Quilt of Valor Presentation

Quilt of Valor label

Goal number ten on my June list was to connect with the veteran and complete the Quilt of Valor nomination. Last August, I posted my finish of the quilt. It is the Rhododendron Trail that was Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt in 2022.

All the while I was making the quilt, I was thinking of Rod. I first new of Rod when he appeared on screen during the Vietnam documentary that Ken Burns produced. My husband exclaimed, I have coffee at Starbucks with that guy! I didn't know this about him! That was the moment that I decided Rod needed a Quilt of Valor (QOV).

I've made blocks and a couple of tops for the program; but, this was the second quilt that I had made. The first quilt was for my dad. Unfortunately, he refused the recognition. I gave it to him anyway as a gift. 

Showing the quilt to the audience

Sometimes veterans don't want the recognition--as recognition stirs up memories of soldiers they knew who didn't come as well as battles fought. My dad who served at the end of the Korean War, wouldn't share more about his service than he was a country kid who was tasked with building roads.

The "ask" part of the Quilt of Valor process hung me up because I feared a second rejection. Over the past year, I looked for opportunities to ask Rod if I could make and present him a quilt. The right time didn't come. 

Reading the poem

This month, I decided it was time to make the request. If he said no, I would deal with the consequences. While I wanted to ask him in a face to face conversation, I ended up calling him on the phone. I had given myself until the end of the first week of June to make the ask and that day arrived so that was why I called. 

Our conversation went like this: 

Me: Hi Rod, This is Terry, Bob's wife. I have a favor to ask.

Rod: I'll do it, whatever you need.

Me: Well, first listen to what I'm asking. Then answer the question. You can say no.

Rod: Okay...

Me: You know that I'm a quilter and I make quilts.

Rod: Yes.

Me: Well, I've made you a Quilt of Valor to honor you and your military service. I would like to present it to you. Although, you have to say yes and we have to complete a nomination form.

Jo, Bob, Rod and Butch--coffee buddies

Rod: Well, I'd like a quilt. You made one for me? That would be nice. Tell me what you need.

This time my request was NOT rejected! Whew! First hurdle out of the way. Then it was on to the nomination form. Using his words, we wrote the following:

"I'm proud to have served my country. When I landed in Vietnam, I read in the Stars and Stripes that I was one of 500,000 troops. In the service, I was a machine gunner. Every day, I carried my machine gun and at least 200 rounds of ammo. I carried about 60 pounds of gear every day.

Rod and his wife Jan

During the two years I spent in the service, I experienced many battles. One  battle lasted more than 12 hours. One flank was taking one more fire than our flank. My sergeant and I took ammo to that flank. Bullets flew all around us. We delivered the ammo and returned without getting hit. After we returned, we were sent back to that area as
replacements. I survived that battle and many others. 

The Army awarded me:

1. Bronze star medal with V-device ( for valor) 

2. Bronze Star medal with oak leaf cluster meritorious duty

3. Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars awarded for years served in Vietnam

4. Combat Infantryman Badge

5. National Defense Medal

6. Vietnam Campaign Medal"

I submitted the nomination using the National Quilt of Valor website. Next, I contacted the district coordinator, Lynda Lutz, who made the "official" label and gave me a small bag that contained a Vietnam Veteran decal and a commemorative medal of serving in Vietnam 50 years ago. She also gave me a copy of the poem to read at the presentation. I sewed the label to the quilt.

We held the presentation last Friday morning on the patio of his home. Several of his coffee buddies attended the event. Jo brought his wife, Yvonne. Rod's wife, Jan was also there. I shared how QOV began. Butch helped me wrap the quilt around Rod. I began reading the poem. Rod got emotional listening to it. I got emotional because he got emotional. 

It was great to gift this quilt to such a humble man. What a great way to honor someone and their service. After almost a year, this quilt is finally home! I was gifted a jelly roll of patriotic fabric so I'll be beginning another QOV at some point as most of the coffee buddies are Vietnam veterans. I'm linking to Cynthia at Oh Scrap because this quilt contained a lot of scraps!