At a recent ceremony at the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center, three veterans received Quilts of Valor: John Michael Olafson, Dustin D. Huckfeldt and Cynthia Lynn Sutton-Shaw.
Olafson joined the United States Army Reserves in November 1965, where he was stationed at Fort Leonardwood, Mo. for Basic and Advanced Training. He was stationed at Fort Omaha for the remainder of his tour with the 401 Military Police Unit, where they maintained security for the homeland. Olafson was Honorably Discharged on Nov. 30, 1971.
Huckfeldt graduated from Hay Springs High School on May 9, 1993, and nine days later he attended boot camp in San Diego. In August, Huckfeldt went to school in Millington, Tenn., and then, in January 1994, he went to NAS Norfolk, Va. He reported to the USS Kennedy in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1996, where he completed two deployments to the Persian Gulf. In 2001, he became an instructor at NATTC in Pensacola, Fla., and then transferred to NAS Keflavik, Iceland where he was stationed from 2004-2006. Huckfeldt then worked as a recruiter for three years in Greeley, Colo. In his final tour, Huckfeldt took orders to VANOPDET, Whidbey Island, where he deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Japan. He retired in 2013 and continues to work in Naval Aviation at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.
Throughout his career, Huckfeldt received the following awards: seven Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, four Meritorious Unit Commendation Medals, six Navy Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, an Armed Forces Expeditionary, an Iraq Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, an Armed Forces Service Medal, four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, a Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, a Navy Recruiting Service Ribbon, an Expert Rifleman Medal, an Expert Pistolshot Medal, an Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist Insignia and a Master Training Specialist.
Sutton-Shaw enlisted in the U.S. Army on Nov. 20, 1990 to support her family and serve her country during Operation Desert Storm. She underwent nine weeks of boot camp in Fort Jackson, S.C. After graduating, Sutton-Shaw underwent nine weeks of AIT at Fort Leonardwood, Mo., after which, she earned the rank of Private First Class E-3. She served as an 88 MIC Motor Transport Operator while she was stationed at the home of the 101st Airborne Division to the 426 S & T Battalion in Fort Campbell, Ken., where she excelled until her Honorable Discharge on Oct. 25, 1991.
