St. John’s Union Church veterans presented Quilts of Valor

GREGG TOWNSHIP — Nine members of St. John’s Union Church in Farmers Mills were awarded Quilts of Valor during a June 11 service at the church. All the men are military veterans, having served at various times from World War II to the late 1970s. The recipients were:

■ Paul Homan, who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1945. He was a radio operator in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines.

■ Clair Jones, who served as a private first class in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945. He landed at Normandy, and was also in the Battle of the Bulge, earning five battle stars.

■ Richard Zettle, who worked in the U.S. Army motor pool in the European Theater from 1943 to 1945.

■ Mylan Grove, who entered the U.S. Navy in 1945. He worked with Navy Seabees building airstrips in the Marshall Islands and in Okinawa as a seaman first class.

■ Carl Smith, who served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1954 to 1956, earning the rank of corporal.

■ Robert Bierly, who served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954. Since he had experience as a meat cutter, he was assigned to be a cook, serving in Camp Gordon, Ga.

■ Bud Harris, who served in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard from 1963 to 1969. He was a teletype and crypto repairman as part of the air warning system.

■ Joseph Wojtaszek, who served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1966. He was a diesel and heavy equipment mechanic for six months in the states and spent 2 1/2 years in Germany.

■ Tim Zerby, who served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard from 1978 to 1989, serving in Bellefonte and Lewistown with the Tactical Operations Center in operations and intelligence, earning the rank of E5 sergeant.

Also honored at the award service were Bill Markle and Ken Frazier, who had previously received Quilts of Valor in appreciation for their military service.

The quilts were presented by Carolyn Foust, who leads the Happy Valley Quilts of Valor chapter, with assistance from several members of that group.

According to its website, the Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003, when Catherine Roberts began the foundation in Seaford, Del. Her son’s year-long deployment to Iraq inspired her to see that returning warriors were welcomed home with the love and gratitude they deserved. She hit upon the idea of making quilts for American military veterans. These quilts, called Quilts of Valor, would be a tangible reminder of an American’s appreciation and gratitude.

Foust said that more than 150,000 quilts have been awarded nationally by the QOVF since 2003. She said the local chapter began with just seven members, but is now 55 members-strong. The group holds a quilting day once a month.

For more information, call Foust at (814) 364-2468.