That time of year again, where we recognize our Veterans on Memorial Day.
Wanted to share a couple Medal of Honor winners that have local ties to my hometown where I live now.
My town is a little over 10,000 people, and we have had numerous Medal of Honor winners live here over the years.
I am only going to talk about these two for now.
1)The first has some meaning to me as he is buried very close to my late brother and my brother being a veteran would be proud to share the same honored ground.
He was a Civil War MOH winner, he got his medal for:
On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, on 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Nichols fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee, and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.
2) Is a WWII Medal of Honor Winner Richard Sorenson. He lived in my hometown shortly after WWII, my connection to him came through a collector friend of mine!! Richard won the MOH, but also collected Pickelhauben, and after his death in the early 2000's, my friend helped the family sell off his collection, and I was lucky enough to get two helmets and a signed letter from his wife that they where in his collection.
Private Sorenson landed with his battalion at Namur, Kwajalein on February 1, 1944. On that first day of the invasion, Sorenson was wounded in the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. After a fierce night of battle, a Japanese soldier threw a grenade in the midst of his squad. Pvt Sorenson threw himself on the grenade and took the full force of the explosion. A corpsman tied off a severed artery and covered the severe wounds, and Sorenson was evacuated to a transport to Hawaii. He would undergo six surgeries in the next nine months.
We remember them all!
James
Wanted to share a couple Medal of Honor winners that have local ties to my hometown where I live now.
My town is a little over 10,000 people, and we have had numerous Medal of Honor winners live here over the years.
I am only going to talk about these two for now.
1)The first has some meaning to me as he is buried very close to my late brother and my brother being a veteran would be proud to share the same honored ground.
He was a Civil War MOH winner, he got his medal for:
On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during successful attacks against Fort Morgan, rebel gunboats and the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, on 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Nichols fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee, and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.
2) Is a WWII Medal of Honor Winner Richard Sorenson. He lived in my hometown shortly after WWII, my connection to him came through a collector friend of mine!! Richard won the MOH, but also collected Pickelhauben, and after his death in the early 2000's, my friend helped the family sell off his collection, and I was lucky enough to get two helmets and a signed letter from his wife that they where in his collection.
Private Sorenson landed with his battalion at Namur, Kwajalein on February 1, 1944. On that first day of the invasion, Sorenson was wounded in the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. After a fierce night of battle, a Japanese soldier threw a grenade in the midst of his squad. Pvt Sorenson threw himself on the grenade and took the full force of the explosion. A corpsman tied off a severed artery and covered the severe wounds, and Sorenson was evacuated to a transport to Hawaii. He would undergo six surgeries in the next nine months.
We remember them all!
James
