Clearwater County veterans Carolyn Sundbom, Caren Smith and Jane Mersey Merschman received Quilts of Valor at a recent meeting of the Bagley American Legion Irvin Blix Post 16.
Gladys Lueken of the Headwaters Quilt Guild started the meeting by presenting Quilts of Valor.
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The mission of Quilts of Valor is to give all active and veteran military members a quilt to show gratitude from our grateful nation for their service, whether during peacetime or a time of war.
The first honored recipient was Carolyn Sundbom, who received her Quilt of Valor in her home. Lueken and Bonnie Underdahl presented Sundbom鈥檚 quilt on behalf of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
Sundbom enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in 1962, as she was already a registered nurse. She served in Savannah, Ga., until her honorable discharge in 1964 as First Lieutenant. She then served another year in the reserves.
While she was in the military, she met Leroy Sundbom and followed him on his 21-year military career. The couple adopted three sons and now have seven grandchildren. Carolyn has been a member of the Irvin Blix Post 16 for 28 years.
The second veteran recognized was Caren Smith. It was a natural fit for Smith to enlist in the military as her father had served in Vietnam. To her, patriotism was of utmost importance.
After enlisting in the United States Navy in 1994, she completed her basic training at Great Lakes Naval Base near Chicago. Her Military Occupational Specialty took her to San Diego to be trained as a dental technician.
Smith鈥檚 duty station for four years was the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Her next duty station was Fleet Medical 歪歪漫画 on the Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C. She finished her Navy career at the Marine Base Camp in Hawaii.
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In 2002, Smith was honorably discharged with the rank of E4. She earned two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, two National Defense Service Medals, a Fleet Marine Force Ribbon and the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.
She met her husband, Sam, at the Honolulu Airport. He was also a Navy veteran in the submarine service and a native of Clearwater County. Upon moving back to Minnesota, they bought the Bike and Boat rental business from Sam鈥檚 parents, and later opened Off Grid Armory in 2015. They have seven children ranging in age from 8 to 21.
Smith has been a member of the Irvin Blix Post 16 for seven years.
Jane Mersey Merschman was recognized for her service as a United States Army veteran. She graduated from Bagley High 歪歪漫画 in 1974 and married her husband, Jim, later that year. They volunteered and enlisted in the husband and wife program under delayed entry.
Both began basic training in 1975. Jane completed her basic training at Fort McClellan, Ala., while Jim did his basic at Fort Ord, Calif. After a two-week furlough in Minnesota, they traveled together to Fort Rucker, Ala., to ATC school.
The two began rigorous training as air traffic controllers, where they learned in one week what civilians cover in a month. They served the remainder of their military career in the European Theater in Germany, controlling mainly helicopter traffic. Jane was honorably discharged in April 1974 with the rank of E4.
Merschman returned to Bagley and she utilized the GI Bill to secure her education at Bemidji State with a Bachelor of Science and a master鈥檚 degree in elementary education. She feels fortunate to have been able to teach in her home community of Bagley. She taught first through sixth grade for the first half of her career and eighth grade, literature and algebra for the last half of her career.
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She is proud of all who have served our country in war and in peace. Her father, Joe Merseth, was a World War II veteran, as was her father-in-law, Eugene Merschman. She also has a nephew who completed training at the Air Force Academy. He currently serves as an F-15 Strike Eagle Fighter Pilot at Seymour-Johnson Air Base in North Carolina.
Merschman and her husband have three children and six grandchildren. She is also the organist at her church, a member of the Tuesday Study club and the Secretary of the Clearwater County Food Shelf.
She is also an active member of the American Legion Irvin Blix Post 16, where she serves as a member of the Honor Guard and also chairs the Legion scholarship committee.
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