My nephew has been to Afghanistan and Iraq both and been awarded with two Purple Hearts. He said not to believe what we see on the news - that they do not show the good things being done over there by our troops, and that most of the people are very glad we are there. My son is an Air Force officer and says pretty much the same thing.

I'm new at quilting, but will try to make some easy ones to donate. They won't be perfect, but the love and honor for these folks will be in them.

By the way, if you are in San Antonio, Tx (yes, there is more than one San Antonio - got stranded in a canyon 5 miles from San Antonio, New Mexico a few years ago) the Hancock Fabrics on Eisenhauer Road is selling their remnants for 50 cents a yard - got 40 yards of cotton prints and solids for $20 last night. Still a lot left 'cos I ran out of time!

Guys and Gals,

I hestiated starting this post but am so pleased with the positive responses from you all. I talked to the Lord and he's given me the design which I will be using to make my quilts. I just need to get to the store and get additional fabrics as I do not have any with a patriotic themes and then get started. My objective is to crank out three a week.

I find it interesting that the numbers given by the government say 55,000 injured in Iraq and 6,000 in Afghanistan, while the veterans organization stated over 200,000. Who is telling us the truth?

Sharon, tell us more about injured clothing. ". . . they've received Injured clothing from a group that's looking for people to sew, . . ." Is this something we can do also?

Suzanne

there are Verterans' agencies and veterans' organizations. they are not the same thing and they don't all count the same way. the VA, for example, may be including more categories of "injury" than the military does. they also have a more accurate picture of service-connected health issues that don't surface until after someone has left the military.

my former spouse served his last tour of combat duty in the 70s. he retired from the Army in seemingly good health. 2 years ago, he died of a cancer the VA determined was related to Agent Orange. More than 30 years passed between the combat and his service-connected death. his case was not unique.

many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines come back from combat seeming to be just fine and dandy. unfortunately, the horrors of combat, the stress of being away from home and family and - believe it or not - the stress related to homecoming and reunion with family and friends can scar a person in ways they aren't aware of. it may not come out in the open until years later.

a soldier might get sick and have to return home, but not necessarily have been injured in the classic sense. then there are degrees of injury; whether or not the damage is permanent and disabling; etc, etc, etc. a soldier may have become ill or have been injured during a time of war, but not actually in a combat zone. there are many more possible reasons for differences in counts.

finally, and unfortunately, not all veterans' organizations are "created equal". they aren't all formed for the same reasons; they don't all have the same goals and agendas.

i work in the military culture. as proud as i am of that, i don't doubt that some things are under-reported or swept under the rug. i have seen soldiers well served and i've seen soldiers treated unfairly. it shouldn't happen. it does happen. but not to the degree that the more angry and aggresive - and sometimes generally anti-military - activists would have us believe.

bottom line never changes ... don't believe everything you hear. the truth is out there ... it's just really hard to find.

pray for them. do what you can for them. and please - whenever you see someone you know is serving our country, walk up and say "thank you". they never ask for it; they never expect it; and they never forget it.

Hey ya'll. Just wanted to let you know that the website for Soldier's Angels is www.soldiersangels.org. This is really a great organization as is the QOV org. I have donated to both. My son was seriously injured in Iraq and did in fact receive a QOV from this organization. I have gotten my quilting friends here involved with this effort. They all said that they wished they had known about this organization before. They also do a lot with the Linus project here in IL.

There are a lot of ways we can help our boys and girls - but as a stitcher and momma, I can and do stitch with a lot of prayer and love. As someone said one time, "Its the soldier not the press that gives us the freedom of speech."

Lynne
PAM (Proud Army Mom) of Jim

Hi everyone! I am one of 2 North Dakota Coordinators for Quilts of Valor. We are trying to get the headquarters to change their website a little bit to include where you can contact your own state coordinator. Some people ask about how many wounded there really are. QOV also includes the psychologically wounded as well as the physically wounded. Let's just say, we will be making quilts long after the war is over.
It doesn't really matter where you are in the world; anyone getting involved will be a vital part of this great historical adventure. It may sound a bit daunting at first but it really is simple enough. We do like 100% cotton fabrics and we do like a pillow case made for presentation. We can find the longarmers and we can even provide batting and backing if necessary. If you would like more information you can go to our Upper Midwest QOV website (www.qovf-um.org) and find patterns for quilts and also for the pillowcase which anyone is free to download, copy and use. We also tried to compress the information based on the national website. Again, if you have ANY questions please send me an email at [email protected]. I will answer you or at least head you in the right direction. Keep up the good work. The need is great and is truly appreciated.

LaRae - I like your upper midwest website much better than the national one. You might want to know, however, that the link on your site titled, "Click here for quilt & pillowcase patterns" did not work for me.

I think QOV is just a wonderful thing. I hope to get my 5 quilting friends to make one as a group project.

My small group of quilters has been making Wounded Warrior quilts for the last 2 yrs or more. We have to send them to a long arm quilter who also donates her time. It takes alot of postage and we dont get much feedback. Now they want us to make pillowcases to store them in.
The head of our group is now trying to find a way to donate to the Veterans hospital that is local. It would be much better that way so I will post any outcome that I find.
We really enjoy doing this and each of us makes 7 or more blocks and our leader puts it togater and sends it on to the long arm who sends it back and we then send it to the organization that distributes them. I will have to ask her where that is. We make full size quilts and they have to be in red, white and blue. We also have a member who writes up the label to show our appriciation.

An update: I just mailed my 22nd QOV this past Monday. Number 23 is underway as I am trying to keep pace with my hope to make 50/year despite the holiday fury.

Suzanne

Suz - you are a wonderful person. Do you have pictures of any of them posted anywhere? I would love to see them for ideas. Are yours all red, white & blue?

We do know some of the links are not working and they are addressing that problem. There are some other things that need to be added and changed also. We do appreciate knowing when there is a problem with the site. If you want to email me at [email protected] I will gladly send you the patterns that I have or any other information that you may need. We have been trying to take care of our Upper Midwest area and if anyone in another area of the country needs our help we send quilts to them also. It seems to be working by having areas of the country taking care of soldiers in their area.
I know not everyone is going to get feedback from the soldiers. We do not put return addresses on the quilts, nor do we know to whom they go to. We try to keep that private. QOV has received many thanks for the quilts they have donated. Believe me, they are appreciated whether you hear from them or not. Most of the soldiers have no idea who made the quilt. We have a special label that we put on an original Quilt of Valor. It only states the first names of the piecers and quilters, the date and the state in which it came from.
Please let me know if there is anything that we can help you with!