The afternoon of Sunday, September 8, 2024, a Quilt of Valor was presented to each of five family members, four brothers and their first cousin, David McCauley, Harry McCauley, Larry McCauley, Robert McCauley, and Roger McCauley, during a Field of Honor event at the Dacusville Community Center.

Patsy Finley, President of the Foothills Civitan Club, introduced Lori Osborn, President of the Dacusville Community Club, who introduced members of the Pickens-Oconee Quilts of Valor chapter.

“Beth Eastman is the Quilts of Valor Coordinator for Pickens and Oconee Counties,” said Ronny Hall. “Linda Hall started this program approximately seven and a half years ago, and it has been a passion of ours to honor our veterans over these last seven or eight years. I’d also like to say a special, special thanks to Mark and Lori Osborn. They have done an absolutely fabulous job taking over and coordinating the activities of the Dacusville Community Club and Center. Join me in giving them a big round of applause. It’s great to see a wonderful group here. And this is a passion that we have, and we are delighted that we can be here today.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is an official Quilts of Valor presentation. The Quilts of Valor movement was started by Catherine Roberts in 2003. Catherine wanted to comfort her son in Iraq. So, she decided to make him a quality made quilt to heal and comfort him during his struggle in Iraq as well as when he returned. From Catherine Roberts’ home in Seaford, Delaware, the Quilts of Valor movement spread across the nation. There are individuals, like Linda and Beth and others that come and sew here, in every state of the union and in almost every county in every state. It is also a worldwide phenomenon – in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and England. The first Quilt of Valor was awarded in November of 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to a young soldier from Minnesota who had lost his leg in Iraq. Chaplain John Kallerson opened the door at Walter Reed primarily because his wife happened to be a quilter. She impressed upon him how comforting quilts can be. John also saw the value of awarding quilts to his wounded because of the message the quilt carries, which is someone cares. The group went on to award 149 more presentations to those injured as well as another 150 quilts of Valor to those soldiers with PTSD. The first 300 quilts established the original database. So, the first quilt was awarded in the fall of 2003. At this point, there are almost 400,000 individuals that have received the Quilt of Valor. Originally, Quilts of Valor were only awarded to members wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq conflicts. In 2009, ladies and gentlemen, an event changed the whole outlook of who should receive the Quilt of Valor. While awarding quilts to Vietnam vets, the vets said over and over again this is the first time in 40 years that anyone has ever thanked me for my service. The leadership realized that things needed to change, and they did. So, if you were in the service during that period of time, you realize that was a difficult time in our nation. So, who is a veteran? Many, many veterans say, ‘I do not deserve the Quilt of Valor.’ If you signed your name, you are a veteran. A veteran, whether active duty, discharged, retired, National Guard, or Reservist, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for any amount up to and including his or her life. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an honor, no questions asked.

“Our group is headed by Beth Eastman. We sew at the Dacusville Community Center. We occupy four classrooms and are fortunate to have a long-arm quilting machine. The Quilts of Valor Foundation and our organization is a non-profit, and all of the local groups around the nation operate strictly on donations. We have been extremely fortunate to be able to do what we have done, due to that.

“The average wait time across the nation is 14 to 16 months, and the entire process can take up to 40 hours. So, it begs the question – what is a Quilt of Valor? A Quilt of Valor is a quality made quilt that is machine- or hand-quilted. It is awarded to a service member or veteran who has been touched by war. The quilt says, unequivocally, thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation. To use the term ‘Quilt of Valor’, ‘Quilts of Valor’, or ‘QOV’, the quilt must be a specific size, it must have a label with the required information, and it must be awarded. It is not a gift. And it cannot be a surprise. And it cannot be awarded posthumously. Lastly, it must be recorded. So, we’re here today to recognize these veterans who are from the same family.”

Ronny Hall then recognized each veteran, as each was presented a Quilt of Valor by Beth Eastman and Linda Hall.

 “Larry Earl McCauley. He was in the Navy from July 19, 1954 to February 1, 1979. This was during the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War. He has four Air Combat Air medals. Beth and Linda will now award him the Quilt of Valor.

 “Our next recipient is David McCauley. David was in Vietnam. He was in the Navy and achieved the rank of E-5. He was in from 1963 to 1969. He was serving in the Great Lakes in Montreal. He also received a National Defense Service Medal.

 “Our next recipient is Harry McCauley. Harry was in the Navy. He received the rank of E-9. He was in the Navy from 1954 to 1979. This was during the Korean Conflict. So, at this time, we award the Quilt of Valor to Harry McCauley.

 “Our next recipient is Roger McCauley. He was in the Navy. He received a rank of E-4. He was in from 1965 to 1967. He also served in Vietnam. At this time, we will award the Quilt of Valor to Roger McCauley.

 “At this time, would Robert McCauley please come forward. Robert’s dates of service were 12-5-68 to 12-5-70. He served in Vietnam. He was in the Army and achieved the rank of E-5. He received the Vietnam Combat Infantry Medal. So, at this time, we will award the Quilt of Valor to Robert McCauley.

“Gentlemen, on behalf of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, in recognition of your service and sacrifice to this nation, it is a privilege to serve honor and comfort upon you through the award of the Quilt of Valor. Though we may never know the depth of your sacrifice to protect and defend the United States of America, as a gesture of gratitude of a grateful nation, we award you this Quilt of Valor. Thank you for your service, and welcome home.”

After the audience applauded, one of the veterans, Robert McCauley, said, “I’d just like to thank the ones that made these quilts. It means so much to us, all of us.”

Eastman answered: “You don’t know how much they mean to us to do them.”

She further said, “I just want to thank Dacusville for letting us come here. We love everybody here, and they have been good to us. Of course, Ronny and Linda live next door, so that’s how they started it here to begin with. We appreciate you all. We thank you. God bless you all.”

“This completes our presentation,” said Ronny Hall. “I would like to thank, again, you folks for coming and being a part of this. It means a lot for us.”

“On behalf of the Foothills Civitan Club and the Dacusville Community Club, we thank all of you for coming out and supporting this event this afternoon,” said Gary Finley. “What actually got the Field of Honor started was, after 9-11, the Colonial Flag Company in Utah decided they needed to do something to help the people heal, so they held what they called at that time a Healing Field, and they had a flag out for every person that was lost either in the buildings, in the planes, or on the ground at the Pentagon. So, it evolved into a national thing that we’re so happy to be a part of here. And we hope next year we’re twice as big and more and more people find out about it. Please, if you have not already done it, walk through the field of flags. Each one has a card on it that tells who it’s in honor of and who dedicated it. We have 225 flags out there flying. We appreciate everybody who sponsored a flag, and remember us next year so we can double our size, at least. Thank you again.”