And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave... while the land of the free is the home of the brave. ~ from the national anthem of the United States of America, The Star-Spangled Banner, 5th stanza, Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Throughout its history, the United States has remembered its military heroes in many ways, with plaques, parades, statues and memorials. The Home of the Brave Quilt Project was started to continue that proud tradition. We are a nationwide movement dedicated to honoring the fallen heroes of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq by making and presenting homemade quilts to their families. We want to show our gratitude for their service and provide a measure of comfort to their families with our quilts."
The quilt is modeled on a Civil War Sanitary Commission Quilt, one of the five remaining quilts of its kind still in existence, which is now held by the Lincoln Memorial Shrine at the A. K. Smiley Library in Redlands, California.
Above, we're showing three of the beautiful quilts made by Jean Loken, who is the Coordinator of the Minnesota Chapter of the Home of the Brave. For information on the heroes who received the quilts, visit the Minnesota Fallen Heroes web pages. To contribute to the project with a donation of money, material or time, visit the national project's home page. Jean says that the project also relies on the occasional request from the families of our fallen to ask for a quilt: "Not all deaths of our service members occur on the battlefield, and when they don't, we often aren't aware of that." To find a coordinator for your state, see the list of State Coordinators.
Credits and links: The images are shown with the generous permission of Jean Loken.
