Veterans honored at quilt ceremony
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Five veterans were honored with quilts during the Threads of Remembrance ceremony held during Fjord Folk Fest in Minot on Saturday, Aug. 22.
U.S. Army veterans Staff Sgt. Alan Magnuson and Sgt. David Mahlum, U.S. Air Force veterans Chief Master Sgt. Darrel Kerzmann and Master Sgt. Art Nyberg and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Sgt. Chris Badger received quilts from the Peace and Honor Chapter of Quilts of Valor.
The Threads of Remembrance ceremony was a partnership between Quilts of Valor and MinotWreaths.org, (Wreaths Across America). The Minot wreaths program is fueled by the Cadets with the Civil Air Patrol, who introduced each veteran at the ceremony as they were given their quilts.
Magnuson enlisted in the Army in 1970 and trained at Fort Polk, Louisiana, to become a personnel records clerk. He transferred to Nuremberg, Germany, and then to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. He later was a recruiter in Marshall, Minnesota, and administrative noncommissioned officer (NCO) for the hospital commander at Fort Carson, Colorado; NCO in charge of the Distribution Center in Seoul, South Korea; NCO in charge of processing at the military entry station in Los Angeles, California; an administrative NCO in Izmir, Turkey; a section NCO of enlisted personnel at Fort Drum in New York; and an administrative NCO and cadet clerk for the ROTC detachment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Magnuson's accomplishments include receiving the Joint Meritorious Service Medal and achieving the highest score on both sergeant and staff sergeant skill qualification tests. After his service, he worked various jobs in the Kansas City and Missouri areas.
His quilt was pieced by Luanne Duchsherer, quilted by Itching to be Stitchin and the binding was completed by CeeCee Thompson.
Mahlum served in the Army from 1965-1967. He completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, finance school at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana and was assigned to the 1st Signal Brigade in Vietnam and to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
His quilt was pieced by Ashley Villegas-Miller, quilted by Itching to be Stitchin and the binding was completed by Thompson.
Kerzmann served from Jan. 19, 1977, to April 30, 2002, with the Air Force. He was an aircraft maintenance technician, known as a crew chief. He was the lead mechanic responsible for the overall care, safety and mission readiness of the aircraft. He managed daily inspections, the launch and recovery of flights, performed general maintenance and coordinated specialized technicians for complex system repairs.
Kerzmann was stationed at Clark Air Base in Alaska, Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, Tyndell Air Force Base in Florida, England Air Force Base in Louisiana and Minot Air Force Base.
His quilt was pieced by Duchsherer, quilted by Itching to be Stitchin, and the binding was completed by Thompson.
Nyberg served from September 1977 to February 2001 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska and Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
He was also an Individual Mobilization augmentee at Minot Air Force Base, which is a specialized category of Air Force Reserve in which experienced personnel are embedded directly into active-duty or joint-agency units rather than traditional reserve squadrons.
His quilt was pieced by Lexi Huff, quilted by Itching to be Stitchin, and the binding was done by Thompson.
Badger served from 1981-1984 in the Marine Corps. She served at Parris Island in South Carolina, attended the Naval School of Music and was stationed at Quantico in Virginia, Camp Lajune in North Carolina and Okinawa, Japan. She played in field bands and had a temporary assignment as a chaplain's assistant toward the end of her enlistment.
Her quilt was pieced by Sharleen Larson, quilted by Itching to be Stitchin, and the binding was completed by Thompson.
Each veteran also received a certificate of appreciation.
Civil Air Patrol cadets assisting in the ceremony were Cadet Senior Airman Nicholas Parker, Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Emma Slocum, Cadet Airman First Class Jack May, Cadet Technical Sergeant Jeannie DeHaan and Cadet Senior Airman Isaiah Wipf.
The symbolism of the quilts is warmth, comfort, peace and healing to the veteran or service member who receives it. An award of a quilt reflects honor and gratitude for service.