From the Annals of Valor — In 1943, Marines Staff Sgt. William James Bordelon of San Antonio and First Lt. William Dean Hawkins of El Paso were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroic actions in the horrific battle for Tarawa.   Bordelon landed on the beach under intense enemy fire that killed all but four men in his tractor. He remained in action even after he was hit providing cover fire for a group scaling a seawall.  Disregarding his own injuries, Bordelon went to the aid of two wounded men in the water. He was killed when he singelhandedly attacked a Japanese machine-gun position. Hawkins  was in command of a scout-sniper platoon.  His unit moved forward under heavy enemy fire and neutralized the enemy troops assaulting the main beach positions. He repeatedly risked his life to direct and lead attacks on pillboxes and enemy installations.  Hawkins was seriously wounded in the chest, but refused to withdraw.  He fought until he was mortally wounded by enemy shell fire. The airstrip on Tarawa was named Hawkins Field in his honor.

Dallas and Houston have been rated among the worst cities in the U.S. for veterans.  Surprisingly, San Antonio does not fare that well either in the WalletHub study.

http://houston.citybizlist.com/article/223543/dallas-houston-among-worst-cities-for-veterans

From the Annals of the Saints Go Marching In  –  In 1845, the first group of Mormon settlers to come to Texas arrived in Grayson County.  The group of dissident Mormons was led by Lyman Wight.  They spent the winter at an abandoned fort near Preston, and then moved on to Austin by June of 1846. They remained there until 1847, at which time the established their own community near Fredericksburg which they called Zodiac. There Wight implemented what he term the “common stock principle” – a strict form of communal living.  Zodiac attracted a number of Mormon dissenters.  However, in 1849, Wight was excommunicated by the Mormons in Utah for failure to follow Latter Day Saint doctrine and insubordination to LDS authority. A flood on the Pedernales River destroyed Zodiac in 1851.  There is nothing left of the site today.

From the Annals of Industrial Progress –   In 1837, the Morgan Lines’  steamship Columbia arrived in New Orleans.  This was the first voyage of the first steamship line in Texas.  The Morgan Line was founded by shipping and railroad magnate Charles Morgan.  The Morgan Line later expanded its shipping into a new port called Powderhorn, which grew into Indianola and was a chief port of the line until destroyed by a hurricane. By 1858 the Morgan Line was operating three trips a week between Galveston and New Orleans, and by 1860 the company had a monopoly on coastal shipping.

Painting of the Morgan Line steamer Lone Star from http://www.maritimetexas.net

Galveston has been listed as one of the 10 worst places in the nation to buy real estate.  As one older gentlemen who fought in the Korean War once said, “There only two places I wouldn’t buy real estate – North Korea and Galveston.”

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Galveston-listed-as-one-of-the-top-ten-worst-5891013.php

Photo from http://www.momontherocks.net

From the Annals of Artillery Mysteries    In 1835, the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio decided to provide Texas with two cannons for use in defense against an assault by the Mexican Army.  The cannons were likely six-pounders that were forged at the Greenwood & Webb foundry.  The cannons were shipped downriver to New Orleans and then transported to Galveston where they arrived in early April of 1836.  On board the ship were twin sisters Elizabeth and Eleanor Rice who may have participated in the official delivery of the cannons to the Texas authorities.  That is believed to be the origin of the name “Twin Sisters” by which the field pieces became known.  They were delivered to Sam Houston’s army and first saw action at the Battle of San Jacinto and were the only artillery under his command.  The Twin Sisters were loaded with grape, iron bits, horseshoes and whatever else was handy as the Texas forces had no cannonballs.  It is believed that the opening salvo from the Sisters greatly contributed to the disorganization and panic of Santa Anna’s surprised forces.

After Texas joined the Union, the Twin Sisters became federal property and were transferred to Louisiana.  One of them was sold to a foundry for scrap and a private collector purchased the other.  George Williamson, the commissioner for Louisiana to the state of Texas, determined to find the cannons and return them to Texas.  He was successful and Louisiana appropriated $700 to refurbish the Sisters and ship them again to Galveston.  The Twin Sisters had one last round of service at the Battle of Galveston during the Civil War.  After that, their final disposition is not completely clear.  The general consensus is that Henry North Graves took the Twin Sisters and buried them near Harrisburg to prevent them from falling into Union hands.  The story is questionable because Graves later had the opportunity to retrieve the cannons, but never made any concerted effort to do so.  Their final resting place remains a mystery.

Photo of replicas from the San Jacinto Monument grounds.

While there is much debate about the origin of the term Blue Norther – there is usually little debate about calling it that when it happens.  Locations all across Texas experienced severe 24 hour temperature drops including a 46 degree drop in Amarillo.

Image of roll cloud taken near Canyon, Texas from Channel KSDK.

From the Annals of the Big Ripoff –  In 1921, the Cherokee Nation petitioned the US Supreme Court to review its claim to over 1 million acres in Texas.  Care to guess how that one came out.

Outgoing Congressman and Ass-Clown Steve Stockman notified the House that he has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury conducting a criminal investigation into an undisclosed matter.  The subpoena is likely related to a parallel investigation by the House Ethics Committee which is probing whether the Texas Republican violated federal reporting requirements regarding campaign donations.  Stockman’s dubious campaign tactics have been the subject of numerous news stories. 

Stockman, along with staffers Donny Ferguson and Prentice Leblanc, each notified the House on Thursday that they had received subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Ferguson is Stockman’s congressional communications and policy adviser and Leblanc is identified as a legislative assistant.

Advice to Ferguson and Leblanc – throw Stockman under the bus.