On Saturday, Feb. 21, nine U.S. military service members from four different branches received handmade quilts from members of the local Veterans Memorial Museum Quilts of Valor chapter during a ceremony at the museum in Chehalis.
While typically the nonprofit gifts quilts to military veterans, Quilts of Valor also organizes the same ceremonies to honor active duty service members whenever quilt requests are submitted for them.
The nine service members — consisting of four U.S. Marines, two U.S. Army soldiers, two U.S. Navy sailors and a U.S. Air Force airman — received their quilts from retired Air Force Colonel Patrick Taylor.
“These quilts not only represent warmth and comfort, but also the deep appreciation of a grateful nation for the sacrifice by not only our veterans, but our active duty folks who serve every day,” Taylor said.
The service members honored Saturday are all currently on recruiting stints at the Armed Forces Career Center in Lacey. They included:
• Sergeant First Class Keith Belamide, a financial manager in the Army originally from Torrance, California, who served in South Korea along with other duty stations in Georgia and California
• Technical Sergeant Derek Williams, a sports nutritionist in the Air Force originally from Amarillo, Texas, who served in South Korea and Great Britain among other duty stations, and deployed to Bagram in Afghanistan in 2018
• Staff Sergeant Jonathan Villanawa, a tank crewman in the Marine Corps originally from the Island of O’ahu, Hawaii, who served in Hawaii and the Philippines
• Petty Officer 1st Class Seth Martin, a fire controlman in the Navy originally from Oregon City, Oregon, who served aboard the Nimitz Class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
• Staff Sergeant Ashley Marquez, a motor transport mechanic in the Marine Corps originally from Rosamond, California, who served at both Camp Pendleton in California, and in Okinawa, Japan and has deployed with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in Asia
• Sergeant Miguel Martinez Jr., an ammunition specialist in the Army originally from King City, California, who served in Germany, Morocco and South Korea
• Sergeant Henry Mondragon, a radio operator in the Marine Corps originally from Downey, California, who served at Camp Pendleton and in Hawaii and also deployed with the 31st MEU
• Petty Officer 2nd Class Sopaul Bunn, a operations specialist in the Navy originally from Lakewood, who served aboard the America Class amphibious assault ship USS America
• Sergeant Henry Novas, a logistic specialist in the Marine Corps originally from Santa Ana, California, who deployed to Norway as a part of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program in that country training with NATO allies
Quilts of Valor is a nationwide nonprofit started in 2003 by Catherine Roberts, the Delaware mother of an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran who wanted to help her son. It focuses on helping veterans find healing in part by gifting them handmade quilts.
According to Lynn Wiltzius, Veterans Memorial Museum Quilts of Valor chapter co-leader, the chapter is approaching its eighth year in operation this October.
For more information on the Veterans Memorial Museum Quilts of Valor chapter, visit the group's Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/44patt49.
The Veterans Memorial Museum is located at 100 SW Veterans Way in Chehalis. To learn more, visit the museum’s website at https://www.veteransmuseum.org/.
