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thedrifter
02-19-08, 10:27 AM
Quilts made by Villages residents warm bodies, souls of wounded soldiers

By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — Colorful red, white and blue quilts will be given to wounded Marines today as a gift from the heart from Diane English and some of her quilting friends.

“I wanted to do it for the guys,” said English, a resident of the Village of Chatham. Once she learned about the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., the battalion created to provide support for those wounded in combat, she began sewing quilts as a symbol of gratitude for their service to their country.

“For some, their lives are so shattered and it’s a long struggle on the road to recovery,” said English, who believes wounded military personnel need encouragement and to know that they’re not forgotten.

The seasonal Villages resident from Michigan says she will always cherish a handwritten note that she received from one soldier, Nicholas Ploussard, who wrote on blue stationery, expressing appreciation for his warm quilt covering.

“His truck was blown up,” English said, reading his letter out loud. Tears streamed down her face as she continued, telling how the soldier was injured from shrapnel and how he has no feelings in his fingers because the shrapnel hit a nerve in his arm.

“I was just laying here when the chaplain brought in your quilt,” Ploussard wrote. “I just want to say thank you because it brought a warm feeling in my heart to know there are people like you at

home who care.”

English also was deeply touched to receive a phone call Dec. 13 from Maj. Gen. Wayne Rollings at Camp Lejeune, thanking her in person for all that she is doing.

“He said the quilts were a morale booster for the soldiers,” she said.

English has made 19 quilts in all, the last six in a matter of weeks. She began working on the last batch once she learned that Brian Bates of the Village of Glenbrook was heading today to Camp Lejeune, where he is an invited honored guest.

A military retiree, Bates works tirelessly to drum up support for the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Battalion. He offered to hand deliver the quilts rather than mail them.

“And I made a push at my quilt guild,” said English, who asked other quilters if they wanted to make quilts, too.

English’s neighbor, Valetta Hudson, quickly made three quilts, while English’s Chatham Quilt Guild friends, Margo McClary and Carol Tolpa, each made one. Mary Alice Schueler and Janet Gardner assisted with sewing and bounding the edges.

“I love to sew,” said Hudson, who quickly made her three quilts in two days.

English noted that Bob, her husband of 41 years, also has been supportive of the project. He felt she needed a new and better sewing machine to do her quilting, and purchased one.

Before sewing for the wounded soldiers, English recalled the first quilt she made was for a friend, Chief Master Sgt. Linda Middleton of the Air Force, while she was serving in Iraq last year. Her friend, English happily noted, made it home OK.

English plans to continue making quilts for the Wounded Warrior Battalion, and she noted that red, white and blue fabric for the project is needed.

Villagers who have material that they would like to donate to the cause may drop it off at Chatham Recreation Center, where English and her quilting friends meet at 8:30 a.m. every Tuesday during Chatham Quilt Guild gatherings.

The way this quilter sees it, many more patriotic quilts need to be made.

Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.

Ellie