Saint Barbara's Life

970 Words2 Pages

A beautiful woman, loved by her parents, apple of her father’s eye, and yet kept alone, one would not think this young lady would be connected to the powerful Air Defense Artillery, however, this young woman is the Patron Saint of the Air Defense Artillery. Her name is Barbara and she was executed long before her time, but when she died, a most extraordinary event occurred, to make her the center of the Air Defense Artillery. Upon her death, a lightning bolt came from the sky and killed her father as he was walking home. In this paper, you will read about the life and death of Saint Barbara and how she is incorporated with the Air Defense Artillery.

Saint Barbara’s life was undeniably an isolated one. Her parents built a vast tower with all the necessities and accommodations for her to live in 290 AD, in the Anatolian city of Heliopolis, where her father, Dioscuros, was the governor. While locked away, she had two windows in which she could gaze upon the outside world. Every day she looked out of those windows and slowly discovered Christianity by the amount of beauty in the outside world. Even though she was utterly isolated from the outside world, she was still an admired woman. Rumors of her beauty and charm spread throughout and many military officers asked her father for her hand in marriage. Barbara did not like the idea of her father picking her husband for her and once she became aware of these offers for marriage, she told her father that she would commit suicide if she was forced to wed. One day while she was still coming more and more into Christianity, her father left town for another city giving specific instructions and building plans to workers for a new bathhouse for her daughter. Knowing that her f...

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..., military functions, and dinners in her name. (Macri, Giancarlo 1SG. Interviewed by Aaron M. Gonzales. “Description of St. Barbara Medallion.” October 2011.)

Researching Saint Barbara and creating this paper will ultimately help influence young ADA (Air Defense Artillery) soldiers so they have knowledge of their MOS’ history. The Patron Saint of Air Defense Artillery will always be huge a part of our tradition and an interesting story to pass on to younger generations of service members.

Works Cited

Martyr of the Lord." Coptic Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. .

"Barbara the Great Matyr." Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. .

United States Field Artillery Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. .

Macri, Giancarlo. Telephone interview. 18 Oct. 2011.

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