Happy Memorial Day

An extra special note of gratitude to all those who serve in our country’s armed forces and to all those who have served. We will think of you and honor your service on this Memorial Day, May 30, 2016.

The USO invites you to join them in sending 1 MILLION messages of support to our service members online or in person.

The Quilts of Valor program continues to grow across the country, including at my local quilt shop, Christie’s Quilting Boutique in Norwalk, Connecticut. Here's a nice article from a local newspaper on Christie Ruiz's wonderful community of quilters and creators making a difference, through their dedicated volunteer work for QOV. Shine on, Christie and QOV Connecticut!

In Des Moines, Iowa, don’t miss the America Quilts Expo May 26 through May 28 in support of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Speaking of valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor web site offers many stirring accounts of the valor of American servicemen and women.

I also recommend Story Corps’s Military Voices Initiative. The MVI enables veterans, service members, and military families to share their stories, so that we can honor their voices, amplify their experiences, and let them know that we are listening. 

At the Library of Congress, the American Folklife Center’s The Veterans History Project “collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.”

I enjoyed watching a recent NBC News interview with Tom Hanks and Tom Brokaw on being awarded France’s Legion of Honor distinction for their decades-long work in broadening public awareness of and appreciation for the sacrifices of U.S. soldiers and their families in World War II.

Brokaw, French official, Hanks, French official, and Gordon Mueller at LOH Ceremony
Photo courtesy the WWII Museum 

(BTW: I didn’t know that the film “Saving Private Ryan” is today required viewing for French infantry training, did you?)

Finally, I want to share with you a photo of my grandmother, Gigi, and my grandfather, Dr. Clarence “Jack” D’Alton, just a few days before Jack was sent off to the front. He arrived in Normandy France the day after the D-Day invasion.

In addition to being a World War II veteran and a respected physician, Jack was an avid gardener. Thanks to my mom, also an avid gardener, I have some cuttings of flowering plants that Jack grew and even that his mother grew (a night blooming cereus). I dedicate these photos of some flowers now blooming in our yard to his and my grandmother’s (Gigi's) memory on this Memorial Day Weekend.

Have a beautiful, long and relaxing weekend!

xo,

Kate