Last week, when I visited the quilt shop down the street, I was asked if I could manage to get my grandfather into the store this Saturday (10/22); as they wanted to honor him with a Quilt of Valor for his service during WW2 and since.

Quilts of Valor is a national organization that makes quilts for soldiers abroad and at home, soldiers in hospitals, and those who have served in past years. To date they’ve given over 57,000 quilts. Many quilt guilds and individual quilters throughout the country work on these quilts and then donate them to Quilts of Valor to distribute.

Needless to say, my grandfather was very touched that he had been chosen to receive such a quilt.

Just for the record, he’ll be 92 in December: He signed up to fight 1 year, and ended up serving for 5. He fought throughout the Pacific and Europe and Northern Africa: He was buried alive at Anzio and had friends die in his arms, he was among the first troops sent to Pearl Harbor after the attack.

His fighting in World War II is one of the things I am most proud of him for. As I said to him, “It’s because of you that my quilt patterns are in English and inches, not German and metric”.