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| I have an amazing group of friends! Special thanks to the Kedrowskis and Tanners |
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| The chain got stuck on my fat head lol |
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| drinking the redleg punch (i had the baby friendly fruit punch kind) |
last night I was fortunate to attend the 214th Fires Brigade Saint Barbara's Day Ball for the second time. This time however was more special because I received the Molly Pitcher Award. It would have been great to have Karl there with me to share my moment but that is not the hand we have been dealt and he is handling important things in Minnesota.
A little bit of history:
Legend of St. Barbara- According to legend, our patron saint was the beautiful daughter of Dioscorus, a nobleman of the Roman Empire, believed to have lived in Nicomedia in Asia Minor in the Third or Fourth Century, A.D. To limit Barbara's exposure to Christianity and to encourage her development as a zealous pagan, her father kept her shut up in a tower, lighted only by two windows. From these windows she looked out upon the surrounding countryside and marveled at the living things. She concluded they all must be part of a master plan and that the idols of wood and stone worshiped by her parents had to be condemned as false. She obtained instruction in Christianity and was baptized. In token of her faith, while her father was away, she had another window pierced in the tower, making three, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. On his return, Dioscorus asked why she had made this change, and Barbara acknowledged her conversion. Despite his threats, she refused to renounce Christianity. He delivered her to a Roman magistrate who, even with torture, also failed to persuade her. Dioscorus himself then took his daughter to a high mountain, where he beheaded her. Afterward, as he descended the mountain, he was caught in a sudden, violent storm. In a blinding flash he was consumed by lighting. As a logical consequence, Barbara came to be regarded as the sainted patroness of those in danger of thunderstorms, fire, and explosions- that is to say sudden death. Given the questionable reliability of early cannons- misfires, muzzle bursts, and exploding weapons were not uncommon- it is easy to see why our predecessors sought the protection of St. Barbara. She has protected us well ever since. (Ft. Sill is called the Fires Center of Excellence BTW)
The Story of Molly Pitcher- An artillery wife, Mary Hays McCauly (better known as Molly Pitcher) shared the rigors of the Valley Forge with her husband, William Hays. Her actions during the battle of Monmouth (28 June 1778) became legendary. That day at Monmouth was as hot as Valley Forge was cold. Someone had to cool the hot guns and bathe parched throats with water. Across the bullet-swept ground, a striped skirt fluttered. Mary Hays McCauly was earning her nickname "Molly Pitcher" by bringing pitcher after pitcher of cool spring water to the exhausted and thirsty men. She also tended to the wounded and once, heaving a crippled Continental Soldier upon her strong young back, carried him out of the reach of hard charging British Soldiers. On her next trip with water, she found her artilleryman husband with the guns, replacing a casualty. While she watched, Hays fell wounded. The piece, its crew now too depleted to serve it, was about to be withdrawn. Without hesitation, Molly stepped forward and took the rammer staff from her fallen husband's hands. For the second time on an American battlefield, a woman manned a gun. (the first was Molly Corbin during the defense of Fort Washington in 1776) Resolutely, Molly Pitcher stayed at the post in the face of heavy enemy fire, ably acting as a matross (gunner). For her heroic role, General George Washington himself issued her a warrant as a non-commissioned officer. Thereafter, she was widely hailed as "Sergeant Molly." A flagstaff and cannon stand at her gravesite at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A sculpture on the battle monument commemorates her courageous deeds.
The Honorable Order of Molly Pitcher is bestowed by the U.S. Field Artillery Association (USFAA) and the Air Defense Artillery Association (ADAA) to recognize women who have voluntarily contributed in a significant way to the improvement of the U.S. Field Artillery or Air Defense Artillery Communities.
