Sunday, April 15, 2012

Quilts of Valor

Here in Kansas, I have lots of friends who are in my life because we share a love of quilting.  Some of my favorite quilty friends also share my passion for supporting our military service members.  We are a loosely organized bunch of quilters who make Quilts of Valor.  We've been making quilts for soldiers and veterans for several years, now.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to participate in delivering and awarding around 600 Quilts of Valor to Ft. Riley.  548 of these went to the 4-4 Cavalry Division.  These men and women just returned from Afghanistan and had heavy casualties.  

An officer told me today that there were 600 who deployed to Afghanistan. Of those 600, 8 were killed. Quilts were taken today to be given to the families of the fallen soldiers. Also, 143 Purple Hearts were awarded. Many soldiers received more than one Purple Heart.

It was a heartwarming experience to be able to see the faces of the soldiers as they picked out their quilts.  I will never forget it.

The American Legion Riders escorted us.  

This is my friend Elaine & me loading up the last of the quilts.



















If you'd like to become involved in making Quilts of Valor & want more information, visit http://www.qovf.org for more information.  If you are local, give me a shout.  You can join my merry band of quilters.