Remembering The Passed

Remembering The Dress Green A Army Uniform, Billy Joe Royal, Harry “Horse” Gallatin, Kevin “Moochie” Corcoran

The Dress Green A Army Uniform was introduced in1954 and was the familiar uniform know to generations of Americans. As a result of changing fashion, it is being phased out as of 2016. Billy Joe Royal was a southern rock and roll singer, best known for two songs he sang written by Joe South, “Down in the Boondocks” (1965) and “Hush” (1967). Harry Gallatin was a power forward for the legendary New York Knick teams of the 1950’s, coached by Joe Lapchick. Kevin “Moochie” Corcoran was a Disney Mouseketeer who was featured in several Disney films of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and did several features for Disney as Moochie.

Remembering Jack Larson, Jackie Collins, Milo Hamilton, “Sabado Gigante”

Jack Larson played cub reporter Jimmy Olson in the iconic 1950’s television series, “The Adventures of Superman”. Ultimately, like the series’ star, George Reeves, he was typecast and he moved into playwriting. Jackie Collins was the British romance novelist who sold millions of books. She was the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. Milo Hamilton was the baseball broadcaster who worked for a number of teams but is most famous for his call of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. “Sabado Gigante” was the long-running Spanish language television program, popular throughout the Western Hemisphere, which ran for over a half century.

Rembering Moses Malone, Frank Gilroy, Dickie Moore, Gary Richrath

After a legendary high school career in Richmond, Moses Malone was the first basketball player to transition directly to the pros, first in the ABA and then the NBA. He was a fierce rebounder and became one of the great centers in NBA history, primarily as a member of the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76’ers. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001. Frank Gilroy was the author of The Subject Was Roses, which won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for drama and was later made into a movie starring Martin Sheen, Patricia Neal, and Jack Albertson. Dickie Moore was a child star, and part of The Our Gang crew, one of the last survivors of the silent era. He gave Shirley Temple her first onscreen kiss. Gary Richrath was the lead guitarist for the 1970’s rock band REO Speedwagon, and penned their hit, “Take It On The Run”.

Remembering Sgt. Einar Ingman Jr.

At the height of the Korean War, then Cpl. Einar Ingman led an assault against a ridge held by Communist Chinese soldiers during Operation Killer, part of Gen Matthew Ridgway’s 1951 Korean counteroffensive. On Feb. 26, 1951, Cpl. Ingman’s unit came under withering machine-gun fire and after two squad leaders were wounded, he took charge and organized an attack, throwing a grenade into a machine gun nest, then fired his rifle to kill the remaining enemy soldiers. Although he was severely wounded he used his bayonet to finish off a second machine gun crew.  His bravery saved countless lives of the men from the 7th Infantry. In the summer of 1951, President Truman awarded Sgt. Ingman the Medal of Honor.

Remembering Yogi Berra

His education may have taken him only as far as the eighth grade but Yogi Berra was one of the true American heroes of the 20th Century. Consider his accomplishments: in baseball he is one of the ten greatest New York Yankees, one of the ten greatest players in World Series history, and one of only 310 people elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In pop culture, he is an fixture, one of only about 2500 people cited in Bartlett’s Book of Quotations. In addition, he won a Purple Heart for valor at the Normandy landing during World War II. Truly, not many Americans of the postwar generation can match the achievements of the perpetually underestimated Yogi Berra.

Remembering Martin Milner, Judy Carne, Joaquin Andujar

Martin Milner was the star of two of most television’s most popular car series. In the 1960’s he drove a Corvette in the memorable Stirling Silliphant drama, Route 66, which featured a memorable theme song by Nelson Riddle. Later in the decade and into the 1970’s he drove a squad car in the Jack Webb police drama, Adam-12. Judy Carne was a female lead in the late 1960’s ensemble comedy, Laugh-In. She was the frequent butt of a joke with a punch line the show made famous. Joaquin Andujar was the fiery right-handed pitcher for the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. He played a prominent role in the memorable final game of the 1985 World Series.

Remembering Dr. Oliver Sacks, Wes Craven, Dean Jones

Oliver Sacks was the neurologist who wrote stirring books about unusual neurologic conditions. His first popular book, Awakenings (1973) was made in to a 1990 movie with Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro. His 1985 book The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales was a compendium of case histories of some of his most interesting patients. He is regarded as one of the top physician/authors of our era. Wes Craven was the horror film director who brought the genre into contemporary suburbia. His best-known film, “The Nightmare On Elm Street” (1984) introduced one of the horror film’s most iconic recurring characters, Freddy Krueger. Dean Jones was one of the last stars of the Disney Studios under Walt Disney before he died. He was the star of “That Darn Cat” (1965) and “The Love Bug” (1968).

Remembering Dr. James “Red” Duke, Brig. Gen. Frederick Payne, Darryl Dawkins

“Red” Duke was the colorful trauma surgeon at University of Texas Health Center. He was a teacher and an innovator who created Life Flight, the first life saving air ambulance service in Texas. Brig. Gen. Frederick Payne was one of the country’s last flying aces, credited with five and a half shoot downs in World War II. Darryl Dawkins was the irrepressible basketball center, who was best known for his wit and his thunderous dunks that broke at least two backboards.