It was another beautiful morning on May 27th for the annual Memorial Day service at the Highland Cemetery in Adams. The program began with Red Klein leading those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Legion and VFW members from Adams presented the colors, fired a 21-gun salute, and played Taps. Then Freeman graduate Matt Ideus did a beautiful job singing the National Anthem.
Next our District 30 State Senator Myron Dorn from Adams introduced the speaker for the morning - his colleague in the legislature, Senator Rick Holdcroft from District 36. Senator Holdcroft is also a United States Navy veteran who served his country for 30 years. He shared his military experience with the audience which included four six-month deployments. During his fourth deployment five of his comrades lost their lives during a training mission. Senator Holdcroft gave details about each one which included those who were left behind to mourn. It was a sobering reminder of the sacrifice that so many have made to defend our freedom.
The Forest Acres Quilting Club was then honored to award two Quilts of Valor to father and son, Deric and Everett Bloom of Adams, both of whom served in the United States Navy.
Deric enlisted in the Navy in 1985 and received his basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois. He then attended “A” School in Dam Neck, Virginia where he was trained in the use of radar systems to track aircraft. His next assignment was as a member of “The Fleet” where he was in command of the USS Gridley stationed in San Diego, California. During his first deployment he was at sea for 6 1/2 months providing protection from the enemy’s air strikes. Other deployments were to the Middle East where he worked on radar detection and the Persian Gulf where they worked to ensure safe passage of oil tankers supplying America with crude oil. When he was asked if he ever felt in harm’s way, he replied “always”. Deric was discharged in November 1989 in San Diego and earned the rank of E-5 Operation Specialist 2nd Class.
Deric’s quilt was made from a pattern called Yellow Brick Road by Atkinson Designs. I had used this pattern earlier this year to make a quilt for a customer and found that it was fairly quick to stitch. Because of its scrappy nature I was also glad to be able to use fabric that we already had in our stash. I stitched an all-over star design on my long arm quilting machine using a beige thread that coordinated with the fabrics in the quilt.
Everett enlisted in the Navy in 2016 and also received his basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois. He then went to “A” School in Pensacola, Florida where he trained in aircraft maintenance. He was next stationed in Norfolk, Virginia aboard the USS George Washington as an AD Aviation Machinist Mate. After one year the carrier was sent for active overhaul and Everett was placed on temporary duty at Mid Atlantic Fleet Readiness Center. After this assignment he was transferred to Virginia Beach where he learned to work on F18 power plants and related systems. His last two years were spent at this location where he worked at organizational level maintenance on F18 Super Hornet Engines. Everett was discharged in October 2020 in Norfolk, Virginia and earned the rank of 3rd Class Petty Officer, E-4.
Everett’s quilt was made from a pattern called Cobblestones by Terri Staats of Sweet Treasures that I found in her book entitled 5 Fabulous Lap Quilts. I specifically chose this pattern because it shows off the large prints that we had to use in our fabric stash. It was also a pattern that went together quickly. I stitched an all-over star and swirl design called Stardust using a denim blue thread that coordinated with the blue fabrics in this quilt.
The morning’s program concluded with the traditional firing of the canon.
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