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Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Sergeant First Class Loren R. Kaufman (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 4-5, 1950, near Yongsan, Korea. His citation reads:

Sfc. Kaufman distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. On the night of 4 September the company was in a defensive position on 2 adjoining hills. His platoon was occupying a strong point 2 miles away protecting the battalion flank. Early on 5 September the company was attacked by an enemy battalion and his platoon was ordered to reinforce the company. As his unit moved along a ridge it encountered a hostile encircling force. Sfc. Kaufman, running forward, bayoneted the lead scout and engaged the column in a rifle and grenade assault. His quick Vicious attack so surprised the enemy that they retreated in confusion. When his platoon joined the company he discovered that the enemy had taken commanding ground and pinned the company down in a draw. Without hesitation Sfc. Kaufman charged the enemy lines firing his rifle and throwing grenades. During the action, he bayoneted 2 enemy and seizing an unmanned machine gun, delivered deadly fire on the defenders. Following this encounter the company regrouped and resumed the attack. Leading the assault he reached the ridge, destroyed a hostile machine gun position, and routed the remaining enemy. Pursuing the hostile troops he bayoneted 2 more and then rushed a mortar position shooting the gunners. Remnants of the enemy fled to a village and Sfc. Kaufman led a patrol into the town, dispersed them, and burned the buildings. The dauntless courage and resolute intrepid leadership of Sfc. Kaufman were directly responsible for the success of his company in regaining its positions, reflecting distinct credit upon himself and upholding the esteemed traditions of the military service.

Corporal August Kauss (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on April 1, 1865, at Five Forks, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of battle flag.

Corporal Terry Teruo Kawamura (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on March 20, 1969, at Camp Radcliff, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Cpl. Kawamura distinguished himself by heroic action while serving as a member of the 173d Engineer Company. An enemy demolition team infiltrated the unit quarters area and opened fire with automatic weapons. Disregarding the intense fire, Cpl. Kawamura ran for his weapon. At that moment, a violent explosion tore a hole in the roof and stunned the occupants of the room. Cpl. Kawamura jumped to his feet, secured his weapon and, as he ran toward the door to return the enemy fire, he observed that another explosive charge had been thrown through the hole in the roof to the floor. He immediately realized that 2 stunned fellow soldiers were in great peril and shouted a warning. Although in a position to escape, Cpl. Kawamura unhesitatingly wheeled around and threw himself on the charge. In completely disregarding his safety, Cpl. Kawamura prevented serious injury or death to several members of his unit. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by Cpl. Kawamura are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.


With a special birthday on the way, I decided to call an audible and spotlight a South Carolina athlete today and have pictures on Friday. Just a fair warning… you’ll want to block out some time on Friday to read the blog. Anyway, back to today…


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

Our SC Athlete you should know this week is former Clemson running back Kenny Flowers. Kenny played at Clemson from 1983 to 1986. His best year for the Tigers was in 1985 when Kenny ran for 1,200 yards and rushed for 13 TDs. His yards per game average that season was 109.1 yards. In 44 career games at Clemson, Flowers rushed for a total 2,914 yards and 26 TDs while catching a total of 17 passes for 192 yards and 2 TDs. Kenny was selected with the 31st pick in the 2nd round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He had a short NFL career with only 1 TD while rushing for under 100 yards for his career. While his pro career didn’t turn out all that well, he’s still one of the best running backs to play for the Tigers. Congrats to Kenny Flowers for being our SC Athlete You Should Know.