Veterans Get the Gift of Comfort on Veterans Day

Photos from the Quilts of Valor Presination can be seen here!

11 Veterans gathered at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart for a special presentation ceremony on Veterans Day November 11, 2014. The Quilts of Valor Foundation, a nonprofit organization, presented hand-stitched quilts to these deserving soldiers. The quilts will provide a source of comfort and a reminder that those who served are loved and not forgotten.

The veterans at the presentation were nominated through the Foundation. The sat in a long row in front of a large crowd in the hospital's auditorium. Diana Richards, Indiana State Coordinator of Quilts of Valor Foundation as well as St. Mary Medical Center staff member, recognized each veteran and spoke about the Foundation.

"Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts, nurse midwife and mother of a Marine and a female cadet in Annapolis. She made a quilt for her son and he asked her to make a few more for fellow soldiers," Richards said. "Now in 2014 as of this morning we have exceed the number of quilts we have made, over 110,000."

One quilt takes about $200 worth of material and 40-100 hours of time to create. There is a long list of requests for these special gifts.

"Quilts of Valor first came to our attention by Diana,"Mary Fetsch Director, Marketing & Community Relations at St. Mary Medical Center said. "We've always been a great supporter of veterans and service members and so we really wanted to make sure we took advantage of this opportunity to honor those who serve our country."

When the names of each veteran was announced, he stood and a quilt was wrapped around his shoulders. Following this, a medallion was placed around his neck by a member of the Patriot Guard of Indiana in gratitude for his service. 

Each time a quilt was given and a medallion was placed, the words, "Thank you for your service," could be heard as a validation and verbal honoring of these brave people.

Honorees are:

 

  • Kieth Bond, US Army - Iraq
  • Arthur Catenazzo, US Army - Korea
  • Patrick Catenazzo, US Army - Korea
  • Mel Chavez, US Marines - Viet Nam
  • Timothy Creighton, US Army, US Navy - Iraq
  • Thomas Jones, US Marines - Viet Nam
  • William Milner, US Army - Iraq
  • Michael Pfeiffer, US Marines - Iraq
  • Lester Sheridan, US Marines - WWII
  • Lynn West, US Army - Viet Nam
  • John Wolf, US Navy - WWII

 

"Other people deserve this more than me, but it's an honor," Arthur Catenazzo said humbly. 

"With each presentation that we do, I hear many veterans say that they don't deserve this, but I say, 'You payed the check a long time ago,'" Richards said.