Eloise Ogden/MDN World War II veteran John Sinn, left, Minot, admires a patriotic quilt presented to him last Monday by Mary Kohler, on behalf of the Piecemakers Quilt Guild of Garrison. The quilt was made by Linda Burgeson of Douglas.

Members of the Piecemakers Quilt Guild of Garrison started making patriotic quilts several months ago to give to veterans as a way to honor and thank them for their service.

Last Monday, Mary Kohler, a Guild member from Benedict, presented, on behalf of the Quilt Guild, a red, white and blue quilt to John Sinn, a World War II veteran from Minot. The quilt was made by Quilt Guild member Linda Burgeson of Douglas.

Kohler thanked Sinn for his part in “fighting for our country.”

Sinn, who turned 100 in January, entered the Army June 29, 1943, and served for two years. “When the war ended I was in Czechoslovakia,” he said. He was attached to the 386th Infantry Regiment.

After returning from the war, Sinn and his late wife, Olive, lived on her family farm near Ryder where he farmed with relatives, then moved to Garrison where he did construction work. The Sinns raised a son and daughter, Lt. Gen. (retired) Jerry Sinn, Alexandria, Va., a 1963 Garrison High School graduate, and Lois Sinn Lindquist, Kalispell, Mont., a 1967 graduate of Garrison High School. John Sinn went to work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1957, retiring in 1989. A longtime resident of Minot and a well known volunteer in the Minot community, for about 30 years he volunteered at the Scandinavian Heritage Park.

The Piecemakers Quilt Guild has around 30 members who meet 10 months of the year at the SACA Lodge in Garrison.