Retired Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient, gives the Ancient Order of St. Barbara medallion to Lt. Gen. George Flynn, the commandinggeneral of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, during the St.Barbara’s Day celebration at The Clubs of Quantico on Feb. 29.
Artillerymen of the Leatherneck Chapter of the Field Artillery Association and guests came from near and far to The Clubs At Quantico to celebrate their patroness, St. Barbara, Feb. 29.
‘‘To ensure we are all on common survey, allow me to review her history,” said Lt. Col. Kendall Martinez, the event narrator. ‘‘I will speak slowly to allow the infantry and aviators in attendance to keep up.”
Barbara was the daughter of a wealthy pagan, who converted to Christianity, said Martinez. When her father found out, hebeheaded her. Because of his action he was consumed by lighting from God.
‘‘Because of her faithfulness and her association with the avenging thunderbolt, Barbara has become the traditional patroness of those who would seek protection from thunderstorms, fire, explosions and sudden death,” Martinez said.
‘‘The gunners of the 17th century adopted Barbara as their patroness because of the questionable reliability of their own cannons,”Martinez said. ‘‘To this day, artillerymen revere her selfless sacrifice and dignified service.”
The guest speaker was retired Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam and was iducted into the Ancient Order of St. Barbara in 1999. The Ancient Order which marks a lifetime of service to the artillery community.
Barnum spoke of his pride in today’s Marines and encouraged them to stay the course.
‘‘[Marines] are dedicated young men and women of character who continue to believe in our great country enough to put life and limb on the line without gratification and without thoughts of personal gain,” Barnum said.
‘‘And I ask you to remember our motto: Semper Fidelis — always faithful,” Barnum said. ‘‘And I challenge you to be faithful to your God, to your country, your family and to our glorious Corps of Marines.”
As part of the annual festivities, new members who were judged to have significantlyattributed to the artillery community wereinducted into the Order of St. Barbara. This year, eight new Marines were inducted. They are Maj. Chad Chorzelewski, Maj. Andre Salvanera, Maj. Jarrod Stoutenborough, Capt. EdwardMcDonough, Gunnery Sgt. Brent Smith, Gunnery Sgt. Rico Pinckney, Patrick Freemyers and Calvin Hynes.
To the surprise of most guests, and the award recipient, there was a rare induction to the Ancient Order of St. Barbara.
Lt. Gen. George Flynn, commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, received the award from Barnum. Flynn is the oldest active duty artilleryman in the Marine Corps.
‘‘It’s incredible to be part of this select group,” Flynn said with a smile. ‘‘This is what I grew up doing in the Marine Corps and it’s nice to know that you’re respected for it by your peers.”
The night ended with a couple of comedic skits as well as final toasts to all artillerymen and the Marine Corps.
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