“For the very first Veterans Day that we were open, they had an assembly in the hall,” Kelly said. “They were just talking about veterans and service and asked everyone in the audience who had served to stand. I was amazed at how many people stood, and I saw a lot of them were in their late 80s, early 90s. Pretty soon, we won’t be able to get their stories, so it might be a good idea if we start collecting.”
Since 2015, Stoneridge Creek has hosted a Veterans Day ceremony and celebration where veteran residents are provided handmade quilts from a local Quilts of Valor guild. Additionally, nine binders are featured containing photos, mementos and stories from veterans of World War II through Vietnam.
“We’re collecting stories that we’ll never hear again. There are young people who have visited who go to read these stories and they are unknown to them,” Kelly said. “Right now, with fewer than 1% of our population in the United States in service, it’s an unknown world to some of them. We just sit down with these veterans, and some of them have never been interviewed before.”
As usual, the event was packed, but so much so this year that the ceremony was moved to a larger facility to accommodate the hundreds of attendees. Each veteran is given the opportunity to address the crowd for 3 to 4 minutes after being presented with a quilt. Kelly said that no matter how they served their country, their service was appreciated.
“Some of them have never felt the appreciation before, especially our Vietnam vets,” she said. “So many of them will say, ‘No one’s ever shown me appreciation or said thank you,’ so we’re very pleased to be able to do that. Some of them worked in kitchens to prepare food, some of them drove tanks, some of them were in submarines and some of them drove aircrafts. We needed all of them.”
Originally published in McKnights Senior Living
Author: Foster Stubbs, December 18, 2024
Link to original article: https://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/news/community-tradition-celebrates-veterans-day-with-quilts-and-questions/