Vietnam vets chapter honors two with lifetime memberships
Vietnam Veterans of America Sussex County Chapter 1105 in lower Delaware recently honored two special women with lifetime VVA memberships, giving them full membership rights except the ability to vote on official matters.
Normally, membership is restricted to veterans from the Vietnam War and era. After a full vote of Chapter 1105 was carried, President Joe More requested through national headquarters that exceptions be made for Dana Mason and Marguerite Niemoeller, who have demonstrated extreme dedication to the men and women of the chapter.
They have, through a 501c organization, constructed and awarded Quilts of Valor in ceremonies recognizing a number of unsung war heros, 12 to date, in Chapter 1105 alone.
Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts of Seaford, the mother of an Iraq combat vet. Its purpose is to comfort a service member touched by war by ceremonially wrapping a handmade, red-white-and-blue quilt around the veteran, covering him or her. In combat military jargon, the term covering means positioning oneself to protect the person. During the QOV ritual, the full connotation becomes emotionally apparent in each recipient. It is very moving.
Mason said she and Neimoeller met as members of a local quilting guild and developed a friendship. Both had military-oriented families, and it didn’t take long for them to engage in Quilts of Valor. Neimoeller’s husband Larry, then active military, encouraged the women by contributing several thousand dollars for the purchase of a longarm machine. This device can seam together all the layers of a quilt, allowing the creator to use her energy on the fine pattern-creating work and making the process time efficient.
So far, 418 quilts have been awarded in Delaware alone, and 12 more are in the making. Nationwide, 269,505 quilts have been given since 2007, when a count was started.
Mason said she was spiritually drawn to this cause, adding, “It is the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
To nominate a service member or veteran to receive a personalized quilt, go to qovf.org.
