The Fantastic Quilt Guild Quilts of Valor chapter of Fairfield Glade recently presented a Quilt of Valor to Neal Nelson in Fairfield Glade.
Lynn Varcak presented the quilt. She was assisted by Ron Varcak.
Nelson was drafted to serve in the military for the Korean War in August 1952. He chose to serve in the Air Force for a five-year commitment rather than the 18 months in the Army.
He attended the Aviation Cadet program and became a pilot and was assigned to Tacoma, WA; Bermuda; New Jersey; and Vietnam.
He was then assigned to the embassy in Vietnam, where he monitored all the strategic air lift into that country.
He later wa assigned to Forbes Air Force Base and was the operation officer for the unit’s deployment to Brazil.
Nelson retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1973. His decorations include the Air Commendation Medal and The Bronze Star.