Army veteran Francis “Frank” Fenawald grew emotional as he delivered his remarks after he received his quilt at a Quilts of Valor ceremony on the morning of July 24. He said he was speaking not only for himself but for those who he served with who did not make it home. 

“I accept this quilt for all the forgotten soldiers that you didn’t forget,” Fenawald said. “God bless each and every one of you for your dedication to this cause, you have no idea how much it means.”

Fenawald, of Hermann, was one of five veterans honored at the ceremony, which was put on by the Eastern Missouri Quilts of Valor and hosted by Holy Rosary Catholic Church. 

The others included Brad Collins, Joseph Horton, Chad Sommer and Shane Stuart. The five men were part of a larger quilting event put on by Eastern Missouri Quilts of Valor, who are a separate entity from the national organization. 

Fenawald served in the U.S. Army from 1972-80 as a bomb technician. He served three years in Germany and even worked with the Secret Service as a bomb technician at the White House. 

Collins served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000-15, after graduating from the University of Missouri’s ROTC program, Collins enrolled in the marines guaranteed flight program. He would go on to serve on five deployments including a tour in Iraq. He now flies as a pilot for Southwest Airlines. 

Horton served in the U.S. Army from 1966-69. He was stationed in California and deployed to Vietnam for one year as part of a construction support company. 

Sommer served with the U.S. Army from 2008-11 with an artillery company and was stationed in Colorado and South Korea before being deployed to Afghanistan. Since then he has used his G.I. Bill to attend additional schooling in drafting and design plus environmental health and safety. 

Finally, Stuart served in the U.S. Navy from 1998-2004 where he worked on the aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln until the attacks on 9/11 when he joined “Force Protection” defending convoys in Afghanistan before serving additionally in Japan, Italy, Dubai and the Gulf. 

For two of the veterans, their quilt carried an extra significance, due to the involvement of their nominators and family members in the creation of their quilts. 

Both Stuart and Sommer, their quilts were made entirely by family members and their nominator, Charlotte Frey, respectively. 

Sommer took time to express his appreciation to his family members for taking the time to create his quilt and said it made an already emotionally significant day all the more special. 

“It’s an incredible feeling, to have my grandma and both my aunts quilting for me, I can’t even put into words how it makes me feel,” Sommer said. 

Horton made sure to recognize some of his fellow servicemembers, including one in particular, who was not able to be there that day. 

“As much as I accept it for myself, I also accept it for all the members of the 20th Engineer Brigade that I served with, and especially a good friend of mine that passed away in October,” Horton said.” His name’s Don White, he served with me in Vietnam and he died in October and I think about him today.”

While they operate independently, their mission remains the same: to recognize and honor the nation’s veterans. Eastern Missouri Quilts of Valor is a smaller organization and as such only accepts nominations of combat veterans. 

Even so, the event had over 70 quilters working on 24 different quilts in varying stages of completion. 

Organizer Mary Jo Edson said that even though their work carries a higher significance, events like the one held on July 24 also serve as a social and fun activity for their members. 

Following the presentation the veterans and their families along with the quilters were invited to enjoy lunch at the parish as Holy Rosary’s Fr. Eddie Godefried said grace. He was also careful to point out that the Warren County Ambulance District was volunteering at the event and would be serving lunch. 

After the completion of last week’s event, Eastern Missouri Quilts of Valor have now sewn and presented 3,834 quilts to combat veterans in the area. 

“It’s been a privilege of this group to give our quilts to veterans,” Edson said. 

For the veterans honored at the event, it represented something bigger than themselves and some felt they were accepting the quilt, not just for themselves, but for the men and women with whom they served. 

“There really are no words,” Stuart said. “I mean, the things they do for veterans, especially those like the gentleman who had a rough time when they were in the military like that, but there really are no words.”