Happy Happy Thursday

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Landsman William J. Creelman (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions in February 1897 on board the USS Maine. His citation reads:

Attached to the U.S.S. Maine, February 1897. Distinguishing himself, Creelman showed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during an attempt to save life at sea.

Coxswain George Cregan (US Navy) received his first Medal of Honor for his actions on April 21, 1914 on board the USS Florida at Vera Cruz, Mexico. His citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Florida, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 April 1914. Cregan was ashore when he volunteered for an assault detail under Ens. George Maus Lowry on the Vera Cruz Customhouse under enemy fire both in the alley between the customhouse and warehouse and the assault over objective's walls. During the move up the alley, he tended a wounded comrade, J. F. Schumaker, holding a compress with one hand and firing with the other.

Corporal Michael J. Crescenz (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on November 20, 1968 in the Hiep Duc Valley area, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

Cpl. Crescenz distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a rifleman with Company A. In the morning his unit engaged a large, well-entrenched force of the North Vietnamese Army whose initial burst of fire pinned down the lead squad and killed the 2 point men, halting the advance of Company A. Immediately, Cpl. Crescenz left the relative safety of his own position, seized a nearby machine gun and, with complete disregard for his safety, charged 100 meters up a slope toward the enemy's bunkers which he effectively silenced, killing the 2 occupants of each. Undaunted by the withering machine gun fire around him, Cpl. Crescenz courageously moved forward toward a third bunker which he also succeeded in silencing, killing 2 more of the enemy and momentarily clearing the route of advance for his comrades. Suddenly, intense machine gun fire erupted from an unseen, camouflaged bunker. Realizing the danger to his fellow soldiers, Cpl. Crescenz disregarded the barrage of hostile fire directed at him and daringly advanced toward the position. Assaulting with his machine gun, Cpl. Crescenz was within 5 meters of the bunker when he was mortally wounded by the fire from the enemy machine gun. As a direct result of his heroic actions, his company was able to maneuver freely with minimal danger and to complete its mission, defeating the enemy. Cpl. Crescenz's bravery and extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.


I keep forgetting… We at I’m just sayin… would like to send a big Welcome to 2012 to our friends The Wrights. I was starting to worry that Danny’s (yes, that Danny’s) “Man Room” was never going to get done (or even worked on). My advice to Danny is to get it done now… the longer you wait, the greater chance you won’t do it. Why do I say this? Because our bedroom door has a hole in it… a hole that has been there for about 5 years now. It’s not important how it got there (one wild night? perhaps…), the point is it’s still there… even though we know a guy who can give us a great deal on a new door (and by great deal I mean we get the door and a local “new” church would get the bill). From reading the latest post, I think The Wrights are on pace to get the room done by February 6 (the day after the Super Bowl). I’m willing to come over to help them get it done by the 5th. I won’t actually do any work… I’ll just be there to motivate. :)




Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that Mary Ruth had a good visit at our favorite Children’s Hospital on Tuesday. She’s had a lot of UTIs in six short years so our doctor sent us down there to see what they thought. One fear is that she had a kidney infection. So, The Wife took her down there Tuesday morning so they could run some tests. Reports I received said that Mary Ruth was a good girl while the tests were run. She was also pretty loopy after the tests (as they had to give her anesthesia). After the tests, The Wife took Mary Ruth over to my parents house while they waited for our 2:00 appointment with Dr. Kate (a nurse practitioner with a PhD who The Wife and Mary Ruth love). I met them for our appointment where I met Dr. Kate for the first time. I can’t say for sure, but I think the first thing she noticed (after my stunningly good looks) was my modified work badge which said “Friend of Jen Wright”. Why do I say this? I could see it in her eyes… I don’t know what she was thinking, but when she walked in the room her eyes said, “WOW! Hello Stud”, followed by “Oh crap… Does his badge say ‘Friend of Jen Wright’? I’m going to have to bring my ‘A’ game now.” She said that Mary Ruth has Grade 1 Kidney Reflux (I had to have The Wife remind me… all I could remember when we left was Grade 1). This, from what I understand, is a lot better than a kidney infection. Now all we have to do is give her an anti-biotic for one year. This isn’t all great… since she is the worst of our three at taking medicine, but it’s better than some of the other options. So I am thankful that we now know what is wrong and what we need to do to fix it.

1 month down, 11 to go...

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Private William J. Crawford (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 13, 1943 near Altavilla, Italy. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943. When Company I attacked an enemy-held position on Hill 424, the 3d Platoon, in which Pvt. Crawford was a squad scout, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machinegun and small-arms fire. Locating 1 of these guns, which was dug in on a terrace on his immediate front, Pvt. Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and single-handedly destroyed the machinegun and killed 3 of the crew with a hand grenade, thus enabling his platoon to continue its advance. When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by enemy fire, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between 2 hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed 1 gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with 1 grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder to flee. Seizing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company's advance.

Private John Creed (US Army) received his first Medal of Honor for his actions on September 22, 1864 at Fishers Hill, Virginia. His citation reads:

Capture of flag.

Lance Corporal Thomas E. Creek (US Marine Corps) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on February 13, 1969 near Cam Lo, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company 1 in action against enemy forces. L/Cpl. Creek's squad was providing security for a convoy moving to resupply the Vandegrift Command Base when an enemy command detonated mine destroyed 1 of the vehicles and halted the convoy near the Cam Lo Resettlement Village. Almost immediately, the marines came under a heavy volume of hostile mortar fire followed by intense small-arms fire from a well-concealed enemy force. As his squad deployed to engage the enemy, L/Cpl. Creek quickly moved to a fighting position and aggressively engaged in the fire fight. Observing a position from which he could more effectively deliver fire against the hostile forces. he completely disregarded his own safety as he fearlessly dashed across the fire-swept terrain and was seriously wounded by enemy fire. At the same time, an enemy grenade was thrown into the gully where he had fallen, landing between him and several companions. Fully realizing the inevitable results of his action, L/Cpl. Creek rolled on the grenade and absorbed the full force of the explosion with his body, thereby saving the lives of 5 of his fellow marines. As a result of his heroic action, his men were inspired to such aggressive action that the enemy was defeated and the convoy was able to continue its vital mission. L/Cpl. Creek's indomitable courage, inspired the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.





The I’m just sayin… Quote of the Week

How do you tell a Communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin. - Ronald Reagan