by Dana Johnston

OCTOBER 26, 2003--More than 314 members of the Armed forces have lost their lives in Iraq so far this year. With an average of 15-20 attacks being made each day on American forces there, it appears that total will grow all too soon. A group of Marine mothers, pins and pens in hand, is determined that each casualty shall be memorialized in the form of a quilt, which may be wrapped around those who will never again be hugged by their service member.

The group's leader is a tireless Marine Mom from Missouri named Jan Lang.

"18 of the first quilts will be going to families of my son's unit, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, Charlie Company. This unit had 180 Marines deployed in January of 2003. On March 23, in the town of An Nasiriya, they lost 18 of their brothers. I want each and every family of ALL of these Marines to know that the brotherhood goes on and we, their extended families, feel their pain and are here for them," Ms. Lang said.

"During that ambush in An Nasiryia, my son Alex was listed among those that were missing. Thankfully he was located within 24 hours," said Ms. Lang.

In the days that followed she said she "felt a very strong need to give something back and show my thanks to God and The Marines." When Ms. Lang read email from the Yahoo group, Marine Moms Online,(MMO) she saw that Marine Mom Gina Gippner, of California, was making quilts for the families of the late Lcpl. Kleiboeker and Cpl Nixon, two Marines killed in Iraq.

"I offered to help with those quilts and suggested at that time that we needed to make a quilt for all of our Fallen Marines," Ms. Lang recalled, and shortly thereafter another Yahoo group was formed to do just that. Dubbed Marinecomfortquilts, it now has 214 members. and their mission, sadly, has grown.

"Our group is now going to be making Comfort Quilts for all branches. As of October 14, 2003, the total number of quilts we plan to make is 332 and that is composed of 82 for Marines, 5 for Air Force , 7 for Navy, and 238 for Army."

A Comforft Quilt is made of 30 different, individual 12.5 x 12.5- inch squares of fabric, sewn together into a whole. The blocks bear messages, some stitched, some inked or painted on, conveying love, appreciation, brotherhood, support, sympathy, pride, and respect.

"Your family is in my thoughts and prayers," Ava Tomson, the coordinator of quilts for Army casualties, read the inscription on one square. "We greatly appreciate your service and dedication," she read another. Referring to a square on which a Vietnam Veteran had written his name, rank, and years of service, she said: "I have seen Vietnam Veterans get tears in their eyes when they hear about our project, or see some of the quilts in person. More than once a Vietnam Vet has said to us, 'I think this is great, nobody did this for MY buddies.' And then they help us out, because its healing for them, to be a part of this."

Ms. Tomson, an Illinois resident, knows all too well the anxiety and pain that is part of having a loved one in harm's way. Her 22 year old son, whom she has not seen in a year, is with the 4th infantry now in Iraq, and she dreads the thought that she herself might some day need such a quilt.

With tears in her voice she explained that sewing the quilts makes her feel less helpless, waiting, wishing she could protect her son. She said that as she sews, she feels both "sad, humbled, honored."

Jan Lang agrees."I have cried many times as I worked on them. My tears are small in comparison to those the families have shed over their loss. My hope is that these families feel all of our love that is sewn into each square. I hope they know how much we care and that we will never forget the sacrifice their family has given to this country."

Quilter Holly Warner lives in Wisconsin. Her son, Greg, a Marine for over 16 years and "a gunny" who specializes in nuclear, biological and chemical deterrence, is currently stationed in Korea, She said: "I know that if I had lost Greggory in the Gulf, or any place else, a quilt from a group such as this would have been treasured for ever. You can't replace your child, but knowing that he was cared about and remembered by others would have been a comfort."

The Marinecomfort Quilters have received some messages from family members of fallen Marines.

"The quilt is beautiful and has the love you spoke of," one mother wrote. "I was totally unaware of the bond that the Marine Corps Family has. I now know what drew my son to this branch. I have pulled much of my strength from people like you to get me through this time. Thank you so very much."

Another Marine's grateful mother wrote: "I wanted to thank you for the wonderful quilt that was presented to me at the memorial service at Camp Lejeune a couple weeks ago...I have needed it three or four times already and it has given me ... peace of mind...The first time (I used the quilt) was on the plane going home. The visit to Camp Lejeune was extremely touching and my whole family received a great blessing from it. But leaving was hard, especially the great friends that (my son) had made."

American civilians, military families, and veterans have been sending quilt blocks, some for a particular service member, some for any service member. Reds, whites and blues figure prominently among fabric color choices, Ms. Tomson said. She remarked that stars, stripes, flags, candles, and hearts were some recurrent images on many squares, while the fabrics have ranged from camoflage, to old jeans, bandanas, and other cottons.

With more than 9,000 quilt squares needed, the Comfort Quilt makers are recruiting friends, and relatives "even if they've never sewn before" to contribute a square or two. They are taking quilts to community events and accepting speaking invitations from civic and other groups, to drum up more quilters. They are receiving moral support, and some much needed financial contributions as well.

"It costs almost $20 to send a quilt. So we are very happy when people send us money for postage, or a Walmart gift card, which we can use to buy fabrics to provide backing for the quilts, batting and thread," said Jan Lang.

Sandra Moudy, a quilter from Placentia, California, is the mother of a Marine now stationed in Iwakuni, Japan. She said, "I love making the quilt squares, and seeing them in the pictures of the finished quilts, online. When I first started making my squares, I searched the Internet for quotes, poems, bible verses, encouraging words, etc. I came up with some favorites, printed them really big on letter sized paper with favorite fonts of mine. I sort of "trace" the sayings onto my squares, using permanent markers.

"I started asking my friends and family to sign the squares," Sandra said. "They embellish my squares with their signatures, stars, flags, hearts, etc. The squares already have my basic message. I ask them to sign where they are from and their names.

"This will be our gift to ourselves," said the quilter. "Our contribution; as a family, to the families of the fallen."

Mother of a Marine, and quilter, Sandra Moudy of Placentia, CA says "I never want to have to receive one of these quilts...Every time I hear news of another soldier... killed, I think to myself, 30 more squares are now needed, and one more family is in crisis... Please...encourage ...the public (to)join (our) project."

The Army has had more casualties in Iraq than any other branch of the US military 2003. Ava Thomson, a Kansas Army Mom, has her work cut out for her.

A World War II veteran who saw many families grieving half a century ago, remembers and signs a quilt square to comfort families of those lives lost in Iraq, 2003.Editor's Note: To find out more about making quilt squares for this project, CLICK HERE.

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