Brave Americans remembered through quilts

For the last six and a half years, Elaine McDonald has been spending part of every day working on quilts that display the names of people she never met. The circles in the middle of the squares are machine appliquéd, but she hand sews the information on the blocks and hand ties them all together. She does it because she wants their families to know that they are not forgotten.

She sums up her project with, “I wanted to know who these men and women were. They were not merely a statistic. I have written over 5,000 names, cut every piece and stitched every stitch myself. I wanted people who might see them to stop, look, and think about these brave Americans.”

When on display, the quilts hang on PVC pipe frames set up vertically so the names embroidered on them can be viewed from top to bottom. The pattern, called Marble Quilt, was used during WWII to recognize young soldiers going off to war. These two sets of quilts, called Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, were sewn to memorialize the lives of the members of the U.S. military who have died in those conflicts.

In the spring of 2004, Elaine McDonald started sewing those quilts as a way to learn about the men and women whose names were rarely mentioned on the evening news or in the newspapers where she lives in Pahrump, Nev.

McDonald grew up in Fallbrook, the daughter of Neal F. Morrison, a hospital corpsman in the 1st Marine Division on Camp Pendleton, and his wife, Virginia Morrison who was the financial manager for Fallbrook Union Elementary School District for many years. McDonald became an elementary school teacher and spent 15 years of her career at Mary Fay Pendleton School on Camp Pendleton.

Having been around the military a good part of her life, she was accustomed to hearing what the Marines were doing and felt there was not enough news coverage of the war. She wanted to know what was going on in Iraq, and wanted to know who the casualties were, and not just by name. She started checking the Department of Defense (DOD) website for the names of those that lost their livess.

McDonald said that because she learns by writing, she started writing down the names and some basic information. Then she searched online for news about each person. Being a quilter, she decided that embroidering their names, ages, ranks, home towns and dates of death on quilts was a good way to make people aware of what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to make the casualties more than just a bunch of numbers.

The last embroidered block in the fifth and last quilt of Operation Iraqi Freedom bears a star, the beginning date of the war, March 20, 2003, and the official end date of August 31, 2010. The casualties of Operation Enduring Freedom are named on three quilts.

The quilts have been exhibited at several places in Nevada, including two quilt shows, a winery, a federal building, Methodist church, veteran’s cemetery and an air force base hospital.

“The idea was to get them out to the friends and families to see…beyond saying thank you,” said McDonald.

She also wants people who don’t know anyone in military service to see them. Wherever she shows the quilts, she stands back and watches the reaction of those who look at them. The quilts “are not politically motivated; they are not pro-war or anti-war.” McDonald added, “They [the people] are stopping; they’re looking at them; they start thinking” and becoming more aware of what is happening.

Her husband Mike helps her set up the quilts and also talks to people who have questions about them. He said, “They’re excited to see their family member listed; they are grateful that they (the quilts) are out there.”

The McDonalds said that the names on the quilts prompt conversations about the fallen, with the viewers sharing their stories and keeping their memories alive. Elaine McDonald said of the quilts, “Families are pleased to know [their loved ones] are not forgotten. They are bringing people together. We’re carrying on their story simply by their names.”

Because of her history with Camp Pendleton and the large number of recent casualties suffered by Marines based there, it became important to McDonald to bring the quilts to the base. “My intent was for family members, loved ones, friends and neighbors to see them as a living testament [to those who died].”

After weeks of emails and phone calls, she arranged for the quilts to be on display during the Evening Colors Reception and Ceremony on Sept. 23 at the Santa Margarita Ranch by invitation of the Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Col. Nick Marano. The next day, the quilts were moved to the South Mesa Club where they are on display until Oct. 8.

The placard that the McDonalds place in front of the quilts includes, “These were parents, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children, friends, and most importantly – strong, brave Americans who have made a difference. I salute you!”

Anyone wanting more information about the quilts can contact Elaine McDonald through [email protected].

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