The Veterans Dinner at the Broken Bow Municipal Building will feature a special presentation this year. Quilts of Valor will be awarding quilts to veterans Tuesday evening, followed by the presentation of pins honoring Vietnam War Veterans and the 50th anniversary of the end of that conflict.
Quilts of Valor Members Deb Bryner and Teri Buhlman spoke with KCNI/KBBN about the presentations happening on Veterans Day.
“Tuesday night, about six o’clock, we are going to be awarding six Quilts of Valor to some local veterans,” said Buhlman. “This program has been in effect since about 2003 with over 430,000 Quilts nationwide. Deb and I are part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation here locally and we are honored to award these Quilts.”
Bryner and Buhlman both stressed that the quilts are meant to provide warmth and comfort, and are made to be used by the veterans to whom they’ve been presented – not placed in a chest or used as a decoration.
“It’s an award and it’s something that we want them to use when they think about their service, [or] think about the hardships that they went through,” Explained Bryner, “but that it’s a comfort to them knowing that somebody cares and that somebody went to the trouble to show them that they cared.”
Following the awarding of the Quilts of Valor, the group will also be presenting pins to three Vietnam Veterans commemorating their service.
“We have been partnered with the United States Vietnam War Commemoration who are recognizing all living service veterans that served from November 1st, 1955 to May 15th, 1975,” Bryner said. “Doesn’t matter where they served, if it was home or abroad or where it was, if they were in the U.S. Armed Forces during that time. So Tuesday night, we’re actually going to award these Vietnam War veteran pens and they are the 50th anniversary pins.”
Anyone who quilts may become a member of the Quilts of Valor organization for a nominal fee. Interested quilters can contact Deb or Teri, or Quilts of Valor-affiliated shop Stitched by Jessi Rose in Taylor, NE at 308-708-2796.
To request a quilt for a veteran, visit https://www.qovf.org/nominations-awards/.
The annual Veterans Day Supper will be held at the Broken Bow Municipal Building from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, on Tuesday, November 11. Tickets for soup, sandwiches, drink, and desert are $6 at the door or $5 if purchased from a VFW or American Legion member. Proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Veterans Memorial building.
Quilts of Valor and Vietnam War commemoration pins will be awarded to veterans, starting at 6:00 PM.
Listen to our full conversation about Quilts of Valor and Vietnam commemoration pin here:
