Vets Finding Vets recently teamed up with Vets4Christ for a Quilts of Valor presentation ceremony at Tri Church Parish in Brocton, New York. Amazingly, it required quilts from three different quilt groups, and I can’t thank them all enough, so I’ll be making donations.
It has, in the past, been very difficult to find a venue for Vets Finding Vets events in the north county. We do have an annual Honor Flight Reunion for those who have been on Honor Flights through Buffalo/Niagara and VFV. I try very hard to keep them centrally located. About one third of our Honor Flight veterans have been from the upper most towns of Chautauqua County. The Reunions go well in Legion and VFW banquet rooms, as they are happy to provide the space without charging for the use of the building.
Wes Tessey contacted me to say that he would welcome us at Tri Church Parish where he hosts several Veteran groups, so Quilts of Valor was the first thing I thought of. Wes was kind enough to propose that the best audience would be his Vets4Christ Breakfast which is held the third Saturday morning of each month, so we set a date of May 17.
Our local quilt gals, now officially called Chautauqua Region Quilts of Valor, located at Quilter’s Haven in Lakewood, had said they would have ten quilts ready. I asked ten of my previous Honor Flight Vets from the north if I could nominate them for a Quilt of Valor, permission granted all around. Then, because I had more northern Vets that I hated to leave out of this wonderful ceremony, I asked our previous quilt ladies, WNY Quilters For a Cause if there was a chance they had one or two extra quilts. They said they could furnish seven or eight! You know if eight was mentioned, that I would have to go for eight. I had no problem filling out names for that because I have an Honor Flight waiting list that is long. Voila! Eighteen Vets, eighteen quilts.
Oops, one Vet already on the list wanted to know if there could be another Vet added, an older friend of his.
Just like that, another quilt was added from a QOV group in Binghamton, who had sent some extras to answer an appeal from Chautauqua Region QOV.
Thanks to all of these industrious ladies and their huge hearts for Veterans, seventeen Veterans were awarded quilts as a group and one Veteran received his ceremony and quilt in his home due to ambulatory issues. Sadly, one Vet was ill on the big day and we will add him to the next event in Brocton.
Quilts of Valor is a nationwide program involving documentation of each Veteran’s service, and experienced quilters who volunteer their time and materials to make these works of art. Most quilts are red, white, and blue but are not required to be.
Due to the documentation process, there was a lot of scurrying behind the scenes to fill out the forms and upload the info into the official QOV request program. It was a big push because we were running out of time and we all had so many other things going on, but nobody wants to take responsibility for disappointing a Veteran!
On the big day, May 17, they were so excited to come that they came earlier than the time I had given the Silver Creek Post 6472 Amvets Riders for a flag line as the Veterans arrived. But the Riders took it in stride, enjoyed breakfast with the regular Vets and the QOV crowd and presented the colors as the soon-to-be recipients entered the Sanctuary for the ceremony. The QOV Vets were so humbled that this was done for them that it needs to be a regular part of our ceremonies from now on.
One very special part of the ceremony was the award of quilts to a father who served in Korea and his son who served in Vietnam. They had been on an Honor Flight together and this was “the cherry on top”, as one Vet said.
It all worked out, the weather was nice, they were very appreciative of the tasty breakfast, and their hearts melted as beautiful quilts were wrapped around their shoulders in honor of their service to our country.
It doesn’t get any better than that!
