Veterans honoured in a comforting way

 

By: Johnathan Hutton

 

More than a dozen Windsor veterans have been recognized by the Essex-Kent Scottish Regiment and Quilts of Valour.

The Windsor- Essex veterans, who participated in Canada’s wars ranging from the Second World War were invited to the Chatham armories to receive a hand made quilt thanking them for their service.

 

Quilts of Valour was created in 2009 in Alberta with the goal of giving back to injured Canadian Armed Forces members.  The organization gets local volunteers to hand make quilts for injured veterans as well as former service members.

“I love quilting and I made these to commemorate and thank our soldiers,” said Pauline Gaudette, a member of Quilts of valour who made quilts for the veterans.

 

The ceremony featured the Essex-Kent Scottish Regiment Honour Band,  a dinner as well and a display of World War 2 memoirs by local war historian Norman Drouillard.

 

“ I wanted to show my appreciation for Canada’s veterans by showcasing a small display of what Canadians would use during World War 2,” said Drouillard.

 

“ If we cannot remember the price our Veterans paid for our rights and freedoms, how can you appreciate what we have here in Canada? In some cases, our veterans suffer the rest of their lives for what we have here today,” said Drouillard.

 

Steven Cunningham, a corporal in Essex-Kent Scottish Regiment’s rifle company, has been in the military for nine years and served in Afghanistan. He believes that Canadians are very appreciative of their armed forces members and is both honoured and proud to be serving his country.

 

“It’s in moments like this where Canadians show that, in general, they have a great amount of pride for their country,” said Cunningham.

 

 

One of the quilt recipients was local veteran Larry Costello. Costello served in World War 2 in the Royal Canadian Navy. He joined the service at 17 and stayed in the Navy until the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

“It’s an honour to receive one of these quilts,” said Costello. “ They are quite comfortable and it means a lot to know that someone took the time to make these for us.”

Quilts of Valour is looking to give out 10,000 service quilts by 2018 and so far 6,288 veterans have received quilts to date.