The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE — On Saturday, June 1, at 1 p.m. on the stage of the Historic Masonic Theatre’s John E. Hillert Auditorium, hand-made quilts will be presented to four area veterans representing two different wars (World War II and the Korean War), in honor of service to their country, during the Quilts of Valor presentation.
Quilts of Valor is being held as part of the Alleghany Highlands Heritage Day & C&O Railway Festival.
The public is invited to attend.
Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with a dream. Founder Catherine Roberts’ son Nat was deployed in Iraq.
According to Catherine:
“The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair.
“I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt.
“His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and wellbeing. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was Quilts = Healing.
“I knew a Quilt of Valor had to be a quality-made quilt. A Quilt of Valor had to be quilted by hand or machine. Quilts of Valor would be ‘awarded’, not just passed out like magazines or videos.
“A Quilt of Valor would say unequivocally, ‘Thank you for your service, sacrifice, and valor’ in serving our nation in combat.”
The first Quilt Of Valor was awarded in November 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) to a young soldier from Minnesota who had lost his leg in Iraq.
From there, the movement spread across the nation through the power of word-of-mouth and the Internet.
Over 185,000 quilts have been awarded through the program.
Catherine Roberts recalls:
“The team consisted of a quilt-topper, a person who pieces the top from various fabrics, and a quilter who uses a ‘longarm’ quilting machine to create beautiful machine quilting.”
The group’s mission statement reads, “The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.”
In the early days of the organization, the primary focus was on awarding quilts to service members wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Before long, the non-profit foundation’s goal changed to cover all physically or psychologically wounded service members with a freedom quilt, honoring them for their sacrifices.
Catherine Roberts remembers:
“As we were awarding quilts, the Vietnam vets said over and over again, “Ma’am, this is the first time in forty years anyone has ever thanked me for my service.”
The four veterans from Alleghany County will be honored by a Quilts of Valor organization from Staunton.
———————————————————————————————–
Four area World War II and Korean War veterans will be honored during a Quilts of Valor ceremony Saturday, June 1 at 1 p.m. at the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge. Veterans who received quilts during last year’s Quilts of Valor ceremony included, seated from left, Darfow Rice, James “Neighbor” Smith Sr. and Talmadge Leon Goode. Standing, from left: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1033 representatives Paul Linkenhoker, Johnny Taylor and Bill Atherholt. (Photo Courtesy Chuck Almarez/Fire and Light Gallery)
