Murphy – Service over three decades in the U.S. Air Force was recognized last week.
Janelle Warren, president of the Southern Appalachian Modern Quilt Guild, and Randy Case, a member of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, presented local resident and Retired Major Bill Huffines with an appreciation Quilt of Valor during an appreciation ceremony Thursday at Bless My Stitches quilt shop, which is owned by Karen Hopple.
A Quilt of Valor is bestowed upon a living veteran who has been touched by war to show appreciation for their service to our country. Huffines was honored with just such a quilt for 23 years of service in the Air Force from 1954-77.
It is the tradition of the Quilts of Valor Foundation to gently place the quilt over the shoulders of the receiving veteran. Warren and Lynda Case had that honor with Huffines.
"Bill enlisted in the Air Force just about two months passed his 18th birthday. He told his parents he had enlisted in the Air Force, but they didn't believe him,” said his wife, Nancy Huffines. He then left Nashville, Tenn., and headed for Texas by train.
Huffines’ career began with enlistment in the Air Force for eight years before going on to officer candidate school. After graduating, he was later selected to be a regular officer before joining the Tactical Air Command Inspector General’s team for three years.
Huffines did a tour in Japan for 16 months, was stationed in New York for three years and later returned to Virginia. He also spent time in Germany and England, where he went to night school for 13 years.
He went on to the University of Omaha, Neb., when he earned a bachelor's degree. After being honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1977, Huffines was the squadron commander at Moody Air Force base in Valdosta, Ga.
In the meantime, he went on to earn a degree in accounting, eventually working with a certified public accounting firm in Williamsburg. Huffines later worked for the Department of Medicaid and became statewide director for long-term care and provided relations.
Huffines and his wife have been married for 64 years. She closed the ceremony by saying, "I like him more now than I did when I first married him."
The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 after its founder, Catherine Roberts, dreamed about a soldier who appeared comforted by a quilt he was wrapped in. That was a stark difference from the previous scene, in which the same soldier appeared downcast and without a quilt. Her dream's message equated a quilt with healing.
These special quilts are handmade locally with care and quality. Each Quilt of Valor is recorded, and a tag sewn on the quilt displays the recipient's name and registration number. It also shares who placed the quilt as well as who made it and the name of the quilt itself.
"From 2003 to present, there have been 281,000 quilts given,” Randy Case said. Huffines’ quilt was crafted in north Georgia.
The tradition of Quilts of Valor dates back to the Civil War on both sides, north and south. People made quilts for the soldiers in battle. Upon arriving back home, they continued the tradition.
Authored by Anngee Quinones-Belian / Staff Correspondent