countryclubjoe
Banned
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R.I.P. to those who lost their lives today at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. What is going on in this world today.....
As am I.... reading about the shooting nearly made me leave work early to pick up my kids.This is incredibly sad and I'm spending the day today thinking about the families affected.
It's sickening what has happened. My thoughts and prayers go to the families.
Folks, I hope no one minds, but I would like to pay tribute to my mother in law. She was just a few months shy of 89 years old, and she passed away at home with us last night. She had a heart attack 2 weeks ago, and while at one point thought we had beaten it, she contracted a MRSA infection and couldn't overcome it's debilitating effects.
She was a gentle, kind soul, witty and bright. Generous to a fault, she took me, my children and my grandchild into her heart as if we were her own. My wife and I cared for her the last year and a half of her life, and it was my honor and privilege to serve her. I loved her dearly, and I will miss her terribly. She loved a good gin martini, and while I'm not man enough to quaff one the size of hers, I did raise a "dirty martini" shot in her honor last night after they took her away.
It has rained here in Arizona for the last two days, and I am reminded of the great Stevie Ray Vaughn song "The Sky is Cryin', can't you see the tears running down the street'. I know there have been tears aplenty here the last 12 hours. Lift one in her memory if you're of a mind, she was a great lady!
Well spoken.You have honored her memory wonderfully so. She was obviously as fortunate to have you a part of her world as you were to be a part of her's. I wish you and your family the best and many happy memories.
On April 21, 1945, Inouye was grievously wounded while leading an assault on a heavily-defended ridge near San Terenzo in Tuscany, Italy called Colle Musatello. The ridge served as a strongpoint along the strip of German fortifications known as the Gothic Line, which represented the last and most dogged line of German defensive works in Italy. As he led his platoon in a flanking maneuver, three German machine guns opened fire from covered positions just 40 yards away, pinning his men to the ground. Inouye stood up to attack and was shot in the stomach; ignoring his wound, he proceeded to attack and destroy the first machine gun nest with hand grenades and fire from his Thompson submachine gun. After being informed of the severity of his wound by his platoon sergeant, he refused treatment and rallied his men for an attack on the second machine gun position, which he also successfully destroyed before collapsing from blood loss.
As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, Inouye crawled toward the final bunker, eventually drawing within 10 yards. As he raised himself up and cocked his arm to throw his last grenade into the fighting position, a German inside fired a rifle grenade that struck him on the right elbow, severing most of his arm and leaving his own primed grenade reflexively "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore".[10] Inouye's horrified soldiers moved to his aid, but he shouted for them to keep back out of fear his severed fist would involuntarily relax and drop the grenade. As the German inside the bunker reloaded his rifle, Inouye pried the live grenade from his useless right hand and transferred it to his left. As the German aimed his rifle to finish him off, Inouye tossed the grenade off-hand into the bunker and destroyed it. He stumbled to his feet and continued forward, silencing the last German resistance with a one-handed burst from his Thompson before being wounded in the leg and tumbling unconscious to the bottom of the ridge. When he awoke to see the concerned men of his platoon hovering over him, his only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them to return to their positions, since, as he pointed out, "nobody called off the war!"[11]
The remainder of Inouye's mutilated right arm was later amputated at a field hospital without proper anesthesia, as he had been given too much morphine at an aid station and it was feared any more would lower his blood pressure enough to kill him.[12]
Although Inouye had lost his right arm, he remained in the military until 1947 and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain. At the time of his leaving of the Army, he was a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Inouye was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in this action, with the award later being upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton (alongside 19 other Nisei servicemen who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and were believed to have been denied proper recognition of their bravery due to their race).[13]