I am pausing to remember the great Butch O’Hare, the US Navy’s First World War II ace and a Medal of Honor recipient, after whom O’Hare airport in Chicago is named, who was lost over the Pacific Ocean on this day in 1943. O’Hare earned the Medal of Honor in February 1942, when he attacked nine Japanese bombers, alone, that … Read More

Honor and remember John Higgins, who earned the Medal of Honor on this day. I am always amazed by Civil War MOH citations, which are so restrained and sparse compared to later write ups, but you know that what these men faced, endured and conquered was horrific. Tell their stories!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am eternally grateful to have been born an American, and for the the leaders and heroes who sacrificed all to make this great nation! 

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