Six veterans honored in Shawmut

VALLEY — On Saturday, the Georgia-Alabama State Line Chapter of the Quilts of Valor honored six veterans of the East Alabama-West Georgia region with quilt presentations. The 11:30 a.m. EDT ceremony took place in the fellowship hall at Shawmut Methodist Church.

Debra Alexander presided over the meeting and introduced each person being honored. The group included a married couple, Fred and Theresa Lux, both of whom served in the U.S. Army. They have been married for 47 years and now live in Valley. Fred was in the Army for 20 years and spent time at Fort McClellan, Fort Benning, Hawaii and Germany before retiring after being stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He is originally from Suffern, New York. Theresa is from Norwalk, California. They met when they were stationed together in 1975-78.

The Luxes are two of five Army veterans honored on Saturday. The other Army veterans included Joe Lay and his son-in-law Lee Rollins. They both live in the Smiths Station area today. Lay is a native of Arcadia, Louisiana and was in the Army for 20 years. He was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Lewis, Washington, and Fort Benning, Georgia. He also served in Germany.

Rollins was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was in the Army for 21 years and spent time at Forts Hood and Moore. He’s a veteran of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alan Jones grew up in Zephryhills, Florida and now lives not far from Fort Moore in Seale, Alabama. He served abroad in Korea and in the U.S. in Hawaii, Fort Campbell and Fort Benning.

Gary Wright of Lanett is the one veteran honored on Saturday who did not serve in the Army. He was in the U.S. Air Force. He spent time in San Antonio, Texas and Denver, Colorado, specializing in picking up and delivering airplane parts. He does something similar today. He drives a bus for the Lanett Senior Center and delivers meals to the homebound. He and his wife have been married for 30 years.

“I thank God to be here today,” Wright told a big group gathered inside the fellowship hall. “I ask you to keep praying for our veterans.”

Saturday’s program began with quilter Sara Cofield’s young granddaughter singing beautiful versions of “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “America the Beautiful” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The National Quilts of Valor organization recently had its 20th annual conference in Paducah, Kentucky. Present was Chaplain John L. Kallerson, who awarded the first Quilt of Valor to a wounded soldier at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Since that time, the Quilts of Valor organization has grown from one small chapter to many chapters from coast to coast. Since that start in 2003, close to 400,000 quilts have been presented to veterans who served our country in war zones and active duty personnel who are serving today.

In the summer of 2023, the 350,000th quilt was presented to Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado, a former U.S. Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient who served in Afghanistan.

Quilts of Valor was founded by Catherine Roberts a little more than 20 years ago. Her son was serving in harm’s way at the time, being involved in the invasion of Iraq. She worried constantly for his safety and one night had a dream of him being haunted by his war demons and then finding comfort in wrapping himself in a quilt. That inspired her to form a quilting group of women making quilts and giving them to soldiers who were serving, or who had served, in combat zones.

It took several years for Roberts and her small group to make 100 quilts, but as other women found out what they were doing more quilting chapters were formed. They went from coast to coast. The number of quilt presentations passed the 100,000 mark in 2014. Heading into 2025, close to 400,000 quilts have been presented to veterans and active duty personnel.

Each quilt presentation carries with it a three-part message. First, the veteran is being honored for their service and their willingness to have left all they held dear and to stand in harm’s way in a time for crisis for all of us.

Second, freedom is never free. A Quilt of Valor is meant to say thank you to veterans for their many sacrifices. For those of us who have never seen combat or been in a war zone, such experiences are beyond our capacity to comprehend.

Finally, these quilts offer comfort. Throughout history, when young people left home to fight in a war, many of them took a quilt made by a family member that they called a comfort quilt. It may have been all they had to remind them of the warmth memories of home can bring. Each Quilt of Valor recipient is asked to use their quilt. It is not meant to be hung on the wall or put in a display case.

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