Clyde McCullough honored with Quilt of Valor at Chelan Hospital

CHELAN — Clyde McCullough, U.S. Air Force veteran and longtime community leader, was honored with a Quilt of Valor during a bedside ceremony Jan. 16 at Chelan Hospital.

The presentation was led by Gail Shaw and Ann Cooper of the Quilts of Valor Foundation and the Lake Chelan Quilts of Valor group. Attendance was limited due to space constraints and included representatives of the Manson American Legion, Brian Strausbaugh, Marie Cannon and Norm Manly, along with McCullough’s physician, nursing staff and his son, Clyde McCullough Jr.

Shaw opened the ceremony by recognizing McCullough’s military service.

“Clyde, today we honor you for your service, for leaving all you held dear to stand in harm’s way during a time of crisis, protecting us from the effects of war,” Shaw said. “You were part of the team that makes our military the best in the world.”

Shaw shared the history of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts after a dream involving her son, who was deployed to Iraq. In the dream, Roberts saw her son wrapped in a quilt that brought him comfort and peace, inspiring the foundation’s guiding belief that “Quilts = Healing.”

Since its founding, the organization has awarded more than 436,000 quilts nationwide. Today, 655 groups and more than 11,000 volunteers serve across the country, including 26 groups and more than 600 members in Washington state. Washington volunteers awarded more than 1,300 quilts last year alone. All quilts are made by volunteers using donated time and materials.

McCullough was born Sept. 12, 1940, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. His family later moved to Bridgeport Bar near Brewster, where he grew up and graduated from Brewster High School. Drawn to aviation, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 19.

He began his service in San Antonio, Texas, before training as a B-52 mechanic at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. McCullough later served four years at Roswell Air Force Base in New Mexico, known as the “Black Box,” where he supported B-52 operations in plans and scheduling, parts and receiving.

His career included assignments at Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake, Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington. McCullough said he was “always working on B-52s in some way or another,” with duties spanning plans and scheduling, parts and receiving, the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory and aircraft and flight-crew coordination. He also played baseball, football and volleyball on Air Force teams.

McCullough served from 1959 to 1969 and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant, E-5. He is a longtime member of American Legion Post 108 in Manson, where he currently serves as commander, the longest-serving commander in the post’s history.

After returning home to Brewster, McCullough was hired by the Brewster Police Department one day after his arrival. He later worked as a bus driver for Brewster Schools and held positions with the IGA store in Chelan, Grange Supply in Brewster, Caballeros Campers, Brewster Heights Packing and Trout in Chelan, where he specialized in refrigeration and controlled-atmosphere systems.

His community service included volunteering with the Grange and the Chelan Rustlers, coaching and officiating youth sports, and serving as fire commissioner for Chelan County Fire District No. 7 and as water commissioner for Chelan Falls.

McCullough met his wife, Anna, at a café in Brewster. They were married March 24, 1959, and shared 67 years together, raising three sons after settling in Chelan Falls in 1980. Anna died five years ago after a battle with cancer.

During the ceremony, Shaw addressed the lack of recognition many Vietnam War veterans experienced upon returning home. She noted the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017, signed into law by President Trump, which established March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Shaw presented McCullough with a Vietnam veteran lapel pin, explaining its symbolism. The eagle represents courage, honor and dedicated service, while the stripes reflect the American flag and six stars symbolize allied nations. The blue ring signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice. The reverse reads, “A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You.”

Shaw and Cooper then placed a red, white and blue Quilt of Valor across McCullough’s bed.

“Our quilts are awarded, not simply handed out,” Shaw said. “This Quilt of Valor clearly and proudly says thank you for your service and sacrifice to our nation.”

McCullough later spoke about the meaning of the presentation.

“Receiving this beautiful quilt means more than I can say,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming for me and for so many other veterans who served during the Vietnam War. This helps ease some of the hurt we’ve carried for years. I truly appreciate the time, skill, and heart that go into making a quilt like this, and I’m grateful to everyone who had a hand in it. Thank you, Quilts of Valor.”

Norm Manly contributed to this report.