Veterans receive Quilts of Valor during reunion reception

During the reception with the Vietnam veterans, time was taken to honor the veterans and say thank you for their service with a poignant Quilts of Valor ceremony.

“The mission of the Quilts of Valor (QOV) is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts,” said Claire Priebe, who presented the men with their quilts.

Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts, ‘Blue Star’ mother, while her son was deployed in Iraq. While he was serving, Roberts felt that same panic that families of deployed men and women often feel, and had a dream that lead to her awarding her first quilt to an injured young soldier who suffered wounds while in Iraq. So moved by his response to the gift, Roberts decided to take her idea further, reaching out to friends and the internet, soon organizing the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Since then, close to 400,000 quilts have been awarded to men and women here in the United States, as well as medical facilities in Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan, all with a simple mission-to honor service members and veterans, one human reaching out to another without judgement, and acknowledging their service to our country.

An unusual step was taken during the ceremony to honor a Gold Star son, Wayne Jones, Jr, who was attending in honor of his father, Wayne E. Jones.

“Quilts of Valor does not award quilts posthumously, so I got creative,” Priebe said, “So we’ll call this a Quilt of Appreciation.”

She went on to explain that Jones was an Alaska State Trooper who, at age 30 enlisted in the Army and was a pilot on the Otter, when he was killed in action.

Jones, Jr has been involved with the group of Vietnam veterans, serving as the honorary Chaplain, as well as one of the founding members of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an all-volunteer, national support organization committed to uniting the Gold Star sons and daughters of American servicemen who were killed, or who remain missing, as a result of the Vietnam War.

“On behalf of Quilts of Valor, I would like to present this Quilt of Appreciation in memory of your father, and thank you for all that you do.”

As each man was called up to receive their handmade quilts, they were wrapped within them. Some men smiled, some hugged Priebe, and some were overcome with the emotions that had been running high throughout the day. All were thankful at the thought, care and symbolism of the gift.

To learn more about the Sons and Daughters in Touch, please visit www.sdit.org.

To learn more about Quilts of Valor-Alaska, please visit www.qovf.org/state-coordinators/alaska/