CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW)- Five veterans were honored on Monday, Veterans Day, by the local chapter of Quilts of Valor Foundation.
The four men and one woman were recognized for their service to the nation in a ceremony at Veterans United Home Loans in Clarksville.
All five of the veterans honored served in the U.S. Army:
Alvaro Flores…1970-1998
Timothy Mason…1973-1993
Tori Griffith…1977-1998 Raymond Knox 1979-1995 Joe Griffith…1983-2004
Joe Griffith…1983-2004
After receiving his quilt, Alvaro Flores talked about his military service.
“You know we serve in the military, we put the uniform and the boots on, and we go off to work, and go off to combat or wherever we may be,” Flores said. “But the true heroes are the families that stay behind. The wives, the kids that stay behind keep us in their memories and that’s what stimulates and motivates us to do our job properly so we can come back home.”
Nancy Beecher, Group Leader with Quilts of Valor in Trenton, Kentucky said the quilts are awarded to veterans that have served our country and to honor them and show appreciation.
They consider their quilts to be healing and asked all the veterans who received quilts to not put their quilt away in a trunk or the back bedroom but to use it.
“We want you to use it, because we want to give you healing through this,” Beecher said. “We don’t know what sacrifices you have made. We don’t know what you’ve gone through in your military career, but we hope when you snuggle up with that quilt, it brings you comfort whenever you do.”
The first Quilt of Valor was awarded in November 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to a young soldier who had lost his leg in Iraq. By Veterans Day 2019, more than 234,519 quilts have been given out all across the nation as well as in other countries.
