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Orange Blooded [4444]
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Team Captain [458]
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Re: Col. Ben Skardon..............
Mar 17, 2015, 11:14 AM
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Prof Skardon signed me up for classes upon my return to Clemson from the US Army in Jan. 1972. Seeing the combat infantry badge sewn onto my fatigue jacket he asked me if I had earned that badge. When I told him yes sir, he rose to his feet and said, then I want to shake your hand. At that time I had no idea what a war hero and fine person he is. I found out almost 25 years later when Clemson dedicated a memorial on campus. Glad I had that brief opportunity to brush by a truly great man. Go Tigers!
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Orange Blooded [4444]
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Amen. And thanks for your service.***
Mar 17, 2015, 11:34 AM
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Walk-On [136]
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Re: Col. Ben Skardon..............
Mar 17, 2015, 11:40 AM
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Salute. Thank you for your service.
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Standout [309]
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Re: Col. Ben Skardon..............
Mar 17, 2015, 12:08 PM
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I was lucky enough to meet a large group of men who survived the Bataan Death March. The most amazing thing was that the wives said they had no idea who they had been married to. The men never spoke of it until their reunion.
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CU Guru [1679]
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Re: Col. Ben Skardon..............
Mar 17, 2015, 12:22 PM
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Dr. Skardon saved my butt in English in 1965. After the first theme he called me over and said , "You don't know how to write." I said, "No, sir. I don't." He said to come by his office the next day. He sat me down and gave me a few rules to go by that got me through that semester and the remaining three semesters of English that I took.
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All-In [32639]
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You seem to be great at it now - thanks for sharing !***
Mar 17, 2015, 12:31 PM
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CU Medallion [67800]
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Re: Col. Ben Skardon..........tough but fair man
Mar 17, 2015, 12:33 PM
[ in reply to Re: Col. Ben Skardon.............. ] |
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At the time I had his class I had no idea what he went through in ww2. True hero to me. One of CU'S greats.
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Orange Blooded [2663]
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he's a member of our church. Absolutely great guy.***
Mar 17, 2015, 12:41 PM
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Orange Blooded [4403]
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Wow......don't even know what to say
Mar 17, 2015, 12:48 PM
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The entitled masses who have no clue how lucky they are to live today in this nation should pay a thank you to this man and others like him. I am a combat veteran and I am in awe of this warrior.
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All-Pro [657]
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When I applied to grad school at Clemson in 1976.........
Mar 17, 2015, 12:50 PM
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My verbal SAT was too low and I was conditionally accepted. I had to take a vocabulary building course and obtain a minimum grade of a B. I walked in the first day and met the man who changed my life, Col. Ben Skardon. He was truly inspiring only I didn't take the course seriously as I was knee deep in my grad school courses. He called me aside at mid term and said," Mr. Jackson, you know you are failing my course." I said, "yes sir". He then said "you know you will have to earn a B in my course to stay in grad school and I am not going to give you that B. You will have to earn it and, the way I see it, you will have to make straight As the rest of the way." I swallowed hard and said, " yes sir. Thank you".
I made straight As the rest of the way and a B in the course as I figured if this man could survive the Bataan Death March and 3 years of brutality in a Japanese POW camp, then the least I can do is apply myself and earn a B in a college English course.
He is the kind of man that Tom Brokaw was referring to when he called the men who fought in WW ll the Last, Great Generation.
He is truly an American hero and someone every Clemson alumni can be proud of!
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Hall of Famer [24736]
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My uncle (father's oldest brother) survived it, quietly.....***
Mar 17, 2015, 2:06 PM
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All-TigerNet [11176]
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All-Pro [666]
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Re: Video of him. Inspiring.....
Mar 17, 2015, 3:27 PM
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That, my fellow Tigers, is a true Clemson Gentleman and a bonafide American hero as well.
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CU Guru [1598]
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Col. Skardon is awesome ... I knew him through my dad who
Mar 17, 2015, 3:52 PM
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also is a retired Clemson professor. I did a big story on Skardon back when I worked at the Seneca newspaper. His stories about how he survived the Death March are incredible. He's one tough dude.
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