Each year the Dusty Desert Quilt Guild presents hand crafted quilts as part of the Quilts of Honor program and this year they presented quilts to five local veterans who served this country in the armed forces during a program at the Holbrook Public Library.
Those recognized included William “Lucky” Warner, who served in the US Army from 2001 to 2004, as a mechanic while serving in Iraq. Warner now works for Navajo County.
Betty Peck served in the US Navy for 20 years from 1981 to 2001, serving as an electronics technician in radar systems and became a radar specialist. Peck earned five Navy Achievement Awards during her time in service.
William “Willie” Smith was drafted in 1969. After basic training in Fort Ord, he was assigned to infantry and ordered to Vietnam. He spent nine months in Saigon with the 4th Transport Command. He was then assigned to the 1st Cavalry in Longbien where he was injured by shrapnel and honorably discharged.
Richard L. Powers served in the US Air Force from 1968 to 1973. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas he was attached to the 454th Bomb Wing Squadron as an administrative specialist. In 1969, he was sent to Holbrook with the Radar Bomb Scoring Detachment. After that he served at Bin Hoa Air Force Base in Vietnam where he was nominated for the Pride of Airman Quarter Award.
The quilts were presented on Nov. 10, the day before Veteran’s Day to give recognition to the men and women who served, and in some cases, sacrificed for their country.
Each year the Dusty Desert Quilt Guild has a booth at the Navajo County Fair where a quilt is raffled to support the organization’s community service projects, including the Quilt of Honor project.
