I am the wife of a retired Army officer and Viet Nam veteran. Our sons and grandsons have all served in either the Marines or the Army and were deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. Our sons are both retired from active duty. All of them are proud recipients of a Quilt of Valor.
I learned to sew when I was a child. My mother began to teach me as soon as I could reach the presser foot on her Singer 401A (which I still have). That sewing machine has made every move with us, back and forth across the US and to Europe and still keeps on stitching!
Quilts of Valor holds a special place in my heart, not only because it brings people together to make the quilts, but because for many of our service men and women, their quilt is a symbol of their time in service to our country. I think that is especially true for the Viet Nam veterans. A dear friend of ours received his quilt the same day my husband received his. He said he had never felt so honored. His quilt on the back of the chair he sits in every day.
Every quilt has a story and the story of the Quilts of Valor is to honor the person who took the oath to “support and defend…..”