Blue Jean Quilts Of Love For Wounded Iraq Veterans

Several students at <a href="http://www.tulsaschools.org/schools/memorial/" target="_blank">Memorial High School </a>joined with the <a href="http://www.bluestarmothers.org/" target="_blank">Blue Star

Friday, November 9th 2007, 6:00 pm

By: News On 6

Several students at Memorial High School joined with the Blue Star Mothers in a project to honor wounded Iraq veterans with some specially-made quilts using old blue jeans. The News On 6â€™s Rick Wells reports the students collected old blue jeans to cut into six inch squares, each meant to be a quilt-block carrying messages of love and support to comfort wounded soldiers.

The original blue jean collection goal was 150 but "before I knew it we had passed 150 and we had nearly 200 pairs of jeans we were really rushing to get them all cut,â€ said Major Felix Duncan of the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps advisor for Memorial High School.

Those jeans will become 1,500 hand lettered messages to recovering service members. In the case of student Madison Hahnâ€™s message, the sentiment was more personal. Hahnâ€™s boyfriend just graduated from Army basic training and he may end up in Iraq. Hahnâ€™s quilt block reads â€œKeep pushing for home. I want to thank you for serving our country."

For Jerib Kaiser, whose father just got back from Iraq, the quilt project hit close to home.

"My dad told me, there's nothing you can really think about it,â€ said Jerib Kaiser. â€œYou think about home and wanting to be home. He says this quilt project will help wounded soldiers get home.â€

Each quilt square carries a message of love and support ranging from short and sweet to more detailed including some with illustrations. The idea was for the students to extend a personal expression to a soldier far away.

The Blue Star Mothers will pick up the squares on Monday. The squares will be sewn into 15 quilts, which will be given to wounded service men and women.

Memorial High School is dedicated to the memory of veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam, the blue-jean quilt project is meant to help wounded veterans of the war in Iraq.

Watch the video: Using Blue Jeans To Honor Troops