Honoring The Sacrifices Of Those Who Served

A presentation of a Quilt of Valor to Darrin Alderson for his service to our country, his leadership role as Commander of our local American Legion, and for how he cares for Veterans. The ceremony took place at Hy-Vee in Oskaloosa.
Quilt was handmade by Connie Funk from Iowa City, and presented by Charlie Funk, President & CEO of MidWestOne Bank. Pictured L to R: Clete Hjorth, Director of Oskaloosa Hy-Vee, Charlie Funk, Connie Funk, Sandy Bailey, MidWestOne Bank Market President, Amanda Mitrisin Lemke, Margaret Ratcliff, Merri Chris Hawker, Darrin Alderson, Lisa Alderson, and Ed Ed Butler.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Veterans walked down the red carpet, greeted by individuals finely dressed and with warm, welcoming smiles.

“It’s a community event”, said Clete Hjorth, Manager at Hy-Vee in Oskaloosa.

Hjorth and the Oskaloosa Hy-Vee welcomed veterans, their spouses and families with the red carpet treatment to breakfast.

The annual breakfast is something veterans circle on their calendar, and look forward to as a way of catching up with other veterans. Two unnamed veterans caught up on that red carpet, discovering that they served in Vietnam just one year apart, doing nearly the same job.

Hjorth welcomed representatives from MidWestOne Insurance Services, and MidWestOne Bank introduced Charlie Funk, their President and CEO.

Funk spoke about a program called the Quilts of Valor Foundation, how it was created and its mission to cover all combat service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts.

To date, the Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded over 140,000 quilts to veterans.

On Friday, Funk introduced his wife, Connie Funk, and the work she undertook in making Quilts of Valor for Darrin Alderson.

Alderson is the Post Commander for American Legion Post #34 in Oskaloosa, and is a Marine who served during Operation Desert Freedom.

Just a couple of blocks away, Julie’s Cafe opened their doors to veterans and welcomed them with a free breakfast.

Behind the grill was Julie Wells. Wells, a veteran herself, was was smiling and talking with other veterans as they gathered around the breakfast counter.

Wells says she comes from a line of veterans, “so that service is very important to me.”

“Everything I do for veterans is because I appreciate the sacrifices they have made,” she added.

When it comes to her service being honored, and someone serving her breakfast, Wells commented, “I’m fixin’ to put my husband to work.”

Stacie Raymie was at the breakfast counter, enjoying her meal, and she shared some thoughts about Veterans Day.

“As a female veteran, not enough of the female veterans are recognized,” said Raymie. “Whenever they think of a veteran, they automatically think of a man.”

“I proudly served. I also come from a family that served,” said Raymie, who talked about her father, who was in the United States Navy and died during active duty.

“I swore to protect this country and that has no expiration date,” added Raymie. “No matter how old I get, should the need arise, I’ll be there to protect it again.”

At the VFW, a ceremony was held in honor of veterans, where several quilts were handed out to those in attendance. Mahaska Stitch n’ Quilt Guild has donated the quilts every year for the past five years.

At the Oskaloosa High School, the student council held an assembly to honor the service and sacrifices of veterans.

The OHS choir and members of the band performed, and David Messerli addressed those who had assembled. Coffee was served afterwards to allow students and veterans to mingle.