A special Quilt of Valor Foundation award was recently presented to 90-year-old veteran Wiley Ray LaBaume.
The surprise quilt presentation occurred Saturday, May 30 at Granny Clark’s and was presented by Quilters Judy Angle and Peggy DeLaVergne.
LaBaume is an Army Veteran and an Air Force Veteran with four years in the Army and four years as an Air Force Special Communication Officer to the General’s secret service.
“What we do at Quilts of Valor is, we are an organization that covers our veterans in quilts. It’s not a gift, it’s an award of appreciation,” Angle said.
LaBaume said he loved quilts and grew up with them being made from feedsacks and other material available.
Quilts of Valor Foundation is a nonprofit group of quilters from across the U.S. started in 2003. More than 394,774 quilts have been awarded nationwide with more than 600 presented regionally.
The organization thinks of quilts in this way: The top of the quilt with its many colors, shapes and fabrics, represents the communities and the many individuals there are; the battling is the center of the quilt, its warmth represents the hope that the quilt provides warmth, comfort, peace and healing to the individual who receives it; the backing is the strength that supports the other layers. It represents the strength of the recipient, the support of your family, our communities and the nation. Each stitch that holds the layers together represents love, gratitude and sometimes the tears of the maker.
“The Quilts of Valor Foundation wishes to recognize you for your service to our nation. We consider it our privilege to do so. Though we may never know the extent of your sacrifice to protect and defend, the United States of America, we award you this Quilt of Valor as an expression of gratitude from a grateful nation,” Angle said during the presentation.
LaBaume also spent 32 years in Postal Services walking the streets here in Dublin. Later he served as Superintendent of Postal Operations in Office.
As a 1954 Dublin graduate, he said his typing helped him excel in military service along with his good grades and community references.