Colonel Harper Grange Presents Quilt of Valor

HARPERSFIELD  –  Honoring those who have served our nation was the message given during a special ceremony Tuesday at the Colonel Harper Grange in Harpersfield. 

The Grange awarded a Quilt of Valor created by two members of the Grange to honor a veteran who has served the community. This year's recipient was Dan Palm, of Hobart. He was in the United States Navy from 1965 to 1991, serving aboard the USS Valor 1472, a mine sweeper.

Pat Hornbeck, who put the evening's program together, said there is no other group that compares to military veterans. "They are always in our thoughts and prayers," she said. 

They left their homes, their families, their jobs, in order to protect us all.

The night was set aside for veterans, police officers and first responders. "Anyone who serves," said Hornbeck. There were eight veterans present on Tuesday and Palm was brought in to be the keynote speaker. He knew about the presentation and said he was very honored. 

"I know I am supposed to talk about myself and my service, but I think there is something more important to talk about," he said. "It has  been just one week since Veterans Day and I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the military.

"Our founding fathers had two cornerstones for the military when they established it, that it must be controlled by civilians and  it should be made up of citizens." It has proven highly successful through all the wars. Our defense has been handled by citizens, either through conscription or volunteerism. It has provided ample troops willing to fight and protect our nation. 

Over the past four decades the military has been manned by volunteers. "There are more than a million people in the military. Each one has a very small part or job to do, but collectively they are the most powerful military in the world. They have been protecting our democracy and the democracy of others."

He pointed to the parents in the audience and said it is their responsibility to get the youth to understand the importance of protecting our democracy. Over the last couple of years, the military has not met its quotas. It is a great opportunity for our youth. They can be anything in the military and there are the same opportunities there for men and women. He said women have as much responsibility as men in protecting our democracy.

"We need to instill in our youth the importance of protecting our democracy, not just for me, but for all the others. I am very honored to have received the Quilt of Valor. I appreciate it.. When he has it on his lap, he said it would make him warm and he would remember this time.

The Quilt of Valor is called the civilian equivalent to the Purple Heart that provides community, warmth and strength and is created with love, gratitude and sometimes tears. It is the Quilt of Valor, sewn by caring hands for someone who has served with honor, performed their duty and helped to ensure the freedom we have today.

Catherine Roberts founded the project as a way of thinking of servicemen wrapped in a quilt rather than engaged in combat while her son was deployed in Iraq. She described her situation as "10 seconds away from a panic attack 24 hours a day". The quilts became her mission and more than 250,000 quilts have been awarded in the United States and abroad. 

The quilts are awarded, not just handed out. It says Thank You for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation.

In addition to Palm, the veterans present who were honored, included: Frank Ciulla, who served from 1963-1965 in the United States Army; Lenny Marigliano served from 1961 -1965 in the United States Air Force; Tom Hornbeck served from 1975-1979 in the United States Navy; Frank Hornbeck, 2008-2013; Kate Bedford, 2009-2014 and Lloyd Tompkins, who served as police officer and police chief.

In addition to the special presentation, there were patriotic songs and Hornbeck put up the names of all the veterans located in the town’s cemeteries. The evening ended with a special flag retirement ceremony.

Grange members Priscilla Marigliano (left) and Patricia Hornbeck (right) award the Quilt of Valor they created to Dan Palm, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 until 1991. The two women created the quilt together.