Welcome to "Quilts of Honor - the Travis Project"







Quilts of Honor - the Travis Project, was created out of a desire to honor not only the memory of SSG Travis Hunsberger, but to show honor and respect to the men and women he served with. I made a quilt for Steve & Ronda, Travis' parents, and presented the idea of making more quilts for the soldiers at Fort Bragg. There are numerous wonderful organizations who provide quilts to wounded and hospitalized soldiers, but I felt led to do something different. We decided our first project would be to provide a quilt to each of the men in Travis' unit at the time of his death. Our goal was to accomplish this by Christmas. I am happy to report that we have exceeded our goal, and on December 10 2008, two men from our church, Wakarusa Missionary, headed off to North Carolina to deliver 19 quilts!! In May of 2009, we were able to deliver another 33 quilts!! Since then, we have delivered approximately 40 more quilts to families of the fallen and also to Wounded Warriors. Your help is still needed in lots of ways if we are to keep this project ongoing. First and foremost, pray for these brave men and women who serve each day to keep us free and protect us from those who would seek to do our nation harm. If you are a sewist or quilter, I can use you, if you would like to donate fabric or funds, I can use you. If you'd like to leave an encouraging word, or perhaps you knew Travis and would like to share a memory, I can use that too!



For more information on how you can help, contact me through this blog, by phone @ 574-849-7930, or by email, mamabech@msn.com.



To mail donations, send them to:



Quilts of Honor, c/o Dawn Bechtel, P.O. Box 613, Wakarusa, IN 46573. (Checks should be made out to Quilts of Honor.)



Thanks for stopping by, God bless you, and God Bless America!







Saturday, February 28, 2009

Pictures from the visit of ODA 7132

We were treated to an amazing meal on Friday evening at the home of Steve and Ronda. On Saturday evening, Jeff & Peggy and their Sunday School Class hosted another fabulous meal. Each included family and friends of the Hunsberger's. Both were wonderful times of sharing and getting to know these awesome men, and hopefully, letting them get to know us as well. On Sunday they were honored during our service at Wakarusa Missionary Church. It was a whirlwind weekend full of many activities! I know that saying goodbye on Sunday was difficult, I felt as if part of my family were leaving me. I can only pray they know in some small way what an impact this visit has had on my life and on the others as well. I also pray this won't be their only visit, that they too felt like they gained a new "family". God bless you ODA 7132, and thank-you again for serving and protecting....

Saturday, February 21, 2009

A visit from the Men of ODA 7132...

What a privilege and honor to meet the men Travis served with! They are in town for the weekend visiting Travis' family and friends. They returned to the US the end of January, and made the 13 hour drive to Wakarusa to connect with this part of Travis' life. To say this group is amazing is an understatement. They blessed me with a couple of unexpected and very special gifts as a thank-you for this project. I am deeply humbled by their show of appreciation! Thanks again guys, I will cherish always what you did for me :) If this is what the rest of our military is like, then folks, we are in good hands!!! Not that I ever doubted that, but there is something about meeting in person the ones who on a daily basis are out there serving and protecting the rights and freedoms we hold dear. They are committed to what they do...they believe in what they do...and they are grateful for our support. Please let us never forget that freedom is not free...somewhere someones son, husband, father, nephew, cousin is doing his duty to uphold what this nation stands for. And they are striving to help other countries have what we have. Sometimes at a great cost...so the next time you see our flag waving, stand a little taller, and when you see a soldier in uniform, thank him (or her) for doing what most of us can't (or won't) do, and for heaven's sake, when our national anthem is played place your hand over your heart and sing along! Keep praying for these men and their families and the many others like them, and for our nation that we would remember the principles we were founded upon and bless God, so He will bless America...

I will have another update with pictures in a day or so. For now, we're getting ready to go meet up with this awesome group of men and spend a bit more time getting to know them. Remember, this project is not yet complete, there are more who need to see our love and support...won't you help?