Happy Weekend

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Ordinary Seaman Michael Connolly (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 7, 1876 on board the USS Plymouth. His citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Plymouth, Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia, 7 August 1876. Acting gallantly, Connolly succeeding in rescuing a citizen from drowning on this date.

Sergeant James P. Connor (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 15, 1944 at Cape Cavalaire, southern France. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 15 August 1944, Sgt. Connor, through sheer grit and determination, led his platoon in clearing an enemy vastly superior in numbers and firepower from strongly entrenched positions on Cape Cavalaire, removing a grave enemy threat to his division during the amphibious landing in southern France, and thereby insured safe and uninterrupted landings for the huge volume of men and materiel which followed. His battle patrol landed on "Red Beach" with the mission of destroying the strongly fortified enemy positions on Cape Cavalaire with utmost speed. From the peninsula the enemy had commanding observation and seriously menaced the vast landing operations taking place. Though knocked down and seriously wounded in the neck by a hanging mine which killed his platoon lieutenant, Sgt. Connor refused medical aid and with his driving spirit practically carried the platoon across several thousand yards of mine-saturated beach through intense fire from mortars, 20-mm. flak guns, machineguns, and snipers. En route to the Cape he personally shot and killed 2 snipers. The platoon sergeant was killed and Sgt. Connor became platoon leader. Receiving a second wound, which lacerated his shoulder and back, he again refused evacuation, expressing determination to carry on until physically unable to continue. He reassured and prodded the hesitating men of his decimated platoon forward through almost impregnable mortar concentrations. Again emphasizing the prevalent urgency of their mission, he impelled his men toward a group of buildings honeycombed with enemy snipers and machineguns. Here he received his third grave wound, this time in the leg, felling him in his tracks. Still resolved to carry on, he relinquished command only after his attempts proved that it was physically impossible to stand. Nevertheless, from his prone position, he gave the orders and directed his men in assaulting the enemy. Infused with Sgt. Connor's dogged determination, the platoon, though reduced to less than one-third of its original 36 men, outflanked and rushed the enemy with such furiousness that they killed 7, captured 40, seized 3 machineguns and considerable other materiel, and took all their assigned objectives, successfully completing their mission. By his repeated examples of tenaciousness and indomitable spirit Sgt Connor transmitted his heroism to his men until they became a fighting team which could not be stopped.

Corporal John Connor (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on July 12, 1870 at Wichita River, Texas. His citation reads:

Gallantry in action.


It’s the start of another 3 day weekend! What a great time of the year. Mary Ruth and I are planning on going to the SPCA on Monday to take the dog food, treats, and toys to the doggies. She’s pretty excited (and, I must admit, so am I). So… here’s hoping we don’t come home with another dog.


The I’m just sayin… Kid Show of the Week

Today’s Special: Other than Michael J. Fox, Today’s Special might be the best thing to have come out of Canada. This is a great show that I grew up watching on Nickelodeon. The show ran from 1982 – 1987 and was set in a department store. The main characters were Jeff, Jodie, Sam Crenshaw, and Muffy Mouse. Jeff is a mannequin who comes alive when someone says “hocus pocus alimagocus” while he’s wearing his magic hat. He becomes a mannequin again if his hat falls off. He can’t leave the store because if he does he’ll permantently become a mannequin. Jodie is a store employee who is usually the leader of the group. She mainly works at night after the store is closed (setting up displays and all that). Sam is a puppet who is the security guard. He is the oldest of the group as he was born in 1919. He is a retired member of the merchant marine and is also a widower who has a pet cat (Penelope). Muffy Mouse is also a puppet who lives in the store and speaks in rhymes. She’s afraid of Penelope and doesn’t even like the mention of cats. She likes to ride her scooter and eat snacks. The last time I looked, I couldn’t find this show on DVD. If I could find it, I’d buy it. I don’t know how well it’d hold up after all of these years, but it was one of my favorite shows growing up. Note: I got most of the info for this from Wikipedia… look it up if you want to know more about the show. Here is a clip of the show intro that I found on YouTube:




The I’m just sayin… College Football Playoffs (Playoffs!?) Championship Game:

2 Oklahoma St. (Big 12 Champion) vs. 4 Stanford (At Large) – The BIG GAME is tonight with the Big 12 Champion, #2 Oklahoma State, hosting at large, #4 Stanford. The Cardinal and Andrew Luck look to end the season on a high note as they square off against the Cowboys and their head coach Mike Gundy (he’s a man… he’s [over] 40!). The “experts” didn’t think this game would ever happen (after all, neither school has “SEC speed”)… I guess you never know what will happen when you actually play the games and don’t just pick who gets to play for a title. Oklahoma State has a great team, but I’m going with Luck on this one. I’m picking Stanford to win this game.