Wrapped in honor
Veteran finds surprise
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CHARLO – David Peck received a surprise in his mail on Saturday, Dec. 10.
“I wondered why someone sent this to me,” he said of his thoughts before he opened the box. The mysterious package was delivered to his doorstep, and when he opened it up, he discovered a red, white and blue quilt inside with intricately sewn details.
“It’s beautiful,” he said.
But he couldn’t figure out why someone sent it to him, so he sat down and started to examine the contents of the box. He found a letter and a certificate inside from the Quilt of Valor Foundation.
The letter said that the quilt was made with loving hands joining bits of fabric together one piece at a time through combined efforts to thank veterans for the sacrifices they made to serve their country.
“It is indeed an honor to wrap you in one of these quilts,” the letter said.
Peck was amazed by the gift.
“To get something like this in the mail, it really touched my heart,” he said.
Peck was drafted into the Army in 1971 and he served until 1973.
“I was stationed in Alaska as a medic,” he said.
During the Cold War, the United States was worried Russia would try to take control of the area.
“Whoever controls Alaska controls the North Pacific,” he said.
He trained to take care of medical issues and prepared for anything. He remembers being required to take off his gas mask during a training exercise with tear gas in the air.
“We had to know what it was like,” he said.
Military service is a life changing experience.
“Once you’ve been in the military, your life is never the same,” he said.
He said his service taught him to appreciate life.
“When I was drafted, I didn’t know if I was going to be killed,” he said. “You never know what will happen.”
He served during the Vietnam era, although he was never sent to Vietnam. He said people didn’t appreciate soldiers back then. The first time he was ever thanked for his service was about six years ago, so he was especially grateful that someone would take the time to make him a quilt.
Kathy Coontz is the Montana State Coordinator for the QOV project. She said about 125 quilts are sent out each year to veterans in Montana. The nonprofit project is supported nationally with programs in each state.
“It doesn’t matter how long someone served, when they served, or where they served,” she said. “This is just our way of thanking them for their service.”
The quilts are given to nominated veterans.
“Anyone can send in a nomination,” she said.
The quilts are made by a group of volunteers. Montana has about 40 people volunteering to sew quilts for the project.
“They are silent quilters doing their thing to support veterans,” she said. The mission of the group is to cover service members and veterans with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.
After his military service, Peck eventually became a resource aid with the Charlo School District. He helped student Dominic Shiveley with school-related tasks from first grade until graduation. Now, he works as a farmer taking care of sheep and cows. He said he will use the quilt to keep warm while he watches television in the evenings.
