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Weller honored with Quilt of Valor

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Meda Weller, 92, of McGregor, was honored with a Quilt of Valor last week, recognizing her service to the U.S., through the Army Nurse Corps, at the end of World War II. The quilt was made by her niece, Bev Kozelka (left). (Photo by Audrey Posten)

When asked how it felt to receive a Quilt of Valor, Meda was speechless and touched to be honored with a quilt. Here, she examines the star-studded, red, white and blue quilt with Quilt of Valor volunteer Vicki Sasso. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Since its inception in 2003, when quilter and blue star mother Catherine Roberts came up with the idea of using quilts to comfort veterans while her son was deployed in Iraq, the Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded over 118,000 quilts to service members and veterans touched by war.

Last week, 92-year-old McGregor resident Meda Weller became one of the latest to receive a Quilt of Valor, recognizing her service to the United States, through the Army Nurse Corps, at the end of World War II.

Meda joined the Army Nurse Corps in Dec. 1944 and was later stationed in the Philippines, where some of her first patients came from the European front, she said.

“[The dwellings] had board floors with a canvas roof,” she recalled. “We were in the Philippines, so we didn’t need the warmth.”

She remembered sleeping with a mosquito net surrounding her and eating fairly well, although she claimed the Navy’s food was better.

After serving sick and injured soldiers for over one year, Meda was discharged in Feb. 1946. She then returned to Iowa, serving as a county nurse. In 1947, Meda traveled to Alaska, which was then not yet a state, and worked in a tuberculosis sanatorium until moving back to McGregor in 1949. Back in Iowa, Meda continued to serve as a nurse, working as the director of nursing at the McGregor Hospital, as well as holding positions in several doctor’s offices and at a nursing home in Prairie du Chien. Up until a few years ago, she spent one day each week setting up medical records for a retirement center.

Meda and her husband, Ervin, had four children—Marie, Ginny, Neal and Morris. The family has a strong military connection, with Ervin also serving in WWII, as part of the occupation forces in Japan, from 1945 to 1946. Their son, Morris, served from 1972 to 1975, as did his sons, Clayton, in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006 to 2007, and Karl, in Afghanistan, from 2009 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2013. Another relative, Chad Giese, served in the Marines from 1991 to 1994.

When asked how it felt to receive a Quilt of Valor, Meda was speechless and touched to be honored with a quilt, which was made by her own niece, Bev Kozelka. Volunteer Vicki Sasso, who was with Wisconsin’s Belleville group, of which Bev is a part, gave the presentation, noting that not all quilters know who will receive their quilts.

“Bev did the top and put the binding on,” Vicki said. From there, the quilt went to Michigan, where it was longarmed (sewn into a finished quilt) by other Quilt of Valor volunteers. “Now it’s ready to be hugged and loved. We want you to use it.”

To demonstrate the comfort the foundation hopes the veteran will receive from the Quilt of Valor, the presentation ceremony ends with unfurling the quilt around the veteran.

“The last thing we do is wrap it around you and welcome you home,” Sasso said.

Along with the quilt, Meda also received Bev’s quilter’s journal, giving her a look at what went into making her star-studded, red, white and blue quilt, which features the Army seal at its center.

Of the thousands of quilts already given to service men and women in the United States, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, Vicki said no two are the same. Any colors can be used; however, red, white and blue are unsurprisingly the most popular choices.

While Meda received a Quilt of Valor upon the personal request of Bev, Vicki said anyone can make a request to honor a veteran touched by war through the Quilt of Valor website, qovf.org. Hundreds of requests pour in each week from across the country, she noted. Some are filled one-at-a-time while others involve group presentations. Quilters can also become individual Quilt of Valor Foundation members or join an area group in order to create quilts for honorees.

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