I am remembering Alexander Bonnyman today, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic leadership at Tarawa, when he led Marines in destroying a Japanese emplacement of 150 enemy troops. Honor and remember!

The Mayflower Compact was signed today in Plymouth Harbor, and you should read it.  The Mayflower Compact AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SETTLERS AT NEW PLYMOUTH: 1620 IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN . We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender … Read More

I am thinking of William Hawkins today, who died leading Marines on Tarawa 80 years ago and who earned the  Medal of Honor posthumously.  Hawkins was a Mustang – a Marine officer who previously served as an enlisted Marines. He joined the Marine Corps right after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he earned a battlefield promotion in Guadalcanal where he was … Read More

Tarawa, on this day, 80 years ago. Honor and remember!

Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address today, in 1863, some four and a half months after the battle. I think it’s worth reading and considering each section of this speech, which is about a Republic in motion, always requiring each new generation to honor and remember those who sacrificed all for the Republic, and, in turn, to devote themselves to securing … Read More

I had fun reading about how Julia Ward Howe came to write the Battle Hymn of the Republic on this day in 1861. Really interesting that the song started as a Civil War soldiers’ song, “John Brown’s Body”. “John Brown’s Body” originated in the 2nd Battalion of the Massachusetts militia. A soldier in the battalion had the same name as … Read More

You have to stop and think about the Americans fighting in the Hurtgen Forest today, one of the most miserable and horrific combat experiences of World War II. I am remembering Bernard Ray, a 23 year old lieutenant with the 4th Infantry Division who earned the Medal of Honor posthumously when he sacrificed himself to destroy a wire obstacle belt … Read More

I am thinking today about Freeman Horner, who earned the Medal of Honor in Germany in 1944. Horner was a private in Second Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. I dug into the combat history of Horner’s regiment and what these men experienced from June 13, 1944, when they landed in France, through the German … Read More

I made a post about Mack Alvin Jordan, who earned the Medal of Honor on this day in the Korean War. His physical courage and drive and what he did in combat are unbelievable. What’s also crazy, though, is how when you scratch the surface on a story like this, the other soldiers and leaders who were with Jordan on … Read More