Five local veterans were honored with Quilts of Valor at a ceremony at the Alliance VFW #1517 on Oct. 17.
The veterans who received the Quilts of Valor were Duane Clausen, Mel Crowe, Brett Kelly, Todd Wells and J.C. Hardy, Jr.
Clausen served in the US Navy from 1969 to 1975, attending Navy Boot Camp in San Diego. He remained there for Electricity and Electronic School, where he also received Electronics Class A training. He served on the USS Midway and the USS Oriskany, completing two West Pac tours: one Western Pacific to Vietnam and the other to the Indian Ocean.
Clausen was honorably discharged at the rank of E5, Electrician’s Mate (EM)— 2nd class. Among the awards and medals he received were the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 1 Star, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal—Korea, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. His Quilt of Valor was pieced and bound by Janet Clark and quilted by Linda Schneider.
Crowe volunteered for the draft to join the Army in 1962, completing training at Fort Leonard, Missouri. He received Advanced Military Police training at Fort Gordon, Georgia and also at Fort Lewis, Washington. He spent the rest of his Army career at Fort Lewis until he was honorably discharged in 1964. Crowe’s Quilt of Valor was pieced and bound by Virginia Campbell and was quilted by Suzanne Walker.
Kelly served in the United States Army from 2005 to 2008, and in the Army Reserve from 2008 to 2013 as a SPC/EO4. He was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as an MOS 44Bravo Metal Worker. Among the awards and medals he received were the IRAQ Campaign Medal, Army Commendation Medal X2, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Driver and Mechanic Badge with Driver. He served in a designated imminent danger area, serving in Iraq. His Quilt of Valor was pieced and bound by Virginia Campbell and was quilted by Linda Schneider.
Wells served in the United States Marine Corps from January 1984 until May 1988, serving with Weapons Co 1/5 (Camp Margarita) at Camp Pendelton, California. He served in Alaska, Hawaii, South Korea, Philippines, Panama, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Spain and Norfolk, Virginia. He was MOS 0351 and trained as a Dragon Gunner (now Javelin) and he was discharged at the rank of E4.
He received The Good Conduct Medal, Expert Rifle Range Badge and Marine Expeditionary Medal. His Quilt of Valor was pieced and bound by Margaret Lieneman and was quilted by Chris Wolf.
Hardy served in the U.S. Army/Army National Guard from 1988 to 2006, completing training at Fort Benning, Georgia, after which he was assigned to the Infantry. He was stationed in Germany for three years, and was deployed to Afghanistan for 15 months. He ended his time in the Army at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he was honorably discharged in 2006 at the rank of E4.
Among the awards and medals he received were the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal (Second Award), Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (Second Award), Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/M Device, Drive and Mechanic Badge and the Army Lapel Button with Mechanic Clasp. His Quilt of Valor was pieced and bound by Janet Clark and was quilted by Chris Wolf.