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!







Monday, August 10, 2009

Dedication of War Memorial in Wakarusa

On Saturday July 18th, more then 300 people turned out for the dedication of the War Memorial and garden in Wakarusa, in honor of Travis and those who have served and are serving our country. What a beautiful day in so many ways...perfect temperatures, sunny skies, and a spirit of patriotism filled the air. The monument area is horseshoe shaped and contains brick pavers with the names, ranks, and branches of service, of citizens with ties to Wakarusa. In the center is a bronze statue of a pair of boots, a rifle, and a helmet. The base of the statue has engravings, which you see pictured below. The National Guard Color Guard was present, bagpipers played, Pastor Harper of Bible Baptist Church played "Taps", and the NorthWood Middle School choir under the direction of Tonya Angle sang, along with Martin Flowers. Travis' father sang the National Anthem as well. A ribbon cutting ceremony led by Town Mgr. Tom Roeder took place, and CPT Don Heichel spoke along with Pastor Paul Commons of Wakarusa Missionary Church. The crowd was a mixture of family, friends, fireman, servicemen, American Legion Riders, veterans, young children and the not so young. All present to pay tribute to sacrifices made, past and present. Near the memorial is a gazebo with a glider, it has become a favorite spot of mine in recent weeks to just sit, reflect, and pray...sometimes shed a few tears. And also close by is "Susie's Garden", a small, beautiful flower garden lovingly tended by Susie and Nick Culp. If you live locally and haven't been back to either of these yet, you're missing out. If you visit us, be sure and stop back to see them, you'll be glad you did.
I've been slow to post anything since my last entry because words fail me. For those who know me well, that doesn't happen very often :) I'm at a loss to describe the emotions that run through me when I stop to pray for those who are serving around the world right now, and for their families. I wish I was physically capable of communicating to each and every one of them what their sacrifice means to me. That's why this Quilt Project began...it has to continue..won't you please help? I have another goal of the first part of October for another delivery, but funds are once again low. Ask yourself if this is something you can help with, and if the answer is yes, contact me.
God bless you all!
Please enjoy the following pictures. I tried to limit the amount but it's hard, I want you all to see and share in this experience with me...