Military veterans Paul Madden and James Vance, formerly Barton County residents, were awarded Quilts of Valor recently.

United States Army Veteran Paul Madden, formerly of Great Bend, was awarded a Quilt of Valor from Golden Plains Quilts of Valor on June 22, 2019, at The Legacy in Topeka. Madden enlisted in the Army in 1967 and served until 1969. He was trained in personnel in the office at Fort Knox, Ky., after completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.. Madden was then stationed in Schwetzingen, Germany, with the 11th Engineering Group. During active duty, Madden was seriously injured.

The quilt top was made by Mary Moran Doyle, Madden’s cousin, and quilted by Debbie Likens. Pictured are, from left: Mary Doyle, Michael Madden (Paul Madden’s son), Paul Madden, Devin Madden (Paul Madden’s grandson), and Amy Schartz Mellor.

United States Air Force Vietnam veteran Captain James Vance, formerly of Claflin, was awarded a Quilt of Valor from Golden Plains Quilts of Valor on June 24, 2019, at Sunshine Meadows Retirement Community in Buhler. Vance was accepted into the first Air Force Academy class in 1955. He was trained as a fighter pilot and later was a pilot instructor. Vance served more than 20 years in the Air Force. He was stationed in Germany for 15 months, and had many temporary duty assignments. He was assigned to many missions in Vietnam, among many other places.

After Vance’s retirement, he built two airplanes and two kit cars while he lived in Claflin. Vance invented the system that makes use of a single serpentine belt instead of a number of belts. The Ford Motor company used this belt for the first time for the Mustang in 1979. Vance also holds numerous other patents.

The quilt top was made by Valeda Hitschmann and was quilted by Amy Schartz Mellor. Pictured are, from left: Barbara Hall, Vance’s sister; James (Jim) Vance; and Amy Schartz Mellor.