Quilts of Valor presents five South Bend officers with quilts

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Quilts of Valor: In the Bend presented five South Bend police officers, who previously served in the U.S. military, with quilts Wednesday morning, meant to be a symbol of comfort and appreciation for their service and sacrifice.

Erica Broecker, a Member of the Leadership Board for Quilts of Valor: In the Bend, said, "I know the stories, and I talk to the veterans, and I just can't even imagine what they have gone through. And so, I want to tell them thank you, and here we understand that they're still serving our community, so that makes it special."

Each veteran receives a certificate from the organization with a tag labeling the recipient, the date, and the quilt maker.

The quilts each have three layers and can be done by one person or as many as five.

James Conklin, a quilt recipient, said, "I served for six years active duty, 2007 to 2013 and made three deployments. The first one to Iraq, second one to Japan, and then the third one to Qatar."

"It's extremely honorable to have Quilts of Valor come here and kind of put on a display of appreciation for us veterans."

But each person making the quilts thinks of the veteran and their sacrifice while they are constructing the quilt.