At 6:30 one morning, toward the end of April 2010, Sue, the founder of American Hero Quilts received a phone call. Sue answered and the lady at the other end of the line asked if this was American Hero Quilts. Sue replied that yes, it was. The lady said "I want to tell you a story about my husband and his quilt."
He got wounded someplace in Afghanistan. When he got home his quilt had notes pinned to it.
The first note said "Dear Soldier, you were given this quilt at Bagram AFB. Be well, you are a hero." From there he went to Germany and was there for quite some time.
The second note said, "It was an honor to care for you. Your quilt is beautiful. As the quilt says, you are a hero. " The 3rd note is from Andrews AFB, it said "Welcome home hero, your quilt is beautiful. Thank you for serving our country." Then he went to LeJune. That note says, "It was an honor to take care of you."
Though he likely wouldn't remember much of that trip, his quilt became a chronicle of his journey home.
The lady said her husband was home now and Sue asked how they were doing. She replied, "It's easier to take care of my husband now that we have a hospital bed at home. But today was a good day, I think he recognized his mom." She wanted to know how to wash the quilt. She didn’t want to ruin it. Sue told her several ways to wash it and told the lady if the quilt was ruined to call and another quilt would be sent. The lady’s response was, "Oh no, that wouldn’t do, it wouldn’t be this quilt. My husband won’t let go of his quilt."
An amazing reminder of our purpose. Thank you to the AHQ volunteers. Please check back for upcoming sew days and other AHQ events. If you are interested in learning more about American Hero Quilts or would like information on how you can help, please visit our website at http://www.americanheroquilts.com/.
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Thanks for sharing this touching story!
ReplyDeleteThis letter is an inspiration to all of us who work on these quilts. We don't expect any recognition for what we do but this letter spurs us on to work even harder at it. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteWoW!!!
ReplyDeleteHeroes beget Heroes!!
I aspire to someday be that same kind of Hero for another Hero.
I am indeed PROUD to be an American, where there is MUCH love for our Heroes the Men and Women who keep us safe here on our soil, by fighting in our name elsewhere.
Thank you all, Millitary, M's families, and Quilters who make stories like this become someone's comfort in difficult times.
Thank you Thank you Thank you All!