World War II veterans Ken Placek and Don Kuehl were honored with custom-made “Quilts of Valor” during this month’s Coffee 4 Vets gathering at Crazy Otto’s Diner on Thursday morning.
The energy was high during the gathering with camaraderie among veterans everywhere someone looked.
Placek told stories about his time in service and emphasized the importance of being in the military and what that entails.
“Well, I think that it shows the appreciation of what the sacrifices that they (veterans) made, (it) gives us the privileges that we have nowadays. If it wasn’t for the veterans’ efforts, it would have been a different world for us here,” Placek said.
Placek added that he and Kuehl have lived very long lives – Placek is 102 and Kuehl is 101, and it is an honor to be given the quilts.
“We hope that there’s the examples that we are bringing out … our younger people to understand what sacrifices that were made and how they benefit from what we did back in those days,” Placek said.
Kuehl chimed in with Placek, saying that the quilts were great, and he really appreciated it.
When asked how it feels to be 101 years old celebrating with other veterans, Kuehl simply laughed and said, “it’s crazy.”
Donna Kiger, a member of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, said the mission of the foundation is “wrap veterans with healing and comforting quilts of valor.” Kiger said that the quilts take about 30-40 hours of labor and about $75-$100 of materials.
She added that celebrating the veterans is important because they have helped bring freedom to the country.
“And with what’s going on today, their sacrifice is even more important to remember than some people that are forgetting that nowadays. So, it’s important,” Kiger said.
Juan Blanco, president of Coffee 4 Vets, said they were grateful to have Kuehl and Placek with them on Thursday morning.
“We’re blessed to have two World War II veterans with us. That are still survivors. One was in Italy, the other one was in Germany,” Blanco said.
Blanco said the group was started to give veterans an opportunity for fellowship and camaraderie.
