny and will probably have a much better ranking in future polls.

44   Bewitched   1964-1972  

43   Columbo   1968-1978, 1989-2003   A fun "whodoneit" type show with an "awe shucks" type lead character.

42   America's Most Wanted   1988-2011   This show isn't on anymore, which leads me to believe they caught all of the bad guys…

41   American Bandstand   1952-1989   Great music and great dancing. Well… at least great music (for the most part).

40   Batman   1966-1968   Adam West as Batman… that's what I'm talking 'bout…