Veterans receive Quilts of Valor

On Memorial Day, Monday afternoon the Nelson Community Center was filled with the friends and family of Ken Hamel, Darrell Jensen and Norman Reeve, as these veterans were presented with Quilts of Valor by Barb Harris-Sole. Barb was a member of the Nelson community for many years and in retirement has made Quilts of Valor her mission. She has made 29 of these quilts and has been a part of the ceremony many times as a member of the Hastings Quilt Guild. After explaining the origin of Quilts of Valor and their purpose, as well as each veteran's branch of service, length of service, and rank at the time of discharge, the quilts were then wrapped around each of the veterans. Each of the men then gave a brief summation of their service.

Ken Hamel served from 1961 to 1963 in the U.S. Army, serving primarily in Tripoli, Lybia. He shared some of the conditions of that time in that far-away desert area. He was honorably discharged as Private First Class.

Darrell Jensen served from 1954 to 1956 and was honorably discharged as Private First Class, U.S. Army. Darrell served 16 months of that time in Korea defending our country.

Norman Reeve enlisted in 1952 in the U.S. Air Force and made it his career, serving 20 years of active duty and 10 years in the reserves. During this time, Norman was stationed at several bases including California, Texas, Fairbanks Anchorage, Alaska and Delaware, among others, as well as war-time Vietnam. When orders came to an overseas base where he could not take his growing family, he retired from the U.S.A.F. after 20 years. Norman was Senior Master Sergeant at the time of his discharge. Norman stated that being active and working contributed to his long life, and the other two gentlemen quickly agreed.

Quilts of Valor Foundation was founded in 2003 by the mother of a young man who was deployed to Iraq. One evening, she dreamed that a young soldier found comfort in a quilt while serving in some faraway place. That dream inspired her, Catherine Roberts of Delaware, to start making quilts for wounded soldiers in the Walter Reed Hospital. After 2015 with less deployment overseas, the foundation changed the focus to awarding Quilts of Valor to veterans at home. As of this date, at least 269,505 Quilts of Valor have been awarded to U.S. active military and veterans. Each quilt meets certain criteria, has a tag attached with specific information, and is registered with the National Quilts of Valor Foundation.

During the presentation, Barb expressed the gratitude of the citizens of the United States for all veterans' service, and that the recipients of these quilts are to use them as comfort, support, and a reminder of that gratitude.