Veterans honored with quilt ceremony
The emotion swirled in her stomach amid the heat of Baton Rouge, where Battles was a 23-year-old graduate student at Louisiana State University.
More than 700 miles away, her brother — the future Dr. Timothy Andrews Crater — stepped off a plane in Kansas City after being deployed for Operation Desert Storm.
Since Battles proved unable to make the trip, she could not express her thanks to her brother in person.
Last month, the Farragut resident got her chance.
On Saturday, July 11, the General William Lenoir Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) — of which Battles is a member — united with the Quilts of Valor Foundation and corporate sponsor CNS Cares to honor several deserving veterans with crafted quilts and a catered breakfast at the War Memorial Building in Lenoir City.
There, Battles and another Farragut member, April McCroskey, expressed appreciation to their own relatives and other veterans for their service.
Crater worked as an artillery observer attached to a tank company, becoming involved in direct combat and reconnaissance missions during a nighttime firefight.
He received the Bronze Star with “V” Device (for valor) in the first Gulf War for heroic service in combat — which was a surprise to his family.
“He went to school on an ROTC scholarship, and when he accepted it, our nation was in a time of peace,” Battles recalled. “We as a family had no idea he would see actual combat, and when he came home, I was at LSU.“
“I wasn’t able to be there when he got off that plane when he returned from combat,” she added, “so to have the opportunity to let him know how important it was to me as a sibling and a U.S. citizen was priceless. Even when I wrote the nomination, I was choking back tears because he’s such a deserving person.”
McCroskey offered similar thoughts on her father-in-law, former U.S. Army staff sergeant William McCroskey.
He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, earning two Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, two Overseas Bars and a Good Conduct Medal.
A military member herself, McCroskey works as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) officer, representing sexual assault victims in the military as an attorney.
“It really meant a lot to me to present him with that,” McCroskey said of the quilt for her father-in-law. “I know he’s had a rough time with his service and everything, and he’s 100 percent disabled from it. He did two tours in Vietnam and it was a very difficult time for him since it was not a well-supported war, so being able to present that quilt to him, it meant the world. He’s been showing it off every day at the facility he lives in.”
That Saturday, the Quilts of Valor foundation was represented by Paula Kirk, whose group gave quilts to four other veterans, too.
Loudon resident Roger Barnett was an Aviation Electronics Technician in the Coast Guard, having flown as crew in helicopters and large C-130 aircraft.
“He was involved with numerous rescues, earning the Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, The Arctic Service Medal, and the National Defense Medal,” per a release.
Another veteran honored was Jim Bleidorn, who served as a seaman in the Coast Guard on Governor’s Island in New York.
Fellow veteran Dennis Moldenhauer of Lenoir City also was honored, having been a sergeant in the United States Air Force who, like McCroskey, served in Vietnam.
He earned the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Medal, the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Expert Marksman
Ribbon.
Victor Clayton Pangle II, a U.S. Army captain living in Loudon, also was honored as a Vietnam War veteran.
He earned the Purple Heart Medal, The Bronze Star with “V” Device (for valor), three additional Bronze Stars for meritorious service in combat, an Air Medal, three Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Infantryman Badge before also receiving a Quilt of Valor.
The day certainly was special for all involved, including two Farragut residents who remain forever thankful.
“He’s always been very supportive with me, stepping in when I’m out of town to help with the kids,” McCroskey said of her father-in-law. “So the program was wonderful and meant the world to all the veterans that were there.”
