The Forest Acres Quilting Club was once again honored to be a part of the Veteran’s Day assembly at Freeman Public Schools on Monday, November 11. Our group awarded three quilts to veterans who live in our area including a father and son. The honored veterans were Rich Walters and Ken Henderson, both of Sterling, and Ted Henderson from Lincoln.
In addition I attended a Quilt of Valor awards ceremony a few weeks ago at the Bennet American Legion Hall where three veterans were honored. Among the three was Dr. Steven Remmenga of Adams.
Rich Walters served in the Air National Guard after joining in April of 1984. He received his training in Air Craft Mechanics in San Antonio, Texas, Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Bergstrom Air Force Base near Austin, Texas. He then returned to Lincoln where he served for 38 years until he was discharged in 2022. During his service he was deployed once to Turkey and Spain, four times to the desert in Qatar, as well as various other places. On one deployment he flew around the world in ten days, stopping to repair aircraft for the next mission and then moving on to the next base. When he retired he had earned the rank of Master Sergeant.
Rich’s quilt was made from a pattern called Daring Spirit by Village Rosa Designs. It features a center panel which I purchased at Prairie Quilting in Windom, Minnesota. The panel is surrounded by stripes on all four sides with a star in each corner. The quilting is an all-over star and swirl design called Stardust in a beige thread.
Ken Henderson began his 42-year career with the Nebraska National Guard in 1982 as a Heavy Wheel and Track Mechanic. In 1998 he attended Warrant Officer Candidate School and then served as the Squadron Maintenance Technician. During this assignment he was deployed to Bosnia, Herzegovina from October 2002 to September 2003 and then to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from October 2005 to June 2007. From 2010-2014 he served as the Senior/Primary TAC Officer and Commandant for the Regional Training Institute at Camp Ashland. In July of 2018 he was appointed the sixth Command Chief Warrant Officer for the Nebraska Army National Guard. He has earned the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5.
Ken’s quilt was made from Moda Cake Mix #6. The paper-pieced pattern is stitched to two 10” squares and then cut to make the half-square triangles and rectangles. We chose two of the six possible blocks available to construct this particular quilt. The quilting is an all-over star design in white thread that matches the background fabric.
Ted Henderson, Ken’s father, served in the Nebraska National Guard from 1983-2016 as a Communications Electronic Repair and Calibrations Technician. With additional training, as his bio states, “he provided supervisory control over the maintenance facilities. He maintained complex multi channel radios and Biomedical Equipment Inspections with complicated electrical and mechanical equipment. He served as a member of the Command Maintenance Evaluation Team which participated in development, organization, and implementation of plans. He oversaw, instructed, and trained subordinates in the performance of work, checking progress and adequacy of work and determining any need for changes.” Ted is very proud that four sons and two grandchildren have served in the military, all of whom have been deployed. At the end of his career, Ted had earned the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2.
Ted’s quilt was constructed by Kathy Harrop, another veteran of the Nebraska National Guard, who was present at the assembly to help award the quilt. I stitched an all-over star design using white thread to finish this patriotic quilt.
Kathy Harrop also made the Quilt of Valor that was awarded to Dr. Steven Remmenga at the Bennet American Legion Hall. Dr. Remmenga is a 25-year veteran of the United States Navy having served in several locations including Alaska and Washington D.C. I was honored to do the quilting on his quilt as he was a member of my team of doctors at UNMC during my second bout with cancer in 2021.
While my group certainly enjoys getting together to sew Quilts of Valor each week, the real joy comes in awarding quilts to veterans. Each of them has a special story and an even more special family that has supported them every step of the way. We are grateful for the opportunity to add a quilt to their story.
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