‘Quilts of Valor’

WASILLA — It’s not charity; it’s an honor.

That’s what Quilts of Valor Alaskan Regional Coordinator Linda Kau tells people about the handmade quilts that go to service members and veterans touched by war.

This week, Kau and other members of the Forget Me Not Quilters of Alaska presented 25 servicemen and women with such a gift — 18 at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home on Thursday afternoon, four at the Wasilla VFW, Post 9365 Friday evening, and three more individuals over the weekend.

At the VFW, Kau told the story of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that began in 2003 with a mother’s dream. While her son was stationed in Iraq, the mother had a vision of a young man terrorized by war, then calmed when covered in a quilt.

“The next morning she got up remembering that, and she said, ‘I’m gonna make quilts to send over to the troops,’” Kau told the gathering of about 30 people.

Kau said she joined Quilts of Valor in 2005, inspired by her own family’s military history. She became the Alaska coordinator in 2011, and with the Forget Me Not Quilters has awarded more than 400 quilts in the last decade. About 100 more have been awarded to Alaska servicemembers outside of the Mat-Su Borough, she said, and 144,682 nationwide.

Each quilt takes $150 to $250 to make, she said.

An honor of a lifetime

The first to be recognized at the VFW on Friday was Palmer resident Christopher Garrettson, who retired from the U.S. Air Force after more than 20 years of service.

He was the only recipient who didn’t know he was going to receive an award when he showed up that evening.

“I tell you what, this is the honor of my life,” Garrettson said, draped in his quilt, holding back tears. “Thank you very much.”

He thanked the active duty service members in the audience and his wife, Denise, for working just as hard as he did, if not harder, for their country.

“She stood with me every step of the way. Through war … and my stress, and my anxiety, and she raised my kids, and she did it all,” he said. “I owe everything to her.”

While all Quilts of Valor have a red-white-and-blue theme, the quilt Garrettson received also featured two bald eagles in the center, which he found particularly moving.

“The one thing you carry when you retire, you see that flag, and you see a bald eagle, it turns the hair on the back of your neck up. Not many people can say that,” he said, after the ceremony.

Garrettson and his wife said they hadn’t heard of Quilts of Valor until recently, but he had been the beneficiary of military appreciation in other ways.

While stationed in Qatar, Garrettson remembered big bags full of letters and cards -- many from children he’d never met -- being delivered to the base.

“When you’re down in the dumps and you wanna go home and you’re gettin’ beat up, you get these cards from kids (with) their little stick figures and their little flags … and they just perk you up,” he said. “They just meant the whole world to us.”

Despite being deployed half a dozen times during his career — which started in 1990, at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm — Garrettson was “blessed with some really good assignments,” his wife said. His years in the military made up “the best time of my life,” he said.

“We probably retired prematurely,” Denise Garrettson added.

Still, they will continue to pay homage to members of the military with Quilts of Valor, she said.

“I think what they do is amazing, and to know that they’re sending them all around the world is awesome,” she said. “I’ll definitely be contributing and donating to the organization in the future.”

‘Sew’ motivational

After Garrettson, Krista Tanis with the Air Force Security Forces was called forward to receive her quilt, which she actually had a hand in making, long before she knew it would be given to her.

“I don’t know how you ladies do it, because this is very tedious work,” Tanis said to the Forget Me Not quilters at the ceremony.

Most quilts are pieced together by multiple people, and Tanis and fellow recipient Valerie Brock -- who was not able to attend the ceremony -- volunteered to sew the binding on a couple Quilts of Valor at the “Who Let the Girls Out” event in downtown Palmer this spring. When their friend, Becky Oviatt, heard about what they were doing and learned more about the organization, she said, “I have got to get quilts for these wonderful people.”

“I’ve made it my personal mission to see every service member I know get a quilt,” Oviatt said.

Wrapped in her quilt on Friday, Tanis thanked Oviatt and the quilters and assured everyone that the blanket would be put to good use.

“Once we get our little bun popped out here in November we’ll probably be able to wrap him and keep him nice and warm,” she said, holding her pregnant belly. “Thank you.”

Her husband, Joseph, was also there in uniform, and expressed his equivalent gratitude.

“It really opens my eyes to see how much our service really means to people,” he said. “Especially being military police, always gettin’ crap and yelled at … it’s my first time feeling the appreciation like this.”

“It kind of motivates me,” he added.

Originally from Nevada (Krista) and Arizona (Joseph) the Tanises now live in Palmer. They have served together in the USAF for five years.

Seeing the impact

The final quilt recipients of the evening, Michael and Casey Merrington, were also nominated by Oviatt, and retired Air Force.

Michael Merrington retired after 22.5 years in 2009, and his wife followed suit in 2014, after 20 years “on the nose” she said. They were each deployed two or three times during their military careers, and Casey distinctly remembered seeing quilts delivered to soldiers in recovery at the trauma center where she worked in Afghanistan.

Michael said his decision to enlist in the military stemmed from an experience in his home state of North Carolina, where he worked at a weave mill.

“One day the guy that was the highest paid in what I did retired after 30 years, and in another six weeks he dropped dead. I said, ‘I’m not gonna spend 30 years here,’” he said.

Casey also enlisted, at age 20, looking to do something with purpose.

The Merringtons both expressed their appreciation to Quilts of Valor and similar organizations that honor veterans.

“I’m so glad that we were lucky enough to serve at a time when veterans are appreciated,” Casey said.

To learn more about the Quilts of Valor Foundation, donate or request a quilt, visit www.qovf.org, or contact Linda Kau at linda.kau@qovf.org.