Wednesday, December 18, 2013

It was an Honor

About a month ago, I received two requests to present Quilts of Valor to some gentlemen. They both happened to live in Denver, and  I needed to go to Denver to pick up my son for Thanksgiving.  ( You can cheer... I did!!!)

So I figured that I would coordinate all of these things on the same day. In the olden days, I lived in a large town. But large town ( okay City) thinking has all but disappeared from my brain, as the town we live outside of now - is about 7 miles square.

It is a good thing people are nice to me, and remind me that Denver is large... it took me 30 minutes to get from one Veteran to the other, and 45 minutes to get to the airport. Who Remembered that Cities could be so LARGE?    BUT they did have a Tokyo Joes, and a Starbucks - so we were good ;-)

The first Veteran I met - Wow - If he was to set the tone for the day - you knew it would be AWESOME!

He was a WWII, Korea and VietNam Veteran. He was a pilot, and although he could not remember what he had for breakfast, he could tell you his wingman's name, rank and serial number. I have to tell you how impressed I was. He and his wife sat down to talk with me, and he started telling stories. If his family would have let me, I would have stayed ALL day. His stories were amazing!!  and By the way - the WHOLE family was there, down to the great grandkids.

 Are they not the most beautiful couple. The one thing I did forget was how many years they were married - in my head it was over 65 years. Beautiful!!   He let me wrap the quilt around him, and his dear wife, she was just amazed at the beauty.  Truly an honor - I tell you!


And then I got to go to the second Veterans house. Oh. My. Gosh. The day just couldn't get any better! His wife and daughter were there. ( by the way my two youngest boys were with me!) This gentleman served... WWII, Korea, VietNam, and was part of the Space Program. You all - the History!!!  But better yet - the love of our country. I wish I knew how to teach this to every student.
 I draped his quilt over him, and he was just So amazed. He wanted to check out every fabric and all the quilting, and he just wanted to see it all.
 There was a letter from the quiltmaker, as well as the little journal that I put together. ( It details the steps it takes to make a quilt) and he just read them over and over. I LOVED the smile on his face.
This is us writing his name on the label. I usually ask if they want their name or their rank on it ... He wanted his Rank! I truly Loved it. Again - I could have stayed all day. But they graciously reminded me I needed to get to the airport to pick up my other son....

And that was the icing on the cake!

Thank you to all the quiltmakers who make this happen. You all touched not only the Veterans but the whole family in both of these cases. You allowed my children to see History, and learn all about Love of Country!

19 comments:

Judy D in AZ said...

I have followed your reports for quite a while now and this is the first to bring tears to my eyes.

Your work is so important and it is outstanding that your family and we quilters give you so much support.

Your life is blessed and enriched as is ours.

Connie in MI said...

So nice....both are wonderful stories. Alycia you do a great job for our veterans...thank you.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, simply beautiful!

phxquilt said...

Thanks so much Alycia for the wonderful pictures and stories about these great men. I always tell people that men like these and the other "lifers" of all eras were patriotic long before it became fashionable. It is difficult to teach that, but you are presenting your sons with the gift of living history and true examples of patriotism.

Thanks again for all you do.

Anonymous said...

These pictures made my day. How precious they (the men)are.
Rosie

Impera Magna said...

Beautiful quilts for two American heros! Thank you for your work on this wonderful project, Alycia!!!

Sue in Scottsdale, AZ said...

Alycia, I want to thank you for all that you do and for letting us be part of it. Thank you also for sharing the stories. Today's post is wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Rhonda said...

Oh Alycia, what a fantastic and wonderful post for Christmas. As I was reading this post and your comment about sharing it with kids... I thought... why not make a PowerPoint from all or some of your posted photos with short stories of the Vets to share with students in schools or do a youTube somehow....sorry I just tried to put more on your already full plate.
Merry Christmas!!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful day. I am truly amazed by all the veterans and their stories, their families and their friends.

I'm sure your sons learned a good lesson listening to them. You did a great job with the presentation and picture taking. I would have like to have talked with both of them.

Thank you for doing this for the Quilts of Valor Foundation and for letting our veterans know they were NEVER forgotten.

Linda Fentriss, Florida Coordinator, QOVF

KaHolly said...

OOh! I have goosebumps. Again. Enjoy your son!!

Paula, the quilter said...

I just love it when you do posts like this one, Alycia. Thank you for all your hard work.

Lori said...

Alycia, these stories are the best!

LynneP said...

Sounds like an amazing day that touched at least two families!
Great job!

Pat R said...

It warms my heart to see these presentations and hear the stories, and I am honored when I get the name of a vet from you to present a quilt to....there's just no better feeling! Thank you, Alycia, for all your hard work and for including so many of us in this amazing organization!!

Elaine Adair said...

A beautiful story for a job well done, on BOTH sides! You mentioned a short journal that was written to tell about how to make a quilt - great idea for when we give our quilts away. Most people don't have a clue, and don't know what hand piecing, or hand sewing, vs. machine work.

LOVE, LOVE the photos. 8-)))

Tami C said...

Thank you for sharing these wonderful visits with us. It's such a fabulous thing that you do for our veterans. It's also wonderful of the people who make these quilts to be given to the vets. God Bless you all.

Kate said...

What a great way to start your Thanksgiving holiday.

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

I just love presenting QOV's in person. They're always so touching and yes, the history you learn; even from the young guys too. It makes what we do even more worthwhile!

LizA. said...

Awww, sniff, sniff.....you should have warned me I would need to break out the tissues. I just love it when you share stories like this....