Veterans presented with Quilts of Valor at special Veterans Day ceremony
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- Local veterans were honored this Veterans Day night in the western suburbs for their service.
They weren't presented with a medal or a plaque in the ceremony at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Instead, they were each wrapped in a quilt. While the days of the battlefield might be behind those vets who were honored Friday night — all these years later, they were reminded that their service mattered.
Vietnam veteran Bruce Mayor's chest was filled with ribbons from his decorated years in the Marines. On Friday night, he added a new honor to his shoulders—a quilt of valor.
"I don't look for any special recognition, but it is special," Mayor said.
Mayor, who served as a machine gunner in the Vietnam War, said Veterans Day comes with a mix of emotions.
"I lost several friends, but overall, my four years in the Marine Corps – it was the most meaningful to me," Mayor said. "Fifty-some years later and you think of them all the time."
The grassroots award is bestowed by the non-profit Quilts of Valor.
"It's the culmination of what we do," said Emily Pollman of the Northern Illinois chapter of Quilts of Valor. "It's why we do it."
Pollman, a volunteer, had a hand in the quilts handed out to the heroes Friday night.
"To see those – especially from the Vietnam era – who felt so alienated when they came home and not part of this county, to see one of them when you wrap them and say, 'Thank you and welcome home' – they take it heart, and they finally sometimes find peace with it," Pollman said.
If you are interested in honoring a veteran or active service member in your life with a Quilt of Valor, you can find more information here.
