ROCHELLE — On Tuesday at Rochelle VFW Post 3878, 102-year-old World War II veteran Bert Cote of Rochelle was presented a Quilt of Valor from the Illinois Valley Quilts of Valor Chapter. Cote was nominated by the Rochelle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Cote served in the U.S. Army from 1941-1946 and was in the Second Armored Division in Germany under Gen. Patton.

“We wish to recognize you for your service to our nation,” Illinois Valley Quilts of Valor Group Leader Terry Johnson said Tuesday. “We consider it our privilege to do so. Though we may never know the extent of your sacrifice to protect and defend the United States, we award you this Quilt of Honor as an expression of gratitude from a grateful nation. Thank you for your service and welcome home.”

The Quilts of Valor organization started in 2003 when a quilter named Catherine Roberts started the movement when her son was deployed to Iraq. Since that time, the organization has awarded over 373,394 quilts. Its mission is to honor service members and veterans who have been touched by war with comforting and healing quilts.

Each quilt is unique and is usually worked on by about 3-4 quilters, Johnson said. 

“A Quilt of Valor is not a blanket,” Johnson said. “Our quilts are awarded. A Quilt of Valor unequivocally says thank you for your service and your sacrifice in serving our nation. We like to explain that a quilt has many layers. The top of the quilt with its many colors, shapes and fabrics represents the community and many individuals we are. The center of the quilt represents our goal of the quilt bringing warmth, comfort, peace and healing to the individual who receives it. The backing is the strength that supports the other layers, which represents the strength of the recipient, the support of his or her family, our communities and our nation. Each stitch that holds the layers together represents love, gratitude and sometimes tears.”

During the ceremony, Cote was also awarded a challenge coin by Rodney Johnson of the Flags of Freedom organization in Princeton. Cote, a known harmonica player in the community, played "America the Beautiful" on his harmonica to close the ceremony.

Rochelle DAR Chapter Regent Debby Katzman said the idea to award Cote with the Quilt of Valor came about in the DAR and the Illinois Valley Quilts of Valor Chapter’s work together. 

“We had sponsored a quilting for three Vietnam War veterans last year,” Katzman said. “At that quilting when I talked to Terry from Quilts of Valor, I mentioned that Rochelle had a 102-year-old WWII veteran in Bert Cote. She said he'd go to the top of their list because of his age and service. We decided to make it happen. I heard Bert playing the harmonica in one of the restaurants here in town and went and introduced myself. Bert wanted to do it here at the VFW because he's been a member here for over 75 years. All the stars aligned to make this work for him and we're really excited about it.”