Quilts of Valor for July 4th

DAYTON-Three local veterans were awarded Quilts of Valor at the War Memorial in Dayton on Independence Day. Quilts of Valor is a non-profit organization created in 2003. It has presented over 327,000 quilts to comfort service members and veterans touched by war.

Linda Clarys is a member of Quilts of Valor and has been creating quilts through the program for local veterans since 2019. She pieces and sews the quilts, with help from others, including a quilter who machine quilts the finished pieces. The quilts are colorful, intricately designed, and special.

The organization provides guidelines for those interested in creating a QOV to be awarded to someone they know or donated. The fabric should be good quality and 100% cotton. The material's patterns do not have to be red, white, and blue. However, patriotic colors are the most popular with recipients.

It is up to the quilters to choose patterns and blocks suitable for a patriotic theme. It is also recommended to avoid juvenile, gender, or branch-specific fabrics unless appropriate for the recipient.

Quilts should be between 55" x 65" and 72" x 90"; the organization recommends 60" x 80". The quilts are draped over the shoulders of the recipients in a display of care, affection, and recognition of their sacrifices and service.

Clarys said the ceremonies are often emotional. Some recipients have held their service stories quietly, rarely speaking of their experiences. Sometimes the trauma of war has left veterans isolated. She said that a result of one ceremony was that it brought two estranged brothers together-a touching example of how the quilts offer more than warmth.

This year, Gary Lowe, who served in the army from February 9, 1967, to February 6, 1970, was presented a quilt by his friend and fellow car enthusiast Josh Hoffaker. Lowe went to Vietnam as a helicopter mechanic but asked if he could be a crew chief and machine gunner on medivac helicopters. In 1968 during the Tet Offensive, as a gunner, he held the position with the shortest life expectancy in the war.

During his acceptance comments, he recounted how he found out after the war that one of the soldiers he helped to "medivac" during the war was a teacher from his hometown of Dayton.

Terry Herrin joined the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and served four years as an air traffic controller in England. Chuck Amerien, a previous recipient of a Quilt of Honor, presented the QOV around the shoulders of Herrin. Amerien thanked the veteran for his help at the American Legion in Dayton.

Accepting his QOV, Herrin expressed his feeling that the honor belonged to the other recipients for their frontline experiences. The audience disagreed wholeheartedly, letting him know how important his service was.

The last recipient of the day was Wayne Bell, who volunteered for service in 1958, serving in Germany before being discharged in 1960. While studying at Cal Poly, he was recalled to service during the Berlin Crisis and was an honor guard member before being discharged in 1964.

Brian Black presented the colorful quilt, carefully placing it around Bell.