Nineteen military veterans were honored at a Quilts of Valor event in Libertyville, with gifts of “priceless” handmade quilts.
The Quilters of Lake Bluff and North Shore Daughters of the American Revolution honored area men from over a half-dozen theaters of war, dating back to World War II, before an enthusiastic crowd at the Libertyville Sports Complex. Quilts of Valor is a national non-profit organization, whose mission is to comfort and help heal veterans scarred by battle.
The Saturday afternoon ceremony was part of an Oct.2-3 show by Village Quilters, with about 275 quilts on display at the sports complex. Nearly 1,000 people attended the combined events, said organizers.
Prizes were awarded by people attending the show. Donna Derstadt, Green Oaks, won the Best Large Quilt with “Garden for My Daughter.” Best medium-size quilt was won by Kate Klein, Lake Forest, for “Almost Whole Cloth.” The winner of Best Small quilt was Margaret Martin of Waukegan.
Durstadt, a quilter for nearly 30 years, said her antique quilt came from a pattern republished in 1999.
“So I started it that year and made the quilt top (surface), with the baskets with flowers. But I put the top in my closet for 15 years because I wasn’t sure how to quilt it.
“Then, last spring I pulled out the top and quilted it, layering it with the backing and batting and putting the binding on,” she added. “I just finished it in May.”
Each veteran received warm hugs from club presenters and handmade quilts often insured for thousands of dollars– but which are rarely sold, said veteran quilters.
Quilter Kate Klein, of Lake Forest, said “The quilts don’t have monetary value to us. What we get out of making and giving them is a different kind of value. Whether we give it to a family member or a close friend, the value is in giving it.”
Klein said that honoring the veterans was an experience the quilters – some who spend over a hundred hours on a single quilt — found very rewarding. Tears of joy and appreciation were not uncommon during the presentation, mostly emceed by Lake Bluff Quilters’ President Linda Spring.
Some veterans moved slowly, used canes or were guided by loved ones to receive their quilt. The women who made the quilts wrapped them around each man’s shoulders and embraced him.
Valor organizers Cheryl Mercy and Kathy Sorkin said the 19 quilts given out was not determined by the number of veterans identified as recipients.
“We would have made as many quilts as we needed, if there had been more veterans (this year),” said Mercy.
Although quilt club members are passionate about their woven, intricate artwork, Mercy and Sorkin said they don’t expect the veterans to treat the all-cotton, washable quilts as display items only, in their homes.
“We hope they use them, put them on their beds, wrap themselves up when they’re watching a ball game,” said Mercy. “We made them to be used.”
“The Quilt of Valor is like (our) way of giving back,” said Sorkin.
Jim Robbins, Libertyville VFW Post 8741, saw action as a Marine at the end of World War II “when Communists were taking over China,” he said. Robbins, of Vernon Hills, said he is undecided whether to display the quilt he received on Saturday, or use it as a bed cover. “We’re very appreciative of the (ceremony) recognizing our military service,” he said. “It really means a lot to us.”
Another Post 8741 member, George Gandara, was an Army infantryman in Vietnam, and a Marine in Operation Desert Storm, Joint Endeavor, and the Persian Gulf.
“I didn’t expect to get emotional when I went up there,” said Gandara, “but I did.”
Also honored for their military service were Iraq veterans Bobby Burns, an Army combat medic and Navy servicemen Thomas Cardaropoli, Steve Fitzgerald and Nic Tollefson.
Other Vietnam War veterans included Navy servicemen Fred Bruegmann and Michael Urbano and Bill Young, Greg Bresley and Griff Sepsey who served in the Army.
Also receiving quilts were Chuck Lauer, an Army medic in Korea and Mark Rooney who served in the Army in Desert Storm.
World War II vets included Herman Schonenberg, a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corp.; George Collias, an 11th Airborne paratrooper and Roger Benson, who served in Normandy, Northern France and the Rhineland.
Finally honored were David Cedarleaf, a Marine; Whitney Booth who served in the Navy in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and David Puma who served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, Iraq and Southwest Asia.
One of the show organizers, Erica Jarrett, said “Quilters think of their projects as an expression of art, using the medium of fabric to make a piece of art. And some of them are very artistic.”
Denys Bucksten is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
