If you have talked to me for more than 5 minutes, there is no doubt you have heard the stories of how Grist’s have fought in every major war and have single-handedly won a few.  While some of my stories have exaggerated slightly, I try to stick tot he truth when I recount examples of Grist heroism.  On that note, here are some actual, verifiably true stories about George E. Grist in World War II.  Enjoy!

Notes for GEORGE EDWIN GRIST:
This newspaper articles was found among the personal papers of John Wesley Grist, the brother of George E. Grist.  The source of the article is probably the El Dorado (Kansas) Times but the dates are not known:

Purple Heart And Medal To Sgt. Grist
“Word has be received here that Sgt. George E. Grist, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Grist, 611 West Cave Springs, has been awarded the Purple Heart.  Little is known by his parents or his wife who is spending the summer at the family home here, of the circumstances which led up to his receiving the award for wounds in combat.
Sergeant Grist participated in the battle of Rome when he was of the first group of allied troops to enter the city.
He has visited Vatican City, the Coliseum and other historic and religious scenes of interest in Rome.  St. Peters was described by the sergeant as being breath taking in its splendor.
Earlier, Sergeant Grist had been awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Medal.  This is the highest award that is given an Infantryman in line of duty.  The medal, received by his wife this week, is a miniature silver musket mounted on a field of Infantry blue with a silver border.  It is warn above the left breast pocket of the soldiers blouse.”

Hand written in the space above the article are the words, “Write George won’t you he is in such danger-”

George Grist Commissioned

Italy- Take it from Second Lieutenant George E. Grist, 25, of El Dorado, Kansas, the Infantry is quick to recognize ability.  Lieutenant Grist was, until recently, a staff sergeant serving with the Fifth Army in Italy.  His calmness and efficiency in battle caught the attention of his superiors.  He was sent to the rear for advanced training and today he wears a gold bar.  Lieutenant Grist was commissioned recently at the Leadership and Battle School where men like himself, who have proved themselves efficient in the field, are given a rigorous six weeks’ training and then sent back to the front as officers.
Present at the graduation exercises were General Joseph T. McNarney, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander and Commanding General of the United States Forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, and Brigadier General L. C. Jaynes, commanding General of The Replacement and Training Command, which administers the school.
General McNarney told the graduates: “The Replacement and Training Command has done everything in its power to increase your military knowledge.  Now you will command the destinies of men, and on your skill depend not only the lives of your men, but the outcome of battles.
This was the first officer graduation conducted by the Leadership and Battle School which is known throughout the Mediterranean Theater as “General Jaynes’ College of Practical Knowledge.  General Jaynes said that it was men like Lieutenant Grist and his fellow graduates with, “initiative, common sense and fighting hearts”, who are winning glory for American arms in the field.  General Jaynes told the graduates that the replacements who will be serving under them have also been taught to use commons sense and initiative on the battlefield.
We are training smart soldiers,” he said.  ”The day of the inadequately trained replacement is over.  The infantry Conversion Training Center is sending men to the front who know how to fight.  You will be proud of them.  The latest battle methods are taught at the Leadership and Battle School-methods which are now in use on the Fifth Army Front, in Germany, china, Burma and elsewhere.  Every student is called on to lead his companions in tactical problems.  The students are put through a still course of physical conditioning, and made hard, fit, ready for the line.
Lieutenant Grist knows how it is “up on the line”.  He wears tow Bronze Battle Stars,  The Purple Heart (sic) and the Good Conduct Medal.
Lieutenant Grist entered the service in April, 1942.  His wife, Mrs. G. E. Grist, lives in El Dorado, Kansas.

It was probably 1932,  people were out of work, which meant some found other ways to”earn” money &  support themselves or families.  Some resulted to robbery, & a famous robber was Dillinger, among others.   He became a bank robber & I heard my Dad talk about such things.  Mother had the radio on one day, & they were telling  there had been a bank robbery in Enid by

Dillinger, …one of the “outstanding” robbers.   It was summer, I played outside much of the time—on our front porch or  in the yard ….That day,  while jumping rope on the sidewalk from our house to the walk along our street, & being an “observant” gal, I watched the cars driving along our West Oklahoma street……wondering where they were going & who were they ??     WELL, here, coming down the street in the next block was a big black car,driving FAST —-I  was on the porch watching it approach AND I JUST KNEW THAT IT HAD TO BE DILLINGER MAKING HIS GET AWAY,   also I could just “SEE” machine guns sticking out the windows !!!   After it drove by I ran in the house to tell Mother…….. For some reason, she assured me it was probably NOT Dillinger, however I was not convinced that I had’nt seen him “getting away”.  I have no way of proving myself right or wrong, but think it just  HAD to be him…….!!! ??         love,   mom/gma

Everyone always tells you that its a good idea to go back to school and invest in your education, but I can’t really see how its going to pay off when its really just building up my debt! We’ll see. But here is the article that I wanted to use to help build a plan for my savings:

This month’s money makeover
Who: Amy Horwath, 23
Income: $48,200
Goals: Pay down student loans and car debt. Have a financial plan that includes saving for retirement. Become financially independent from parents.
Assets: $3,600 in savings and $1,600 in retirement account
Debts: $33,717 in student loans and $16,692 in car debt
Recommendations: Boost savings from 9% of income to at least 15% by shaving expenses and changing tax withholdings. Tackle debts by putting a set amount of extra money toward the highest-interest loan each month. Once that loan is paid off, take all the money that used to go toward those payments and use it to pay down the loan with the next-highest interest rate, and so on. Boost emergency savings to six months of fixed income or about $12,000. Set up a budgeting system to save for irregular expenses and limit splurges. When a pay raise is received, stop accepting financial help from parents.
About the financial planner: Lara Lamb is a certified financial planner with Lamb Financial in Encino.

Recent university graduate Amy Horwath has grasped the golden ring in this weak economy: a job in her chosen field.

Just one problem: She’s $50,000 in debt, mostly student loans.

“Sometimes it seems overwhelming,” said Horwath, 23, sitting in her small apartment, where her Cornell University diploma for hotel administration hangs on the wall. “I feel like I’m barely treading water.”
Horwath belongs to a generation of college graduates who traded debt for degrees. Graduating seniors leave college with an average of $23,000 in student loans, according to FinAid, a student financial aid website.

“Amy is emblematic of the struggles young people have coming out of college, certified financial planner Lara Lamb said. “They have a load of student debt and at the same time they’re trying to become financially independent.”

Horwath earns $48,200 annually as a program manager for a luxury hotel in Southern California. She puts about 9% of that toward savings and has accumulated approximately $3,600 in what she calls her “uh oh” emergency account. She also has $1,600 in her 401(k).

Her main debt is the nearly $34,000 owed on her student loans. She also owes about $16,700 on her car. One bright spot: She has no credit card debt.

Horwath basically lives within her means, splitting her $1,700 monthly rent on an apartment in Malibu with her boyfriend. They each pay half of the cable bill and grocery costs.

But at the end of each month, Horwath has little left over, making her wonder whether she’s handling her money as well as she could be — especially for the long term.

She wonders, should she pay down her debt beyond her minimum monthly obligations, or save more for retirement? How much should she save? Should she get rid of all her debt before going to business school, which she plans to do within five years?

“You hear so much conflicting information,” Horwath said. “It’s very confusing for someone who just graduated.”

In some ways, Horwath still lives like a student. Her boyfriend’s bike leans against a bookshelf in the living room of their one-bedroom apartment. Only recently did she ditch her dorm-room futon for an Ikea couch. And her parents still help with her bills, contributing about $3,700 a year.

Horwath has a long history of helping to support herself. At age 14 she was working 16 hours a week at an assisted living facility. At Cornell, she waited tables in an Italian restaurant to help pay her room and board.
April 25, 2010

“She really does want to stand on her own two feet,” Lamb said.

Lamb takes a hard line on savings. She wants Horwath to put 15% of her pay toward her debt payments, retirement account and emergency fund. One of the goals is to cut the financial umbilical cord to her parents.

“In general, savings rates for everyone should be worked up to between 15% and 20%,” Lamb said.

Horwath can put more money aside by changing her federal and state tax withholdings and cutting expenses. Changing her withholdings, for example, would give her another $280 a month toward paying down debt.

Lamb recommended that she use that money to start a “snowball” debt program. To make this work, Horwath should apply the $280 toward her car loan, which carries the highest interest rate of all of her debts. That way, she’ll pay off the car in two years.

When that’s done, the total amount Horwath spends each month on debt payments shouldn’t decrease: She should redirect all that she was paying on the car to her highest-rate student loan. When that’s paid off, she should follow the same scheme on the loan with the next-highest rate, and so forth. Her payment on her top-priority debt would snowball, getting bigger with every loan she pays off.

Lamb estimates that Horwath could save nearly $5,000 in interest and pay off all her debt in about four years that way.

Another savings: Horwath, a self-proclaimed foodie, believes she can cut about $80 a month out of her budget mostly by eating out less and scrimping on pricey wine and blue cheese.

To stay on budget, Lamb recommends Horwath divide her paycheck into dedicated accounts for special expenses. One account should be for clothing, an area where Horwath tends to overspend. Another could be for irregular expenses such as vacations, gifts and auto maintenance. The goal is to make sure money is available when needed.

Creating the accounts also limits splurges, such as the overspending Horwath did at Christmas when she racked up $500 in credit card debt on gifts and clothes. And when she got a $2,500 tax return, she bought a DVR and a new couch.

Lamb cautioned her to keep her costs at 50% to 60% of her income, and not commit to any higher fixed expenses. For example, she should stick with her used Nissan Altima rather than taking on increased debt for a spiffier car.

“Delayed gratification is hard to swallow for this generation,” Lamb said. “But the last thing you want to do when you’re in debt is add more debt.”

This is especially true for young people who need to save more for retirement. Lamb wants Horwath to increase her 401(k) contributions from 3% to 5%.

If Horwath invests $188 a month (along with her employer’s $120 matching contribution) in her 401(k) for the next five years, the account as it stands at that point will grow to $447,443 by the time she turns 65, Lamb said. (This presumes an 8% compound interest rate.)

Horwath seems up to following Lamb’s advice. She likes the idea of snowballing her debt payments and squirreling away money for clothes. Then she won’t feel so bad when she buys an Ann Taylor suit, she said.

Lamb also told her she might not have to go to business school. “In five years, she may be making so much more money” that she might not feel the need for another degree, the planner said.

Horwath seemed convinced she’d need the degree to break into upper management. But she acknowledged that her plans could change. After all, she said, “I’m only 23.”

Do you need a money makeover? Each month the Sunday Business section gives readers a chance to have their financial situations sized up by professional advisors at no charge. To be considered, send an e-mail to makeover@latimes.com. You also can send a letter to: Makeover, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Include a brief description of your financial goals and a daytime phone number. Information you send us will be shared with others.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Seems to be missing…

Episode 4

Four Whores and Seven Beers Ago...

Well…following in the footsteps of a successful Halloween rager (Hangover From Hell),

Hangover From Hell

and totally redeeming ourselves from a poor New Years performance (Black Tie, Party ’til You Die),

Black Tie, Party 'Til You Die

we had a huge turnout, blasting music, copious amounts of booze, an ice luge, multiple beer pong tables, kegs, beautiful women, and bad decisions.  It was a complete success, we saw a ton of fireworks from up on the roof (thanks Sea World!), and got completely obliterated, all in the name of freedom.  Come to think of it, I can’t think of a 4th of July in the past 10 years that I haven’t spent completely obliterated in the name of freedom.  GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Here are some pics from the party, whole album is HERE: