MINT HILL, NC – Nine local veterans received quilts at Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday, November 13 in Mint Hill. Old Glory Quilters and the Quilts of Valor Foundation performed an award ceremony to honor them for their service and sacrifice in serving our nation.
Only veterans with an Honorable, Medical or General Discharge status are eligible to receive a beautifully made quilt. Quilts of Valor Foundation does not award posthumously.
A Quilt of Valor may be awarded to an active service member or veteran who has been touched by and experienced war. The quilts are of the highest quality and are machine-made or handmade by individual volunteer quilters and are considered to be priceless. They usually are 60″ x 80″ and fit very comfortably on a person’s lap.
The quilt must be awarded; it’s not considered to be a gift, and it must be recorded. This recognition is truly a prized possession by all veterans who are recipients of a quilt.
So what is a Quilt of Valor? The quilt simply and unequivocally says, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our great nation.” There have been over 270,000 Quilts of Valor awarded since the organization was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts, who was a Blue Star mother whose son went off to war to serve in Iraq.
The coveted award is considered to be one of the highest awards a veteran can ever receive as it’s not a military award or medal; it comes from the heart and hands of an appreciative civilian American citizen who is patriotic. The organization is most known to be a veterans’ service and support group among others who recognize and award Quilts of Valor to active military members and veterans of foreign wars as a “Thank You and Welcome Home.”
The nine receipts who received their quilts on Saturday, November 13, at the ceremony held in Veterans Memorial Park are Ronald Askew, Carly Batey, Donald Clinton, Tony Hall, Johnny Helms, Gary Knighton, Buddy Morgan, Donald Ratliff, and Walter Whitley.
For more information about the organization, please go online to their website at www.QOVF.org. If you enjoy quilting, this is a beautiful way to honor a worthy veteran for their service and sacrifice.
