(Lander, WY) – Four local Veterans were honored by the Lander VFW and American Legion with Quilts of Valor this past weekend, in a ceremony held at the Rock Church in Lander.
Janet Keiser MC’d the event, Rock Church Pastor Jeff Courtier conducted the opening prayer, and Forest Parker, Bob Keiser and John Riggs presented the quilts, which were made by the Sheep Camp Quilters.
“Hopefully these quilts will help each Veteran feel more (at) home, more loved,” Janet commented after the opening prayer.
The Quilt of Valor program began in 2003 by a Veteran’s mother named Catherine Roberts, who had a son in the Iraq War, Janet explained. Since its inception, the program has awarded over 400,000 quilts to Veterans across the country. Locally, 1,377 Quilts of Valor have been awarded.
“We are so glad to honor each of the Veterans who are here today,” Janet stated before the quilts were presented.
This ceremony’s recipients included John Cary (Major, Army, 2008-2020), Mike King (HM3/E-4, Navy, 2007-2012), Tom Sparks (SPC, Army, 1996-2007), and Floyd Leonard (SGT, Wyoming Army National Guard, 1990-1996).
The ceremony concluded with a viewing of a video set to ‘Welcome Home Soldier’ by Rory Lee Feek, followed by refreshments for the Veterans and their loved ones.
