RIP Mrs. Henderson and Uncle Gene

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Private Charles Daily (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions from August to October 1868 in Arizona. His citation reads:

Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.

Technical Sergeant Peter J. Dalessondro (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on December 22, 1944 near Kalterherberg, Germany. His citation reads:

He was with the 1st Platoon holding an important road junction on high ground near Kalterherberg, Germany, on 22 December 1944. In the early morning hours, the enemy after laying down an intense artillery and mortar barrage, followed through with an all-out attack that threatened to overwhelm the position. T/Sgt. Dalessondro, seeing that his men were becoming disorganized, braved the intense fire to move among them with words of encouragement. Advancing to a fully exposed observation post, he adjusted mortar fire upon the attackers, meanwhile firing upon them with his rifle and encouraging his men in halting and repulsing the attack. Later in the day the enemy launched a second determined attack. Once again, T/Sgt. Dalessondro, in the face of imminent death, rushed to his forward position and immediately called for mortar fire. After exhausting his rifle ammunition, he crawled 30 yards over exposed ground to secure a light machinegun, returned to his position, and fired upon the enemy at almost pointblank range until the gun jammed. He managed to get the gun to fire 1 more burst, which used up his last round, but with these bullets he killed 4 German soldiers who were on the verge of murdering an aid man and 2 wounded soldiers in a nearby foxhole. When the enemy had almost surrounded him, he remained alone, steadfastly facing almost certain death or capture, hurling grenades and calling for mortar fire closer and closer to his outpost as he covered the withdrawal of his platoon to a second line of defense. As the German hordes swarmed about him, he was last heard calling for a barrage, saying, "OK, mortars, let me have it--right in this position!" The gallantry and intrepidity shown by T/Sgt. Dalessondro against an overwhelming enemy attack saved his company from complete rout.

Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Joseph Daly (US Marine Corps) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 14, 1900. His citation reads:

FIRST AWARD In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 14 August 1900, Daly distinguished himself by meritorious conduct. SECOND AWARD Serving with the 15th Company of Marines on 22 October 1915, G/Sgt. Daly was one of the company to leave Fort Liberte, Haiti, for a 6-day reconnaissance. After dark on the evening of 24 October, while crossing the river in a deep ravine, the detachment was suddenly fired upon from 3 sides by about 400 Cacos concealed in bushes about 100 yards from the fort. The marine detachment fought its way forward to a good position, which it maintained during the night, although subjected to a continuous fre from the Cacos. At daybreak the marines, in 3 squads, advanced in 3 different directions, surprising and scattering the Cacos in all directions. G/Sgt. Daly fought with exceptional gallantry against heavy odds throughout this action.


Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that God put Uncle Gene and Mrs. Henderson in my life. It would be pretty bad of me to acknowledge the passing of singer (albeit a very good singer) and not the passing of my Great-Uncle Gene and one of my first friends, Mrs. Henderson. These are two people who put the “Great” in the Greatest Generation. Uncle Gene (Eugene S. Horres, Sr.) was the youngest of nine children. He attended George Washington University and served in the Navy (Navy, not Army… suck it, Sonny). You can read his obituary here. You will notice that like all of the youngest children in our family, Uncle Gene did some great things. Let’s be honest, most of you won’t click on that link so I’ll post parts of the obit here:

Mr. Horres was born July14, 1917 in Holly Hill, SC, the son of Henry Horres and Ethel Rumph Horres was the last of nine children. He attended George Washington University and served with the United States Navy as an esteemed member of Special Devices Division, an elite research and development program during World War II. He was described by his colleagues as "one of the columns holding up the temple," noted for his ideas and inventions which were classified at that time. During the war, he was sent to South America to assist in training Allied Sailors on how to fire artillery and utilize other ordnance on warships. Upon Discharge from the Navy, he continued his inventive ways with The Douglas Leigh Company, an advertising powerhouse in New York City. Douglas Leigh and his company were responsible for designing the lighting of the iconic Empire State building. While in New York City, he designed many famous signs that appeared on Times Square and Broadway, including billboards for Supersuds with huge bubbles pouring out of the top and Dormin over the counter sleeping aids with the slogan "Get your ZZZs with Dormin." He also designed lights on airships (Pegasus on the Mobil and Goodyear Blimps during a stint for the company in California). Following eight years in New York, he returned to Charleston, married Ramona Blocker and started a successful real estate development company. He joined the National Ass'n of Realtors in 1960, and built the first commercial spec homes on Kiawah and in Eastwood on James Island. His hobbies including flying private aircraft, exotic automobiles, motorcycling, golf, inventing useful and helpful machines such as the contact lens inserter and cartridge audio tape system which he patented (the forerunner to the 8-Track Tape System), computers, music (he starred in several Off- Broadway musical productions, and scored a Hollywood screen test while out in California). He had a "long and wonderful life," he said, and a man of faith, he believed God was watching over him. He was a member of John Wesley United Methodist Church since 1955 where he taught Sunday School and enjoyed singing in the Chancel Choir. He stayed active in church until his health prohibited him from attending. He had a generous and giving spirit no matter what his personal financial situation, one example being he gave a stranger $300.00 to get his wife out of the hospital. Of all his many accomplishments in life, he was most proud on his family and was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

I remember when I was little, Uncle Gene tried to get me to ride on his motorcycle with him. I would have… but MaMa didn’t want me to, so I didn’t. More recently, Mom and Dad took Mary Ruth over to visit Uncle Gene and Aunt Ramona sometime right before Christmas.  While there, Uncle Gene showed Mary Ruth a trick where he removed his thumb and then put it back together.  She talked about that trick the whole way home from James Island and kept talking about it for weeks after.  Uncle Gene was a great man and he will be missed.

Mrs. Henderson (Martha Myers Logan Henderson) was one of my next door neighbors when I was a young lad growing up on James Island (which is Latin for “God’s Land”). If you were to read her obituary you would see that she was 101 when she died a little over a week ago. I found this rather odd when I read it because I could have sworn that she was at least 90 back in the late 1980s.

Mrs. Henderson was born on July 9, 1910 in Tokushima, Japan… she was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries Charles A. and Patty M. Logan. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1932. She had a long and happy marriage to Presbyterian minister, Rev. Dr. John D. Henderson (deceased), who had pastorates in Spartanburg, SC and Miami, FL. She lived on James Island for 20 years before moving to Presbyterian Home in Summerville, SC and more recently to Day Spring Assisted Living in Hollywood, SC.

 Growing up I would walk over to her house everyday… or every other day… or every so often. Ok, my memory isn’t all that great… but I do remember going over to her house and just talking to her. We would also play games and she would tell me Bible stories and I would “help” her with yard work. I say “help”… I’m pretty sure I was helping her but like I said, it was a long time ago and I was pretty young so she may have just humored me and told me I was helping. You might just think this sounds sweet… but think about it. How many (non-crazy) people just let a kid from next door come hangout? Not many, I don’t think. I think it takes a special person and Mrs. Henderson was a special person… and she, too, will be missed.