Quote of the Week:
“Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.” –Mark Twain
Fact of the Week:
At age twelve, most boys are concerned with video games, baseball cards, and math homework. Calvin Graham, on the other hand, was an enlisted man—sorry, boy—by the time he was twelve.
Graham moved out of his house at eleven years old with one of his brothers, leaving behind five other siblings, his mother, and an abusive stepfather. His mother would drop in occasionally to sign his report cards, but otherwise Graham went to school and sold newspapers to make money on his own. Wanting to join the war effort, he went to recruiters and lied about his age. Though they knew he was underage (although they did not necessarily know he was twelve), they let him join the war because they needed soldiers.
After six weeks in bootcamp, Graham headed to Pearl Harbor in 1942 and was assigned to the USS South Dakota. Soon after, he was injured in battle but continued to help the wounded to safety, earning him a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. However, his mother recognized him in a footage reel she saw on television and wrote to the Navy about his real age. Graham was then sent to Texas, stripped of his medals, and thrown in a brig for three months before being released with nothing but a suit and several dollars.
Graham then dropped out of school at 13, married at 14, became a father at 15, divorced at 17, and went to join the Marine Corps that same year. After breaking his back in a fall, he was forced to leave and could only sell newspapers to make a living. Because he was never honorably discharged, he did not receive any help for his medical bills.
Finally, after writing to President Carter and several senators, Graham received his discharge and had his medals (except for the Purple Heart) reinstated in 1978. It was not until 1994, two years after he died, that the military finally returned his Purple Heart to his family.
Smithsonian Magazine contributed to this article.
News Update:
Via The Daily Beast. Credit: via YouTube/KSL-TV
Four students from Northwest College in Wyoming were out looking for fallen antlers in Shoshone National Forest when they encountered a grizzly bear. Fortunately, they had each other—and they were on the school’s wrestling team. Though they did not pin the bear and force it to submit, they pulled off a remarkable escape nonetheless.
"The bear came running out of the trees. I didn't even see it until it was right in front of me, but I heard the crashing," Brayden Lowry told ABC News. "The only thing I could yell is: 'Bear! Bear!' I just knew I had to protect my head and just kind of fight for life, you know -- it's life or death."
Kendall Cummings, who was nearby when it happened, tried to help.
He told ABC News, "It knocked me onto the ground and then, with its head, pushed me on the ground all the way up against the trees and then kind of pinned me up there and it was attacking me. I was putting my hands in its mouth and stuff, so it wouldn't be chewing on my neck and everything."
The bear then walked away, only to come back and attack Cummings again. Eventually, the two boys were able to escape and reunite with their other two friends. They called 911, and were soon helped by rescuers. According to ABC, “Cummings was airlifted to Billings Clinic in Cody, Wyoming, where he received 60 staples in his head. Lowry was taken to the same hospital via ambulance and was treated for a compound fracture in his left arm.”
ABC News contributed to this article.
Sports Update:
Via ABC News
In the game of the year, #6 Tennessee knocked off #1 Alabama 52-49 on a 40-yard-field goal as time expired. Tennessee led by as many as 18 points before falling behind 49-42 with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter.
After a Tennessee touchdown tied the game, Alabama drove to Tennessee’s 32-yard-line and attempted a 50-yard field goal, which missed. With only 15 seconds on the clock, Tennessee connected on an 18-yard pass and a 27-yard pass on consecutive plays before kicking the field goal for the win. Fans then stormed the field, tore down the goal posts, and carrried them off and dumped them in the river. Tennesse has set up a fund asking for donations so they can pay for new ones.
Elsewhere in the FBS, #20 Utah handed #7 USC their first loss in a 43-42 thriller. After going down two touchdowns, Utah fought back and scored with 48 seconds left. Rather than kicking the extra point for the tie, they went for two. Quarterback Cameron Rising punched it in, adding to his three rushing TD’s and two passing TD’s on the day.
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