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Twelve area veterans were honored and given quilts during the Threads of Valor ceremony at the Kosciusko County Senior Center Wednesday.
Those honored were Ronald E. Deck, Jan Stephen Albertson, Leonard Franklin Engle, William Earl Helblig Jr., Kenneth B. Hunnell, Gaylord D. Johnston, Bryan C. Mendenhall, Marcia Jean Mitchell, Allen Eugene Smith, James Michael Smith, Phillip Lane Stepp and Thomas Kinch.
Liberty Sewing Circle coordinator Marsha Huffman said this was the 20th time for the event.
In fall 2015, several local ladies started meeting at Warsaw’s Veterans of Foreign Wars to make quilts for veterans in Kosciusko County, Huffman said. A special request was made to the Liberty Sewing Circle to make a large quilt for a veteran in a nursing home to celebrate his 90th birthday. The circle’s vision grew with that by making standard-sized quilts for nominated veterans in Kosciusko County. The group needed a time and place to meet. It was worked out the Circle would meet at the Senior Center. So far, over 215 full-sized quilts have been given to veterans at Thread of Valor ceremonies.
The quilts are given as a token of appreciation to local veterans to thank them for their service and sacrifices. They were not being recognized as mere soliders, sailors, airmen, National Guardsmen, they were being recognized because they were also “our national heroes.” They left the comforts of home to answer the call of duty. They put on a uniform, many risking life and limb “in the face of great dangers in service of our country, protecting the ideals of America of liberty, freedom and justice, which we all have the benefit of today,” Huffman said.
Huffman said some nominated veterans “decline for various reasons.” Some of the reasons were to give the quilts to someone older or more deserving or the veteran never saw combat.
She asked veterans to remember they may not have seen battle, but they are no less important. One thing she reminded people is the homefront needed to be defended as well.
Huffman said the veterans at Wednesday’s event came from different walks of life, but they hold similar qualities: courage, pride, integrity, determination and dedication to duty and honor to the country. All of those qualities are needed to serve a cause greater than themselves.
David Neff, executive director of the Kosciusko Senior Services, recognized all the members of the Liberty Sewing Circle. He said it was a no-brainer to allow the circle to sew at the senior center, as well to hold the Threads of Valor ceremonies there, in order to honor veterans. Neff said his father and brother were both veterans.
Neff brought up 102-year-old Charles Garner, a World War II Army veteran, who fought in Normandy. Neff and Garner talked about Gov. Mike Braun giving Garner the Sagamore of the Wabash. Garner said he was blessed to receive it.
Michael Murphy, director of community engagement at Bowen Health, said Veterans Day is all about veterans. He said as citizens, it our job to remember veterans because ordinary citizens are honored and privileged to be served by veterans.
Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell said the Thread of Valor ceremony is more than veterans and the sewing circle, it’s also about the community. It reminds him the country isn’t held together by steel and stone, but by something far stronger and more enduring - the courage and character and the shared values of its people.
“Each one of us represents a thread, unique in color, purpose and story, but when woven together, we form a rich fabric of a nation united in spirit and strength. Today, we celebrate not just our national heroes, but also the everyday citizen whose quiet acts of patriotism, discipline, loyalty continue to strengthen the fabric of our country. Patriotism is where the fabric begins. It is the love of country that beats the heart of the solider far from home and the heart of the teacher shaping the minds and the hearts of every parent who instills pride and respect of the flag,” he said. Patriotism is many things, including the citizen taking time to vote and neighbors helping each other.
Deck was in the Army. He served 1967 to 1995. He was in Vietnam and saw combat. He served three years active and 26 years in the National Guard in Huntington. He was discharged from the Army as an E-5 and made E-6 in the National Guard.
Albertson served in the Army and discharged as a specialist. He served from 1957-63. After basic training, he was sent to Fort Knox, Ky., for specialist training in using morse code as a way of communication between different Army units.
Engle served in the Army, being discharged as SP-5. He served from 1967-71. He was in northern Thailand during the Vietnam War.
Helblig served in the Army and discharged as a staff sergeant E-6. He served from 1980-2004. He was in Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He was stationed in a combat zone in Iraq. He was also stationed in Germany.
Hunnell served in the Army from 1980-85. He served in the Army reserves from 1985-92. He served in the Pennsylvania National guard from 1993-97. He was in Afghanistan from 2004-5. He was in Kuwait from 2018-19.
Johnston served in the Army, being dispatched as a SP-4. He served in 1958-61.
Mendenhall served in the Army, being discharged as a sergeant E-5 from 1969-70. He was stationed in Vietnam in a combat zone.
Mitchell was a captain in the Air Force. She served from 1967-72 in Vietnam during combat. She was a nursing combat and trained to fly helicopters and picked up wounded.
Allen Smith served in the Air Force, being discharged as a staff sergeant E-5. He served 1968-1979 in Vietnam.
James Smith served in the Army from 2000-12 and was in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Stepp was in the Army, being discharged as an E-4. He served in 2015-18.
Kinch served in the Army, being discharged as a SP-5. He served in the Vietnam War.
