“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” an irreverent
comedy based in the outlandish (fictionalized) world of
American stock car racing, premiered in movie theaters
around the United States on August 4, 2006.
American Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) stands up to his Gallic
rival Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen).
CAMILLE BOHANNON
Melvin Emery Patton (November 16, 1924 – May 9, 2014) was an
American sprinter, who set the world record of 9.2 seconds in
the 100 yard dash in 1948. He also set a 220 yd. world record
in 1949 on a straightaway of 20.2, breaking the record held by
Jesse Owens.
Patton won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He
was ranked first in the world in the 100 m and 200 m events in
1947 and 1949.
Patton was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of
Fame in 1985, and died in Fallbrook, California.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
In the early hours of August 2, 1943, a Japanese destroyer
rammed an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109,
slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other
American PT boats in the area assume the crew is dead.
Two crewmen were, in fact, killed, but 11 survived, including
Lt. John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy’s actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109
was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him
several commendations and made him a war hero.
A torpedo from John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 rests some 1,200
feet (360 meters) underwater in the Solomon Islands. Key
details from the torpedo and its nearby launching tube
helped identify this wreck site as that of the World War II
boat.
