Eleven veterans were honored Tuesday with quilts during Threads of Valor.
Those honored Tuesday were Adam Aguilar, Dale Campbell, James Gast, Forrest Kantner, Roger King, William “Bud” Long, David Oberg, Kenneth Reed, Steven Shumaker, Roger Studebaker and Kenneth Wolf Jr.
Liberty Sewing Circle coordinator Marsha Huffman said this was the 17th time for the event.
In fall 2015, several local ladies started meeting at Warsaw’s VFW to make quilts for veterans in Kosciusko County in nursing homes and homeless shelters in Warsaw, Huffman said. A special request was made to the Liberty Sewing Circle to make a large quilt for a veteran in a nursing home to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Circle’s vision grew with that by making standard-sized quilts for nominated veterans in Kosciusko County.
She said the group needed a time and place to meet. It was worked out the Circle could meet at the Senior Center. So far 444 Threads of Valor quilts, of which 160 are full-sized, have been presented to veterans.
The quilts are given as a token of appreciation to local veterans to thank them for their service and sacrifices.
Huffman said there have been some nominated veterans “decline for various reasons.” Some of the reasons were to give the quilts to someone older or more deserving or the veteran never saw combat.
She asked veterans to remember they may not have seen battle, but they are no less important. One thing she reminded people is the homefront needed to be defended as well.
Huffman said the veterans at Tuesday’s event came from different walks of life, but they hold similar qualities: courage, pride, determination and dedication to duty and integrity. All of those qualities are needed to serve a cause greater than themselves. The veterans stood and answered the call of duty to protect the nation and the world from tyranny and oppression.
Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell said they were there Tuesday to honor the deserving service members who were presented quilts.
He recognized a women’s group that contributed to the war effort that is often forgotten. It was part of World War II and established as the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Women were to perform the noncombative jobs that men had been doing so more men could be sent to combat.
McDowell said the group started out very unpopular with both men and women for various reasons. He said his mother was a member.
Women in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps were receiving the same pay as men serving stateside, were not eligible for overseas pay and did not receive a government life insurance.
“So everyone (who) gave their life did not receive any life insurance for the family as our counterparts, male counterparts (would),” McDowell said.
A bill was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt “to put things in equal playing ground for men and women serving our nation,” he said. The bill changed the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps’ name to the Women’s Army Corps.
McDowell said there’s a movement that kept going to “improving our situation.” He said the veterans sitting at Tuesday’s event and their efforts and what they went through have helped make it better for those that came after them, so “we appreciate that.”
The Salvation Army Envoy Ken Locke said he was raised by a combat veteran and a Rosie the Riveteer “and I didn’t stand a chance.”
Locke continued by saying we live in interesting times. He doesn’t want to turn on the news some times because it’s sad some of the things we’re seeing and hearing.
Locke read a poem that said in part, “It is the solider, not the minister, that has given us the freedom of religion. It is the solider, not the reporter, that has given us freedom of the press. It is the solider, not the poet, that has given us freedom of speech. It is the solider, not the campus organizer, that has given us the freedom to protest.”
He said when it comes to the Threads of Valor celebration and other similar celebrations, “we’re always reminded because of their sacrifice, because of their willingness to raise their right hand and take that oath when they went into the military, and to serve, we have the freedoms we have. I hope we can figure out in this country that freedom isn’t free. It comes with a cost. And all through the generations, each generation has had to step up in different ways to protect the freedoms we have and that’s why we honor these men and women who have given their time, their talent, their blood, their sweat, their tears. Some of them in places around the world we wouldn’t even imagine exist. So that’s why we come to honor them today.”
Aguilar was in the U.S. Marine Corps. as a sergeant. He served in 2008-15 and was in a combat zone. He was deployed in Libya and Afghanistan.
Campbell was in the Army, discharged as a captain. He served for 21 years from 1994 to 2015. He was in combat zone and the longest duty station was at Fort Hood, Texas. His most memorable memory was when he was stationed in Iraq at the same time as his brother and he got to do a patrol with him.
Gast served in the U.S. Army and discharged as a 1st lieutenant. He served from 1968 to 1970 in Vietnam. He received a Bronze Star and Air Medal Combat Infantry Award.
Kantner served in the Army and discharged as a SP-2. He served from 1953 to 1955 in the Korean War and was not in combat. He received the National Defense Service Ribbon and the United Nations Service Medal.
King was in the U.S. Army and the Indiana Army National Guard. He was an E-6 staff sergeant. He served from 1983 to 1982 and 2001 to 2012.
Long was in the Army and National Guard. He served from 1969 to 2009. He was not in a combat zone.
Oberg was in the U.S. Air Force as a sergeant from 1967-71. He was in Vietnam in a combat zone.
Reed was in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2014 and discharged as an E-4. He was in a war zone in Afghanistan.
Shumaker was in the Army from 1967-77 and discharged as an E-6. He was stationed for six years in Germany.
Studebaker was in the U.S. Marine Corps as a E-4 corporal from 1969-70 in a war zone in Vietnam. He received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and expert rifleman badge.
Wolf was in the U.S. Army from 1990-2011 and discharged as a sergeant. He was in a combat zone in Iraq.