By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
First Lt. Russell Mortinger received a special gift this holiday.
He received a Quilt of Valor on Wednesday night from the Kansas Grateful Stitchers while he, his wife Keegan and two young sons were home in Hays for Christmas.
He said he was very surprised by the tribute.
“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his quilt. “I don’t do my job for that. I didn’t think people would do that for service members. I don’t see that in other places. I think it is more typical in the Midwest. It is greatly appreciated. It is not just for the service members. It is also for family members and what they have to put up with. It is nice to know other people are thinking of us — people who we don’t even know.”
Quilts of Valor is a national organization. Volunteers make quilts for active service personnel as well as veterans in red, white, and blue patriotic patterns.
Local quilter Bev Glassman made Mortinger’s quilt. She has made more than 20 quilts for service personnel. She was inspired by her son, who is in the Air Force and returned from a deployment in the Middle East in July.
“I made a quilt for him,” she said. “It was very special to him and meant a lot to my own son. I wanted to do it for others.”
Mortinger’s mother-in-law Tammy Weigel nominated him to receive a Quilt of Valor.
“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his nomination for the quilt. “It was such a big surprise. I appreciate that my mother-in-law thinks greatly of my job and the sacrifice her daughter makes. She puts up with more and sacrifices, taking care of the kids and holding up the fort.”
This is Mortinger’s second stint in the military.
He enlisted in the Army in 2008. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, where he regularly engaged the enemy.
He left active duty in 2012 to return to school at Fort Hays State University.
He served in the Army Reserves and went back to active duty in 2016. He is now an infantry platoon leader.
“I missed it,” he said of his military service. “I had some unfinished business. I wanted to get some other training. I missed the community and bond military members share. I wanted to deploy again. I really like it.”
It has been about a year since he has been able to come home and visit family in Hays. Although he and his family will be headed back to Louisiana and likely be stationed stateside for the next year, he knows he will eventually be deployed again.
He said he hoped the quilt will be a reminder to Keegan and his sons, Ansen, 5, and Rone, 2 of why daddy has to leave.
“It is not just for me,” he said of the quilt.
You can nominate an active serviceman or woman or veteran for a quilt on the Quilts of Valor website. The national organization refers nominations to local groups like Kansas Grateful Stitchers to make quilts for recipients. You can also donate through the site. Monetary donations help purchase fabric for the quilts.