Touched by an Angel

“When you return from down range, you are required to go to the VA”. “There are lots of items they give you, welcome home packages and other things, but one item I received was something I did not expect”, “The label read ‘Quilt of Valor pieced by Joanne K, Quilted by Lynn R, MSP Quilting Angels, Germantown, MD’”.

Today, July 14, 2012, Joanne K was humbled to receive an expression of gratitude.

She received this recognition from someone she would never have known nor had the opportunity to express her gratitude personally, except for a QOV Label, with her First name, last initial and the name of the group with whom she is a member.

The Quilt of Valor was proudly awarded at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Hospital by the staff.

Go figure – from down range to down home!

Welcome home fellow American, Welcome home!

Let Freedom Ring - Happy Birthday America!

Because of them - We have our Freedom

We sew, we quilt - Quilts of Valor. To Honor and Comfort those service members and Veterans, Touched By War.

From down range comes a note of gratitude.

Here is a picture thought y'all might like. We have been flying a lot of missions lately, mostly US soldiers.

We had 25 quilts come in the other day, so after our night of flying all night, some of the flight medics and I went over to the Bagram hospital to give the quilts to the medical staff. They are ensuring that the quilts go with the soldiers that we bring in on their way to Germany and back to the US.

I honestly could not look up the names of all the people who sent quilts in order to thank them properly. If possible, please let all the QOVF volunteers around the country know that their volunteer work is much appreciated over here. Everytime I go into the ER or ICU coming from the frontline, it hits me and reminds me what my crew is doing out on the lines.

I am thankful to work with the crew I have and have experienced the upmost professionalism I have seen in my life.

I hope to have a good point of contact in the next couple of weeks when our replacements arrive. Less than a month for us and it feels good to pack.

Hope all is well back in the States and y'all have a nice 4th of July.

Very Respectfully,


Franklin



June 14 - Flag Day - Celebrate FREEDOM

Great Stories - One Reason

In the United States Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

On June 14, 2012, we commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the FREEDOM which was secured in this battle.

Every moment of every day, the men and women of the United States military serve to protect and defend our freedom under the Flag of the United States of America - for all of us.

With every piece we sew we create ties that bind together this nation and each of us with the recipients of our Quilts of Valor.

Though we may never know the depth of their service and sacrifice to protect and defend this Great Nation - we are humbled and privileged to Honor and Comfort them With Quilts of Valor.

From Down Range -

To all:

I would like to take this time to thank every single member of MSP quilting angels from Germantown, MD.

Recently, I returned from a 6 month deployment in Afghanistan.

During a mandatory visit to the VA hospital in Baltimore, we were given quilts from your organization.

It means a lot that your organization takes so much time to show us so much care and love.

What you made was not a quilt but a symbol of the true American spirit and what separates our country from all other countries on this earth.

This quilt will be used to heavily in the next couple of years.

I will make sure that our child, to be born later this year, understands the meaning behind this quilt, so they will understand how blessed they are to be raised in this country and how the people in this country are what separates us from all others.

So to Joanne K and the Germantown, MD Quilting Angels, Thank You.

TSgt Jared

National Quilting Day 2012 - Quilts of Valor - Germantown MD

Karla Trotta, Frederick MD, creates a Quilt of Valor

Karla Trotta, of Frederick MD, celebrates National Quilting Day 2012 through the creation of a Quilt of Valor.

Karla, a member of the MSP Quilting Angels, Germantown, MD, has created numerous quilts to include Quilts for Kids(R) - with a focus on children with pediatric cancer and Quilts of Valor - to Honor and Comfort all combat servicemembers and veterans touched by war.

Skype® Connects Quilts of Valor, Mother and Son

For each of us – we sew and Quilt to Honor and Comfort those service member and veterans touched by war. As many know, when a loved one goes to war, so does the family. The family, this Nation and the QOV family consider those that serve to protect and defend us - our Heroes.

Marcella Pirner-Cormier, Destination Coordinator, Quilts of Valor Foundation, handles QOV requests, both nationally and for those that are down-range. Marcella forwarded a request from Cindi in Knoxville, TN for her son Kyle.

Kyle, a USAF Intelligence Technician, on second deployment had an opportunity to stand up a new Intel system. His first child was due any day.

Kyle knew the vital mission the system served and was torn between staying behind or ensuring the system was deployed to meet the mission. He told Cindi "Mom, I will make a difference; maybe I can save some lives". Cindi said “I believe he did”.

Kyle’s son arrived 7 days before he left for the war front. Cindi said of her son Kyle, “He is my hero” and to the Quilts of Valor Foundation “Thank you for all you do.”

Cindi – From all of us at QOVF – “Thank you for your family’s service and sacrifice for all of us”.

And speaking of technology – for this presentation, it was the first known Skype® of a QOV Presentation!

Thank you Rachael!

Honor and Comfort was served at 6:00 PM

Curtains make a new Home or How Quilt of Valor recipient # 60,096 was to be Honored and Comforted

New wife, New Life - a warrior returns home. 10 years and seven combat tours later, after serving valiantly to protect and defend the United States of America – 27 Years old, Sergeant Carlson restarted his life in Reedsville, WV.


Step back for a moment to Eleanor’s Quilts and Fabric’s, in Reedville, WV, located on, of all places, Veterans Memorial Highway (http://www.eleanorsquiltsandfabrics.com/).

Enter Melissa Carlson and Mom looking for fabric for new curtains for the home Melissa and Anthony will call their own. A fabric from the Timeless Treasures, American Valor series, catches Melissa’s eye.

There it was, on the selvage of the fabric, WWW.QOVF.ORG.

Hmm, Melissa thought…”I like this fabric, maybe there is more information online”.

Mom and Melissa complete their purchase of fabric and begin the task of making curtains.

Discover the rest of the story at our website - http://www.mspquiltingangels.org/carlson

Quilts of Valor - What Sort of Medal is THAT?

Your elders have forever warned you – “Never get in a car with a stranger”. Gee… Why on earth would you give a ride to a stranger or two or three?


You are on a Mission.

If you have ever lived in the Washington DC area, you know the difference between a tough-skinned terrestrial mollusk (slug) and the absurd concept of sharing a ride with people you have yet met (strangers – aka – SLUGS).

The Mission? To serve Honor and Comfort upon Lance Corporal Skerry at his family’s home north of Fredericksburg, VA.

The issue? A 5:30 appointment at the home of Lance Corporal Skerry that would be a tight fit two hours away in Washington, DC traffic.

Discover the "rest of the story" at our website - HERE