WINNSBORO – Quilts of Valor were presented to two Winnsboro veterans last week: brothers Eddie and Rusty Branham. The quilts were presented to them by Fairfield County Office of Veterans Affairs Director Albertha Woodard.
The quilts were made by Winnsboro quilter Lee Weed who stitched the following quote into the quilts: “Quilting to honor and comfort those touched by war.” Weed read the quote to the men as the quilts were wrapped around them.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation was organized in 2003, with the mission of covering service members and veterans with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.
Lee, who is friends with the brothers and their families, has previously created quilts of valor for other veterans. She said she wanted to make quilts for Eddie and Rusty to honor their service to America, and for their dedication, sacrifice and love for their country.
Eddie Branham, 77, is an Air Force veteran who served from 1968 to 1972 in Mississippi, Alaska and Arizona. During his years of service, Branham made lasting friendships with the veterans he served alongside of. Each year for the last several years, he and several of those Air Force buddies have held a reunion in Winnsboro or in the homes of others in the group in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Branham recently referred two of them to Fairfield County Veterans Affairs Director Albertha Woodard who managed to increase one of the veterans’ benefits and acquire first-time benefits for the other one who had not previously received veterans’ benefits.
His little brother, Rusty, 76, was drafted into the Army in 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War.
“I served 11 months and 5 days in Vietnam as a gunner, driver and tank commander of an anti-personnel carrier (small tank) in the 11th armored cavalry,” Rusty Branham said.
He returned home from Vietnam on Nov. 13, 1970, and was discharged in 1971 at Ft. Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas, after his two-year stint was over.
“I was in the jungle most of the time, and we saw excitement every day,” Branham recalled. “I was glad to go and serve, but I was glad to get back home. I’m just glad I made it back.”
Both men will be attending the Fairfield County Veterans Day luncheon on Nov. 7, at the Boykin Recreation Center located at 1851 US Hwy. 321 N., in Winnsboro. The program begins at 11 a.m.
