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“I was honored to the point where I cried,” said World War II veteran Henry Rishkofski, 95, of Mountain Top, who accepted a red, white and blue Quilt of Valor last weekend from members of the newly formed Hazleton Area Quilts of Valor group.
“They must have put so many hours into making it, my heart goes out to them,” he said. “I told them, all of them live in my heart.”
“It might get pretty crowded in there,” he added with a chuckle. “But there’s always room for more.”
“He is such a sweetheart,” said Marie Shulenski, who presented the quilt to Rishkofski at his church, St. Mary’s in Dorrance, on Saturday. “He reminds me of my father-in-law, as all World War II veterans do.”
Rishkofski joined the military when he was 19 years old and served in the U.S. Army 462nd AAA Anti-Aircraft Special Forces unit attached to the 2nd Infantry Division from May 1943 to October 1945. His job was to man a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun.
The Hazleton Area Quilts of Valor group, whose members also belong to the Cranberry Quilters Guild, crafted the quilt as a joint effort, with Judy Lutz piecing the quilt top, Eileen Blazic doing the quilting and Mary Grace DiGennari binding the quilt.
They presented it to Rishkofski in honor of his service, and he in turn said he accepted it in memory of his two good friends who never returned from war.
“The war was almost over; a shell hit as soon as they got near the door of the building,” he said in a telephone interview, recalling his most vivid memory of World War II. “When I got my Quilt of Valor I did it in memory of them.”
Rishkofski, a retiree and widower who has a son and daughter, six grandchildren and several great-grandchildren, said he might wrap himself up in the quilt when he listens to music. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s how he spends all his time.
“I still drive. I still go bowling. I still love my fishing. I still dance,” he said, remembering how he and his late wife, Pauline, “were king and queen of the jitterbug.”
Nowadays he’s more likely to dance to rock ‘n roll, especially with the church bazaar coming up in June.
“When we have our church bazaar, I always ask how I can help and (one of the organizers) says I should get things started,” he said. “When the band starts playing, I get out on the dance floor (to dance) and try to encourage other people.”
Since its inception in 2003, the Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded Quilts of Valor, which are designed to offer “comforting and healing,” to more than 219,000 veterans. Anyone interested in nominating a veteran to receive one, should see qovf.org.
“It was my son, Henry Jr., who threw my hat in the ring,” Rishkofski said.
Rishkofski said he will treasure his Quilt of Valor, just as he treasures a $5 bill a small girl once gave him. He’d been wearing his veterans cap at a restaurant and the child approached him, thanked him for his service and gave him the little present.
“I was going to put it in a frame and say ‘what do you think it’s worth?’ ” Rishkofski said. “Monetarily, it’s worth only $5, but to me, it’s priceless.”
Shulenski said anyone who is interested in the Cranberry Quilters is welcome to attend a meeting, 6:30 to 8:30 on the fourth Monday of each month at Faith United Church of Christ, 21 Faith Drive, off Airport Road behind the Toyota dealership. Information is also available on the quilters’ Facebook page.