Quilts of Valors honors four veterans

Four veterans recently received a Quilt of Valor from the local volunteer organization making the quilts to honor military service. The quilts were presented during an assembly at Trinity Lutheran School in Freistatt. Kay Johnson, spokesperson for the quilts chapter, emphasized the quilts were not a present, but given more as a lifetime achievement award. The local group has presented more than 200 quilts to worthy recipients. Receiving quilts were, from left, Walter Brown, who served in the Air Force from 1967 to 1971; Austin Himes, a construction mechanic who served in Afghanistan in 2016 and most recently in Bahrain; Nick Prater, who served in the Air Force National Guard from 1967 to 1989 at bases from Guam and Vietnam to Denver and California; and Dale Chapman, who served in the Army from 1971 to 1973 in Okinawa. (Murray Bishoff photo)