Local veterans honored in Quilts of Valor ceremonies

TONASKET – Military veterans are in the spotlight in recognition of Veterans Day, Nov. 11, as more than a dozen have been honored at Quilts of Valor ceremonies leading up to and including Veterans Day week in presentations at Tonasket, Omak, Okanogan, and Twisp. 

The North Central Quilts of Valor (NCQOV) group honored four veterans on Nov. 8 in a veterans’ assembly at Tonasket High School. They are Richard J. (Marines), 1965-1969, Ronald L. (Navy), 1971-1992, Linda F. (Air Force), 1971-1973, and James M. (Navy), 1959-1965.

NCQOV presented quilts to five Elks members at a special Nov. 11 Omak Elks dinner in their honor.

Stephen Edwards

The NC group also honored Marine Corporal E-4 Stephen Edwards at the Omak PAC on Nov. 8. Edwards served from 1965 to 1971. While stationed in Quang Tri, Vietnam, Edwards carried an M72 rocket launcher called LAW, a light anti-armor weapon. He was part of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9) “Walking Dead,” the battalion that endured the longest sustained combat and suffered the highest killed-in-action (KIA) rate in Marine Corps history, 

NCQOV has “Welcome Home” lapel pins for Vietnam veterans who served from 1955 to 1975, regardless of where that duty was completed.

OKVOC

The Okanogan Valley QOV honored five military veterans at Okanogan High School on Nov. 6. All are current or former school district staff members. 

• Army Private First Class (E-3) Marty Staggs.
• Marine Lance Corporal (E-3) Roy Johnson.
• Navy Petty Officer Second Class (E-5) Greg Edelman.
• Navy Petty Officer Third Class (E-4) Shannon Landtrip.
• Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer (E-7) Nancy Bishop.

OKQOV honored two Twisp veterans - Tucker Barksdale and Dave Schulz - in a ceremony at Liberty Bell High School on Tuesday, Nov.12. Their service histories read:

Julian “Tucker” Barksdale

Tucker Barksdale enlisted in the U.S. Army during his senior year of college and served from 1968 to 1971. He trained at the Military Intelligence School in Baltimore, Maryland. He spoke French and figured he would be sent to Europe, but he forgot that Vietnam had been a French colony, and his French fit in perfectly in Vietnam. He was assigned to a Special Forces unit in Song Be, on the southern edge of the Vietnam highlands.

Barksdale received parachute training in Cam Ranh Bay and worked with an interpreter to recruit Montagnards and Cambodians to provide intelligence about North Vietnamese and Vietcong troop movements.

Upon returning to the U.S., Barksdale was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he finished his military duty and was discharged as a Staff Sergeant E-6. He lives in the Methow Valley and taught eighth-grade math and science at Liberty Bell High School for 13 years.

Barksdale is also a part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. He has made 16 quilts that have been presented to other veterans.

Dave Schulz

Dave Schulz served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957-1960. He enlisted with a group of about 20 young men from North Central Washington and served in the Second Air Force on bases in five different states: Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas. He worked in the 96th Installation Squad orderly room, where was responsible for getting orders to more than 300 men. While at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, he handled all the paperwork and the court martial procedures.

Schulz was an accomplished volleyball, tennis, basketball, and football athlete and competed on the base sports teams, particularly basketball. 

He was awarded 1959 Outstanding Airman of the Year from the five states where he served and received an honorable discharge as an Airman Second Class.

Many in the Methow Valley, where Schulz still lives, know his family, his apples, and his long career as a tennis coach at Liberty Bell High School.

Veterans may be nominated by visiting qovf.org/nominations-awards. Any veteran in any state may be nominated and awarded a quilt by the QOV group in their area.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media