Like most traditional Catholics, I have a rosary, and I use it to pray. My rosary isn't anything special; it's made of camo-colored yarn. The "beads" are knots that have been tied in the yarn, and I've accented the beads for the "Our Father" with copper wire so that I can feel them when I reach them.
What makes this rosary special to me is the crucifix. The crucifix came from a rosary that my Grandfather carried with him as he served in the Navy during World War Two. Five years floating around the Pacific ocean, fighting pretty much the entire time. When I was getting ready to go to Afghanistan, my mom pulled this crucifix out and gave it to me. It had been in my father's possession since my Grandfather's funeral. I took the plain crucifix off my rosary, and put Grandpa's on.
My Grandfather was just doing a hitch in the Navy; he was born in South Dakota, and the Navy was his way of getting out of the Midwest and seeing the world. And then, Pearl Harbor. December 7th. Today's date.
Needless to say, he did more than just a hitch. I don't know the exact date my Grandfather was in; his records were destroyed in a fire in the 1960's, along with a much of other military service records. I know he was already in the Navy when my Father was born in 1940. He got out after the war was done, and went into journalism of all things. He died in the early 90's.
I've got some prayers to say today. I'll be using Grandpa's crucifix.
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