LONG ISLAND CITY-- The annual St. Barbara's Day dinner-during which the artillery community honors outstanding members -- is always a big deal for New York Army National Guard artillerymen.
It's such a big deal that this year, Staff Sgt. Edward Caba, a fire support NCO assigned to the 1st Battalion 69th Infantry, decided it was the right place to ask his girlfriend Shannon DeJoseph to marry him.
"She deserves everybody's attention and everybody should know how much I love her," Caba explained.
Caba, a combat veteran, joined the New York Army National Guard in 2007, lives in Milford, Connecticut, and is a warehouse worker Winnelson Company, a plumbing supplies distributor, when he is not adjusting fire for the 69th Infantry.
He and DeJoseph, a nurse in New Haven, Connecticut, have been dating for two years.
So at the Friday, Dec. 4 dinner - between the main course and dessert - Caba added to the traditional program of awards and speeches by asking his girlfriend to become his fiancée.
She said yes.
Hosted by the 1st Battalion 258th Field Artillery, the annual dinner recognizes Soldiers for their accomplishments by inducting them into the Order of St. Barbara, an honorary society of Army and Marine Corps artillerymen.
St. Barbara - whose father was killed by lighting after he executed her for becoming a Christian-was adopted as the patron saint of artillerymen during the late middle ages. The first cannoneers would appeal to her to protect them from having their own guns blow up.
December 4 is St. Barbara's day in the Catholic calendar. Artillery units around the world hold special dinners on or near that date.
The dinner is not just about awards or the history of St. Barbara, it is about the ongoing fellowship of those who have served, are serving and those that will serve in the future, explained Father Edward Kane, a retired chaplain who served with the 1-258th.
At this year's dinner six New York National Guard artillerymen were recognized:
* Maj. Brandon Gendron of Norwalk, CT, a member of the Headquarters Battery, 1-258th;
* Capt. Eric Emerling of Buffalo, N.Y., a member of Headquarters Troop 2nd Squadron 101st Cavalry;
* Chief Warrant Officer 2 Benjamin Lewis of Syracuse, N.Y., a member of Headquarters Company, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team;
* Master Sgt. Victor Masser of Rochester, N.Y., a member of Headquarters Battery, 1-258th;
* Sgt 1st Class Jonathan Morrison of Queens, N.Y., a member of Headquarters Battery, 1-258th;
* Sgt. 1st Class Jack Martilotta of Greenpoint, N.Y., a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion 69th Infantry.
Gendron, the 1-258th operations officer, said it was great to see the number of people who turned out for this year's event.
"To see a record crowd and not just from the field artillery community is something special and much appreciated," Gendron said.
Danielle Morrison, the wife of Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Morrison, and Diana Sepulveda, were inducted into the Honorable Order of Molly Pitcher, for their support of the 1-258th Field Artillery.
The order honors "Molly Pitcher", whose real name was Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley. She got her nickname by carrying pitchers of water to the men in her husband's artillery battery during the Revolutionary War. When her husband passed out from heat exhaustion at the Battle of Monmouth she stepped up and took his place loading the cannon.
In his remarks Brig. Gen. Gary Yaple, the 42nd Infantry Division's deputy commander for operations, praised the artillerymen for their accomplishments in the past year. During platoon level fire support certification training at Annual Training, the battalion put over 900 rounds on target with no accidents, he emphasized.
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