Another good cause…

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Lieutenant, Junior Grade George McCall Courts (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 21-22, 1914 during the engagements of Vera Cruz. His citation reads:

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Under fire, Lt.(j.g.) Courts was eminent and conspicuous in the performance of his duties. He had well qualified himself by thorough study during his years of duty in Mexico to deal with the conditions of this engagement, and his services were of great value. He twice volunteered and passed in an open boat through the zone of fire to convey important orders to the Chester, then under a severe fire.

Ship’s Cook Third Class Jesse Whitfield Covington (US Navy) received his first Medal of Honor for his actions on April 17, 1918 on the USS Stewart. His citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism following internal explosion of the Florence H. The sea in the vicinity of wreckage was covered by a mass of boxes of smokeless powder, which were repeatedly exploding. Jesse W. Covington, of the U.S.S. Stewart, plunged overboard to rescue a survivor who was surrounded by powder boxes and too exhausted to help himself, fully realizing that similar powder boxes in the vicinity were continually exploding and that he was thereby risking his life in saving the life of this man.

Private First Class Richard Eller Cowan (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on December 17, 1944 near Krinkelter Wald, Belgium. His citation reads:

He was a heavy machinegunner in a section attached to Company I in the vicinity of Krinkelter Wald, Belgium, 17 December 1944, when that company was attacked by a numerically superior force of German infantry and tanks. The first 6 waves of hostile infantrymen were repulsed with heavy casualties, but a seventh drive with tanks killed or wounded all but 3 of his section, leaving Pvt. Cowan to man his gun, supported by only 15 to 20 riflemen of Company I. He maintained his position, holding off the Germans until the rest of the shattered force had set up a new line along a firebreak. Then, unaided, he moved his machinegun and ammunition to the second position. At the approach of a Royal Tiger tank, he held his fire until about 80 enemy infantrymen supporting the tank appeared at a distance of about 150 yards. His first burst killed or wounded about half of these infantrymen. His position was rocked by an 88mm. shell when the tank opened fire, but he continued to man his gun, pouring deadly fire into the Germans when they again advanced. He was barely missed by another shell. Fire from three machineguns and innumerable small arms struck all about him; an enemy rocket shook him badly, but did not drive him from his gun. Infiltration by the enemy had by this time made the position untenable, and the order was given to withdraw. Pvt. Cowan was the last man to leave, voluntarily covering the withdrawal of his remaining comrades. His heroic actions were entirely responsible for allowing the remaining men to retire successfully from the scene of their last-ditch stand.


I decided a while ago that I would use my blog to the best of my ability to help raise money for the things I really care about. That is why I kept asking you on here to donate to my Memory Walk. That’s my thing… I think everyone needs a cause they care enough to give to. I have many… but I also think everyone needs at least one thing they care enough to ask other people to give to. Mine is the Memory Walk. For The Wife, that thing is Pattison’s Academy. If you want to know what it means to be passionate about something, ask The Wife about Pattison’s and then just sit back and watch. You can read more about Pattison’s Academy here. Why am I talking about this? Because The Wife is raising money for Pattison’s and she wants my help. I’m not going to hound you for money. I’ll save my threats and multiple emails for later in the year when I’m raising money for the Memory Walk. I did, however, tell her that I would put something here on I’m just sayin… to give all of you an opportunity to give. I’m not expecting Mitt Romney type giving… just donate what you can. I won’t lie to you… deep down I would like to raise more money than The Wife for this thing just so I can bring it up all the time. I’m just kidding, I wouldn’t do it all the time (just when I’m with her). This would be a perfect time for my friends and family to show us who they love more… me or her. So I think I have something set up on the side of my blog that you can click to go to my donation website. I know what you’re thinking… “But Greg, if I just give $50 then you’ll meet your goal”. True, but don’t worry… I can always make my goal higher. Our team is going to be riding a stationary bike (one at a time, not all at once… though that would make a funny picture) for a total of 4 hours. Right now we’ve got The Wife, one of her employees and me. Word on the street is that my favorite nurse Jen and the 2011 I’m just sayin… Fan of the Year Ashley will also be joining our team. I’ve told The Wife it would be a good idea to try and find a few more team members because I’m more of a walker… not a bike rider. So 1 hour won’t be easy for me. Of course I’ll do it if I have to, but I’d rather not have to. In the next few days and weeks I’ll try to post some videos of Pattison’s so you can see why I agreed to use the power of I’m just sayin… to help.


Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my Mom. As you know, Mom turned 66 a few days ago and it got me to thinking how thankful I am for her. I remember when I was growing up she was an elementary school Music Teacher, Johns Island Presbyterian Church Music Director and she played for weddings and funerals. Now that I’m out of the house, she doesn’t do any of that anymore. It seems it wasn’t a work ethic that kept her working, it was a desire to get away from me. HA! I joke because I care. Really, I joke because it’s my blog and I can… but I still care. Oh, while she was working all of these jobs she also found time to wash and iron all of Dad’s clothes, cook breakfast and dinner (and lunch on the weekends and during the summer) and keep the house spotless. I know some of you think I’m now going to compare her to someone I’m related to by marriage, but I’m not. This is about Mom, not other people. I will say that Mom’s version of cleaning sometimes meant coming into my room and moving a book from one step to another (back then you had to go down 2 or 3 steps to get to my room… all of that has changed now but that’s Dad’s fault, not Mom’s). Some of my favorite memories are from when Granny would come stay at our house. Mom would work all day then come home and cook and clean and then practice for church or choir practice and then finally sit still for the first time in the day… only to hear Granny talk about how Po’ Yvonne (my Aunt) has to work and take care of children. I don’t know how it sounds to you, but I laugh just thinking about it. I also remember the nights Mom would help me study my spelling words for the week. She’d call out a word, I’d spell it… and then I’d look to see she had fallen asleep. Last but not least, I’ll never forget that as she sat at my baseball games she would always yell (as I went up to bat) “HIT THAT BALL!” Honestly, when I was playing baseball I could never really hear the fans… it was all white noise. But I could always hear Mom. I didn’t always listen (as my batting average would show if I’d show it to you). But I tried. I’m sure she’ll think that I’m making fun of her, but I’m not. She might not like that these are my memories but they are and I hope I never forget them. They make me smile (sometimes laugh) and THAT is great (to me, at least). And so, I am thankful for Mom and for all the memories (more than I’ve shared on here) she has given me.