Photos by Debbie Channel
Crusader Staff Photos
Fremont Victory Quilters display their quilts, which the veterans had their choice during the May 5 ceremony at the Florence Elks.
Fremont Victory Quilters Wrap Veterans
Just as it has done for the past several years, the Fremont Victory Quilters gathered in the Florence Elks Lodge No. 611 to wrap seven veterans with quilts that were made with love.
The veterans who honored on May 5 are as follows:
The oldest veteran, Robert “Red” Kuehl enlisted in 1948 and served in the U.S. Navy for three years during the Korean War.
Jerry “Whit” Whitley served in country of Vietnam with the U.S. Marines after enlisting in 1958. He was in the military for four years.
Both Harvey and Paula Hoffman enlisted in 1992 and served in the U.S. Army in various bases all over the U.S. The couple met and married while in the service.
Vince Guara served in the U.S. Navy and enlisted in 1985. He had never been outside of Colorado until then. One of his duty stations was as a command chief in the desert. After he was discharged, he worked at Colorado Department of Corrections for 19 years, as a technical safety coordinator, as well as in investigations.
In the meantime, Randy Sorge enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1985 and served on the East Coast, the West Coast and on the Gulf Coast. After his discharge, he was involved in Search and Rescue, law enforcement and border security.
Bryan Sullivan enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1992. He served on the USS Chancellor and was based in San Diego, Calif. He said he had the opportunity to travel to 14 countries and around the United States.
Prior to the veterans talking a little about their military service, the Fremont Victory Quilters wrapped them with a quilt of their choice.
The Fremont Victor Quilters originated in 2012 in Cañon City as the Quilts of Valor. But the quilters wanted to expand their outreach.
“It's not just the vets that saw the Front Line, we want to honor the military family,” said Susan Hildebrand, who emceed the ceremony.
“We also give quilts out at McCandless Nursing Home and Nighthawk Ranch, where we gave 20 quilts to children who have cancer.”
The next ceremony is scheduled for the first Friday in July.
