And while there are many ways to obtain one, eight local residents were honored Saturday with special quilts honoring them for their military service. The veterans were presented with Quilts of Valor made by the Fort Dodge Area Quilters.

The quilts, according to Cyndie Salvatore, the president of the quilting group, are “lifetime awards stitched with love and healing thoughts.”

Each quilt, she said, has three layers. The top layer represents the community, the middle layer represents comfort and healing, and the bottom layer represents strength.

About 60 people gathered at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 Saturday afternoon when Quilts of Valor were presented to these veterans.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Tom Salvatore, an Army veteran from Fort Dodge, listens as Cyndie Salvatore, the president of the Fort Dodge Quilters Association, talks about his military career Saturday during a Quilts of Valor presentation. Cyndie Salvatore is his sister-in-law.

Ron Arends

Arends, of Manson, served in the Navy from 1977 to 1986. For part of that time he was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea. He is a past commander of VFW Post 1856.

Dick Kaiser

Kaiser, of Fort Dodge, served in the Air Force fro 1951 to 1955.

Fred Larson

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
David Ray, a Marine Corps veteran from Fort Dodge, addresses about 60 people present for a Quilts of Valor presentation Saturday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856. Members of the Fort Dodge Quilters Association wrapped his quilt around him.

Larson, of Fort Dodge, served in the Army from 1950 to 1952. He completed basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, then served the reminder of his time in the service at Fort Lee, Virginia.

Larson was a photographer for The Messenger for 30 years.

Dean Polking

Polking, of Fort Dodge, served in the Army Air Force from 1943 to 1946. At that time the Air Force was part of the Army, instead of being a separate branch of the armed services.

After his military service concluded, he worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 31 years. Then he worked as a process server for the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
George Sexton, of Rockwell City, bows his head as his service in the Marine Corps is recounted during a Quilts of Valor presentation Saturday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 in Fort Dodge.

David Ray

Ray, of Fort Dodge, served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1970 and was in combat in South Vietnam. He wrote a book about his experience called “A Marine’s Promise to God.”

He plans to take his Quilt of Valor with him to a Marine Corps reunion next summer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Tom Salvatore

He served in the Army from 1968 to 1970, and was in South Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 as a member of the 25th Infantry Division.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Garret Weiland, a Navy veteran from Fort Dodge, prepares to receive a Quilt of Valor Saturday during a presentation at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856.

Salvatore received the National Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Following his military service, he worked for the United States Postal Service and was a member of the Fort Dodge City Council.

George Sexton

Sexton, of Rockwell City, served in the Marine Corps from 1982 to 1985.

He said he accepted his quilt on behalf of 220 Marines killed when their barracks were blown up by a suicide bomber in Lebanon on Oct. 23, 1983. He was on a Navy ship off the coast of Lebanon when the bombing happened.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Dean Polking, an Army Air Force veteran from Fort Dodge, is wrapped in his Quilt of Valor Saturday during a presentation at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856. The quilt was presented by Fort Dodge Quilters Association members, including Presdient Cyndie Salvatore, left and Cheryl Hurdel, right.

His service in the Marine Corps took him to Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Garret Weiland

Weiland, of Fort Dodge, went in the Navy in 1946. He served in the Pacific Ocean on a destroyer and later, an oiler that refueled other ships.

He became an Iowa State Patrol trooper.

A ninth veteran, Regina Rhea, of Fort Dodge, was to get a quilt Saturday, but was unable to attend. She is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Dick Kaiser, an Air Force veteran from Fort Dodge, speaks during a Quilts of Valor presentation Saturday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 in Fort Dodge. Jennifer Tompkins, a member of the Fort Dodge Quilters Association, holds the microphone for him.