Sergeant Kendra Garza Receives Quilt of Valor
Sgt. Kendra L. Garza, United States Army, retired, was to receive a Quilt of Valor Wednesday evening at the American Legion Post 110 annual veterans’ dinner.
She, and others, posed for this photo at The News office so it could make this issue of the newspaper which has a special section enclosed with 16 pages of Jasper County veterans.
Those who were present Tuesday for the quilt presentation include (left to right) Otis Clark, Fred Paul, Sgt. Garza, Nancy Stafford, Phil Stafford and Pattie Chapman.
Mmes. Stafford and Chapman are part of the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild, and Mrs. Stafford and all others are also part of the American Legion.
Everyone knows Sgt. Garza as Kendra Lou. She was raised by her mother in Monticello. The middle child of three children. Kendra always knew that she wanted to make a better life for herself but it wasn’t until she watched the horrific events of 9-11 that she would know exactly what she wanted to do.
Shortly after high school Kendra joined the United States Army as a Combat Military Police Paratrooper. She went on to complete top in her class at the Military Police Academy located at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. She then went on to train at Fort Benning, where she became a paratrooper.
After earning her maroon beret she was stationed in Bamberg, GE with the 173D Airborne Brigade. Kendra went through rigorous training becoming highly efficient in ground movements, suppressive firing, hand to hand combat and the list goes on. Learning to administer first aid would soon be life saving for her.
Kendra deployed to Charkh, Afghanistan attached to the 1-91 CAV Scouts. She helped train Afghan Police, conduct presence patrols, and provide ground support for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team (EOD).
On May 11, 2014 Kendra’s team was selected to provide an escort. While on this mission Kendra noticed that the usually busy bazaar was extremely empty. As they continued to push forward Kendra was approaching an alleyway on her left side. As she was taught during training Kendra’s body hugged the outer wall of the mud house alongside their route. Little did Kendra know that her true strength was about to be tested.
As she prepared to clear left, taking a step forward with her right leg, Kendra was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). As she began to fall her training never skipped a beat.
Upon hitting the ground, Kendra started scanning her body. That’s when she was faced with the reality that her left leg was no longer there. Kendra quickly applied pressure with both of her hands to slow the bleeding down until the medic arrived.
That day Kendra had to make a choice to either sink in depression, pain and hopelessness or to swim in strength, pride, and determination. She chose to swim. Kendra was awarded the Purple Heart for the injuries she sustained that day. Kendra is well on her way to becoming a world renowned motivational speaker.
She now travels sharing how she has turned her trials into triumphs. She teaches us that beauty and strength comes from within. Kendra says that if she knew today what would happen then, she would still raise her right hand to ensure that America is safe from terrorists.
She received the quilt of valor for her service.
A Quilt of Valor is made up of three parts:
The colorful pieced top represents the varied community.
The inner fluffy batting represents the warm comfort that we offer to our heroes.
And the backing represents the support of our communities for our troops.
The organization’s mission statement says its purpose was “to cover those service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.”
This quilt is meant to be used, not put on a shelf and forgotten. It represents our personal thanks and gratitude for all the sacrifices our service veterans and their families make and have made, said the QOV announcement.
With almost a quarter of a million quilts awarded to date, Quilts of Valor relies on volunteers and donations to cover those service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.
Throughout the country’s history, as service members left behind loved ones and home comforts to serve, they took mementos from home. Sometimes that item was a quilt. Building on that, Quilts of Valor, a grassroots organization, came from one mother’s dream.
In 2003 while Catherine Roberts’ son was deployed in Iraq she had a dream… in her words…
“The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and wellbeing. The quilt had made this dramatic change.
More information to support Quilts of Valor can be found on QOVF.org.
