G.I. JOE continued...
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Cydnee Schoettler supported veterans’ causes in Arizona before moving to Central Oregon and starting the local chapter. “It brings them joy to see us dressed this way and to be reminded of those times. It’s the least I can do to help veterans,” she says. Maxine Gunther, another Patriot Pin Up lady, says that even though she personally didn’t serve, she volunteers as a way of honoring veterans because her brother, mother and father all served in the Armed Forces. Pin Up lady Brandi Guy is a veteran who says she volunteers because she sees all the struggles veterans face following their service. As she watched the WWII veterans return to Oregon, she said she was filled with emotion. Judith Burger of Redmond served as Commander of the Veterans of Foregin Wars (VFW). Burger says she comes from a family of veterans and is glad to volunteer as a Pin Up. “I come from a big veteran family, and I got to accompany my grandfather to the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge,” which she says was a very emotional experience for her and for her family. The Quilt to take Home The final stop on the tour: a Portland Shilo Inn, where veterans were honored with quilts sewn by members of the “Quilts of Valor” organization. Each quilt takes over 100 hours to make and is customized and awarded to the individual veteran in a personalized ceremony. Maureen Orr Eldred says, “We hope the quilts will give them comfort and healing,
wrapped in the love that we put in them.” Quilts of Valor have awarded over 145,000 quilts nationwide in the 13 years the organization has been around. Respecting the Vet While the Honors Flight program is the primary focus of the Foundation, another effort has taken nine years and is highly visible on many of Oregon’s highway systems. The group has raised the money and cleared the bureaucratic tape to place 67 signs— honoring WWI to current veterans— on five highway systems. Highway 97 from California to Washington State, passing through the heart of Bend, is designated the WWII Veterans Historic Highway, with 18 signs honoring vets. Meanwhile, Tobiason, of the Bend Heroes Foundation, says that WWII veterans consistently tell him the Honors Flight was the trip of a lifetime. “If you go on a trip, you find out that America loves these people who saved the world.” Millions of people were killed in WWII. “If the Americans hadn’t led the Allies all over the world, it would have been many millions more.” Tobiason hopes to add another Bend veteran to the list next year, even while knowing that WWII vets’ numbers are rapidly dwindling with age. “It’s important for the veterans to see how our country loves them and honors them for what they did. These people literally saved the world seven decades ago,” Tobiason says. Drury, of the Bend Heroes Foundation, adds, “We’ll take them to Washington as long as we can.” SW
Want more of this story? See video of the vets’ homecoming and the video of the Patriot Pin Ups in the online version at BendSource.com.
VOLUME 20 ISSUE 42 / October 20, 2016 / THE SOURCE WEEKLY
Patriot Pin Ups volunteer on behalf of WWII veterans. Photo by Brian Jennings.