A trio of Amherstburg veterans were honoured last week with Quilts of Valour.
Army veterans James (Jim) Jariett and Ernie Gazdig and Navy veteran Allan Carroll were presented their quilts last Thursday night as part of Royal Canadian Legion Br. 157 meeting. Pauline Gaudette, the Windsor-Essex County representative, made the presentations.
“The quilts you are getting are an expression of gratitude and to comfort you,” Gaudette told the honourees. “The quilts are to say thank you for your service.”
Gazdig is a 28-year army veteran who served with the Windsor Regiment. Gazdig’s background included being with the Royal Canadian Dragoons and serving in Germany in 1971. He is a retired captain and current president of Br. 157.
Jariett served with the Royal Canadian Regiment from 1962-65. He was based out of Petawawa, Ontario.
Carroll served in the Royal Canadian Navy. He is now retired after a 32-year career in the Navy.
The three honourees were paraded to the front of the room for the brief ceremony, held prior to the start of the Legion Br. 157 regular order of business. They were clearly thankful for the honour.
Gaudette went over the background of the Quilts of Honour, noting it started in the Edmonton area in 2006 when a volunteer – Lezley Zwaal – would visit wounded soldiers in the hospital and made them quilts to comfort them.
According to www.quiltsofvalour.ca, Zwaal made the quilts “as her way of saying ‘thank you’ and giving some comfort to these military members. She was not prepared for the impact of meeting these brave young men and learning first hand of their injuries. It made such an impression that it has taken quilter Lezley Zwaal in directions she never imagined.”
The Quilts of Valour – Canada Society was launched as a registered national charity in 2009 and has seen thousands of quilts created and presented to Canadian veterans.
Each quilt is unique, Gaudette stated, with a maple leaf in each corner but the design of the rest completely different from one another. There is an identification number and names of the quilter sewn onto a label in the quilt.
Quilts of Valour presented to three local veterans
By Ron Giofu