700TH post!!!!!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

First Lieutenant Victor L. Kandle (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on October 9, 1944, near La Forge, France. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 9 October 1944, at about noon, near La Forge, France, 1st Lt. Kandle, while leading a reconnaissance patrol into enemy territory, engaged in a duel at pointblank range with a German field officer and killed him. Having already taken 5 enemy prisoners that morning, he led a skeleton platoon of 16 men, reinforced with a light machinegun squad, through fog and over precipitous mountain terrain to fall on the rear of a German quarry stronghold which had checked the advance of an infantry battalion for 2 days. Rushing forward, several yards ahead of his assault elements, 1st Lt. Kandle fought his way into the heart of the enemy strongpoint, and, by his boldness and audacity, forced the Germans to surrender. Harassed by machinegun fire from a position which he had bypassed in the dense fog, he moved to within 15 yards of the enemy, killed a German machinegunner with accurate rifle fire and led his men in the destruction of another machinegun crew and its rifle security elements. Finally, he led his small force against a fortified house held by 2 German officers and 30 enlisted men. After establishing a base of fire, he rushed forward alone through an open clearing in full view of the enemy, smashed through a barricaded door, and forced all 32 Germans to surrender. His intrepidity and bold leadership resulted in the capture or killing of 3 enemy officers and 54 enlisted men, the destruction of 3 enemy strongpoints, and the seizure of enemy positions which had halted a battalion attack.

Corporal John Kane (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 2, 1865, at Petersburg, Virginia. His citation reads:

Gallantry as color bearer in the assault on Fort Gregg.

Colonel John R. Kane (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 1, 1943, at Ploetsi Raid, Rumania. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry in action and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 1 August 1943. On this date he led the third element of heavy bombardment aircraft in a mass low-level bombing attack against the vitally important enemy target of the Ploesti oil refineries. En route to the target, which necessitated a round-trip flight of over 2,400 miles, Col. Kane's element became separated from the leading portion of the massed formation in avoiding dense and dangerous cumulous cloud conditions over mountainous terrain. Rather than turn back from such a vital mission he elected to proceed to his target. Upon arrival at the target area it was discovered that another group had apparently missed its target and had previously attacked and damaged the target assigned to Col. Kane's element. Despite the thoroughly warned defenses, the intensive antiaircraft fire, enemy fighter airplanes, extreme hazards on a low-level attack of exploding delayed action bombs from the previous element, of oil fires and explosions and dense smoke over the target area, Col. Kane elected to lead his formation into the attack. By his gallant courage, brilliant leadership, and superior flying skill, he and the formation under his command successfully attacked this vast refinery so essential to our enemies' war effort. Through his conspicuous gallantry in this most hazardous action against the enemy, and by his intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Col. Kane personally contributed vitally to the success of this daring mission and thereby rendered most distinguished service in the furtherance of the defeat of our enemies.


Happy 700th post!!! Hope you’ve had as much fun as I have!


The I’m just sayin… Know Your South Carolina Athlete

As a young lad watching Clemson football I can remember one of my favorite players on the offensive side of the ball was wide receiver Gary Cooper. He was the “big play” guy back before the world knew about guys like CJ Spiller and Sammy Watkins. He was a threat when Clemson would run a reverse or throw a deep pass (both trick plays for the Tigers back then). Like all receivers back then, Coop could also throw blocks when needed to help the Clemson running backs pile up yards. Most people probably only remember Keith Jennings from the receiving corps back then (if they remember any of them), but trust me when I tell you Gary Cooper was the man. This was long before Clemson recruited receivers that actually wanted to go to Clemson to run with a wide-open offense. If you went to Clemson then it was because you didn’t mind blocking. Cooper didn’t go from Pennsylvania to Clemson because of the offense. He went because he wanted to play on a team that had a chance to win a national championship. While the Tigers didn’t do that while he was there, they did win a good many games.

While the 1988 FSU game didn’t end the way most (any) Clemson fans wanted, Cooper was a bright spot in that game. There was a play when Rodney Williams started down the line to the left side on an option play. Chip Davis (another WR) intercepted the pitch, reversing the play to the right. He didn’t turn upfield… instead he pulled up to pass. The former high school quarterback heaved a pass downfield to Cooper. The Florida State defensive back fell as Coop ran past him. Coop caught the ball in stride and ran to the end zone, 61 yards from where the play had started.

He played in 47 games from 1985 to 1989 (he played in two games in 1985 before breaking his hand). He caught 79 passes for 1592 yards and 11 touchdowns. He rushed the ball 14 times for 142 yards a two touchdowns.

Cooper was drafted by the Saints in the 10th round of the 1990 draft, but he never played a game in the NFL. He did play some in Canada in the World League of American Football. His life took a turn in June of 1991 when he was in a car accident that left him without the use of his legs. I’m not sure what has happened to him since then… I think he is still alive, but honestly I’m not 100% sure about that. I can tell you, though, that I still consider him to be one of the best to ever play for the Tigers. Congrats to Gary Cooper for being our SC Athlete you should know.