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This semester, our Arnold Air Society has been working with Silver Wings on a service project called Rosaries for Warriors. The idea and the name for the project came from the president Silver Wings, Elizabeth Clifton. She learned how to make these rosaries four years ago and thought that it could become a good project for the Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings to make rosaries for our nation’s deployed troops. Clifton came up with the idea from when she sent her husband a rosary during his year-long deployment in Iraq. She reports, “[The rosaries] are within military regulation, are machine washable, and do not make any noise, thus they are perfect for soldiers in the field.”
To work on Rosaries for Warriors, AAS and SW met together one evening in March and learned how to make the rosaries from Clifton and another member from Silver Wings. Pizza was provided and a movie was played. Those making a rosary for the first time were given a piece of string to learn how to tie the knots to make each bead. After some practice, all began to make the real rosaries, which include over 60 special knots. An individual’s first rosary is the hardest to make, but once one masters the technique it becomes a simple process to complete a rosary.
Clifton reports that she plans to send the majority of these rosaries will be sent to Army soldiers stationed out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. Almost all of these soldiers have just deployed to Iraq for the third time. The rosaries will also come with Notre Dame paraphernalia and a letter from all those who helped make the rosaries.
The first meeting of Rosaries for Warriors was a big success, and there are plans for AAS and SW to meet again and make more rosaries. Some also are planning on bringing the Rosaries for Warriors project to their dorms, where they can teach others how to make the rosaries which will be sent overseas.