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Eight veterans awarded Quilts of Valor

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Each quilt is handmade by volunteers.

KINGFIELD – “We would like to say thank you for your service.”

Eight Quilts of Valor were awarded to local veterans from American Legion Post 61 on Monday night. Handmade by the Stitchers in the Snow quilting group, each quilt includes a label with the name of the quilter who made it and the veteran it was made for.

In 2003, Catherine Roberts’ son Nat was deployed in Iraq when she had a dream that would be the beginning of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Roberts wrote, “The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was: quilts = healing.”

Monday night, following the Post’s monthly meeting, Diane Christen and members of the Stitchers in the Snow group presented the quilts. Each quilt was accompanied by a brief statement, recognizing the veteran’s years of service and acknowledging their sacrifices, before being wrapped around the recipient.

“Our quilters know that freedom is not free,” Christen said. “The cost of our freedom is the dedication of lives of men and women like you, and this quilt is meant to say thank you for your sacrifice.”

Members of the Stitchers in the Snow quilt group wrap James Davis in his Quilt of Valor.

Recipients included Matthew Kenney, U.S. Navy; Norman Goff, U.S. Navy; David Merrill, U.S. Army; Sharon Cairnie, U.S. Army; James Davis, U.S. Army; Todd Brown, U.S. Marines, and Roger Meldrum, U.S. Army. An eighth quilt was made for Mike Lane, U.S. Army, who was unable to attend the meeting. The quilting group had made plans to deliver Lane’s quilt personally at another time.

Over the years the Stitchers in the Snow group has presented 77 quilts to local veterans. Nationally, the Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded over 325,000 quilts. For more information please visit www.qovf.org/

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