This year’s Veterans Day ceremony at VFW Post 7234 in Ocean View featured a special ceremony honoring 10 area veterans with handmade quilts.

During the Quilts of Valor presentation on Saturday, Nov. 11, each honoree was called up and wrapped in their quilt, then congratulated by post officials.

Quilts of Valor ceremonies range from small ceremonies with just family and friends to larger gatherings. On Saturday, the VFW dining hall held a standing-room-only crowd as the honorees received their quilts. Each quilt bore a different arrangement of patches, with red, white and blue designs on fields of white.

The Quilts of Valor organization was founded in 2003 by Seaford resident Catherine Roberts, a quilter whose son was deployed to Iraq. Motivated to find a way to comfort wounded veterans, she began the organization as a way to promote healing. Since then, Quilts of Valor has awarded quilts to more than 360,000 service members and veterans, each of whom has been nominated for the honor by a friend or family member.

Saturday, Quilts of Valor were awarded to:

• James N. Harding, U.S. Navy, Vietnam;

• Gregory Albertson, U.S. Navy, Mid-East Operations;

• Michael Tuckman, U.S. Army, Vietnam;

• Edward Nazarian, U.S. Army, Korea;

• Rodney Williams, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam;

• Richard Barnes, U.S. Navy, Desert Storm and U.S. Army, Afghanistan;

• William Inman, U.S. Army, Vietnam;

• Anne Andrews, U.S. Navy, Iraq;

• Darin McCann, U.S. Marines, Desert Storm; and

• Denise Wagoner, U.S. Air Force, Desert Storm.

As each came forward during the emotional ceremony, a summary of their service was given while they were wrapped in their quilts. Then, still wrapped in their quilts, each one stepped across the front of the VFW banquet room, receiving hugs and handshakes from post officials.

Representing the Quilts of Valor organization, Dana Mason challenged the audience to “think about doing more” to honor veterans and service members in their community.

“Your attendance today is a good start,” Mason said. “It shows the veterans present — not just those who are receiving quilts — that you appreciate that they served, and that you took the time to attend, and to honor them at this service,” she said.

She urged the audience to nominate a veteran they know to receive a Quilt of Valor “to join us in our mission to cover service members and veterans touched by war, in a warm and healing Quilt of Valor.”

Mason said members of the post could talk to post officers about nominating others. She also said anyone could nominate a veteran or service member through the organization’s website, at www.QOVF.org.

“Let’s all work to make sure that we are honoring all who served,” Mason said.

The VFW Veterans’ Day ceremony also included remarks from Tuckman, who serves as the post’s junior vice commander, as well as Post Commander James Jensen and guest speaker Margaret Woda of the Gardeners by the Sea garden club.

The garden club recently led the installation of the Blue Star and Gold Star memorials in Millville’s Evans Park.

For more information on Quilts of Valor, go to the organization’s website, at www.QOVF.org, or contact Delaware coordinators Dana Mason at (302) 448-9111 or Marguerite Niemoeller at (240) 498-3185.