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The Cotton Rose Quilters Guild welcomed several military veterans as special guests at its April meeting.

Fred Wilkes Moore, Grover Garrett, Marvin Dillard and James Clyde Smith were recognized and honored for their service to country and their continued service through volunteer organizations on the home front.

Pike County Veterans Affairs Office Randy Ross said he is fortunate to work with veterans and to assist them in a variety of ways, including obtaining benefits relative to vocational rehabilitation, education, insurance and also burial benefits.

Ross expressed appreciation to the veterans for their military service and for their pride in and commitment to country and to their fellowman.

The Cotton Rose Quilters honored each veteran with a special token of appreciation – a quilt of blocks handmade by the quilters

The quilters worked individually on the blocks and together to piece or sew the pieces of the patchwork together.

In presenting each veteran with a quilt, he was recognized for his service to his country.

Marvin Dillard joined the Alabama Nation Guard and received basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Hood, Texas. His unit was activated to assist Alabama Highway Patrol to control racial violence in Prattville. He was promoted to staff sergeant and assigned to an artillery unit and sent to AP Hill, Virginia for special training for preparation for deployment to Viet Nam but the deployment was canceled.

Dillard was honorably discharged in 1968 as Staff Sergeant.

Grover Garrett joined the National Guard with the Brundidge 900 Maintenance Engineer Unit.  He received his basic training in Fort Jackson South Carolina.

After serving there for nine weeks, he was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey. He carried the mail while there. He served four months in that “cold country” and saw some pretty sites – Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty but decided cold weather was not for him. He was next sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana for 12 months. While serving there, he became a dad, Garrett’s rank was Spec4 when he got out of the guard in November 1962.

James Clyde Smith served the United States Army in California. He was in the 7th AG Company at Fort Ord, California.

Fred Wilks Moore was unable to attend the program. However, he is proud of his service. His National Guard unit was mobilized during the Korean War and was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was Motor Sergeant Artillery Unit. At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he went to mechanic’s military school, He returned to Ft. Jackson and then to Fort Hood, Texas for exercise Long Horn. He went to Camp Atterbury, to Fort McCoy and was released from active duty, Korean War in 1951.

*Members of the Cotton Rose Quilters Guild are: June Byrd, Lori Broadway, Karen Bullard, Joyce Cooper (Guild Treasurer, Diane Curtis, Kellie Curtis, Julia Dillard, Cathy Fain, Sara Hatfield, Camille Hedden, Ruth Henderson, Melodie Lauer (Guild vice-president), Mary Marshall, Bea McKnatt, Peggy McVay (Guild secretary), Penny Messick, Sherry Painter, Liz Petty, Elizabeth Precise, Stanna Traver, Angela Walton. Mary Jo Williams and Bonnie York (Guild president)

Elizabeth Precise, who is 10 years old, quilted the quilt that was for the 98-year-old Veteran Fred Wilks Moore. Elizabeth is pictured quilting one of her quilts.