Duane “Skeet” Hodge from Stewartville attends a reunion every year for the Charlie Company 1st Battalion 7th US Cavalry Regiment to reconnect with the men he fought alongside in the Vietnam War and each year, the reunion is held in a different location. The May 5, 2017, one took place in Sarasota, Fla.
Hodge likes to present a gift to the reunion host each time he goes, but wasn’t sure what he wanted to give to David Taylor, the 2017 host. And then inspiration hit in a completely unexpected way.
In the summer of 2016, Hodge stopped to buy a fishing license while riding his motorcycle through Montana. Seeing his Purple Heart Riders Association vest with the purple heart patch on the back, the lady at the desk told Hodge how her brother was wounded in Vietnam and the greeting he received when he arrived back in the states. She was only about 10 years old at the time, but the memory of seeing the brother that she idolized as an American hero spit on by protesters affected her deeply. She expressed anger that stories like her brother’s were not being taught in classrooms or told in history books.
When Hodge left, he was fighting back tears and he knew he didn’t want anyone else to have memories like that.
Then he heard David Taylor’s story. In 1970, Charlie Company invaded Cambodia for 60 days. During that time, 86 men from the company, which both Hodge and Taylor fought in, were wounded and received purple hearts.
Tragically, another 28 did not survive the battle. Taylor was one of those wounded and was sent back to the states. When he arrived at Walter Reed hospital, there were so many protesters that security couldn’t keep them away. Once again, Hodge heard how the protesters spit at Taylor as he was wheeled into the hospital.
Taylor’s legs were severely damaged, and the doctors told him that they planned to amputate them both. He refused to let them do so until they had called his dad to discuss the surgery with him. Taylor’s doctor did so, under the impression that he was speaking to a fellow doctor. The truth was that Taylor’s father was actually a veterinarian, but Taylor had faith in his dad and it turned out to be well placed. His dad and the doctor were able to come up with a plan for treatment that had never been done before and ended up saving both of his legs.
Hodge hated that Taylor had such an awful memory of being spat on by protesters and wanted to crush that memory and replace it with something good. Two weeks later, he heard that Taylor had purchased a house, and then it hit him. He would make him a quilt for his host gift at the 2017 Charlie Company reunion.
That night, Hodge had a vivid dream in which he saw all of the details of the quilt and when he woke up, he knew he had to bring it to life.
Hodge had never sewn before, but he jumped in with both feet, asking his wife Joan to teach him how to sew and help him with the quilt. Naturally, she agreed and they started their work.
The design of the quilt was based on the shallow cut guidon flag that flew in Vietnam over Charlie Company. Hodge cut out over 150 rectangles to piece together, representing brick memorial pavers. Each “paver” was exactly SIX inches wide, which symbolized the military saying “I got your 6,” or “I got your back.”
The next step was to have the rectangles embroidered with the names of the 28 men from Charlie Company who gave their all and 86 purple hearts for the men who were wounded. Hodge knew he would need some help with that part so he approached Lisa Vaupel, owner of Threads Custom Apparel in Chatfield. “She had never done anything like that, but she was willing to give it a try,” Hodge laughed.
At first, Vaupel didn’t realize the impact and symbolism of the quilt as she was just working on small pieces of it, but as she talked with Hodge, it began to dawn on her. When he told her that he was making it to go on Taylor’s bed, she protested. “I said, Skeet, you’re joking because no one is ever going to put this on their bed. This is going to be something they’re going to want to display.”
“It started really weighing on me because I wanted it to be perfect,” Vaupel said. “It started clicking just how important it was.”
The project seemed to fall together seamlessly. Vaupel noted that every single one of the embroidered purple hearts turned out perfectly the first time, pointing out that usually in a large batch of products, at least one will have some imperfections. “It was like it was meant to be,” she said.
The quilt was finished in February, 2017. Half of the front of it was made of red “pavers” and the other half of white ones, mimicking the colors of the guidon flag. Several rows of purple hearts lined each side of the quilt and in the center were two rows composed of the names of the men that were lost, embroidered in gold. Hodge arranged the names so that the longer ones were at the top of the list and the shorter ones were at the bottom, forming a V shape which stood for valor. A special patch on the back of the quilt honored PFC James Arvil Green, whose body was never recovered.
Hodge didn’t stop there though. He also asked Vaupel to embroider two pillow shams to go with the quilt. One had the combat infantry men’s badge on it, and the other displayed the Garry Owen Crest.
When May 5 rolled around, Hodge was ready for the reunion. When it was time to present the quilt to David Taylor, Hodge hung it in the lobby area of the hotel the reunion was being held at and had the whole group go down to see it, except for Taylor. After blindfolding him with one of the shams, Hodge led him into the lobby, and faced him away from the quilt. Then he told him to drop the pillowcase and turn around.
Taylor was stunned into silence. After standing in front of the quilt staring at it for a few minutes, he went up to it and reverently touched one of the embroidered names.
“I cannot thank you or tell you how much I appreciate the efforts you did to see this project through!” Taylor later expressed in a Facebook post to Hodge. “You truly make the meaning of ‘band of brothers.’ Your dream will always live on, even when all of us meet the rest of our brothers who wait for us! Again, I can’t thank you enough for this special gift you have given me.”
Hodge asked that the quilt be passed along to the next surviving member of Charlie Company when Taylor passes away someday and then, when they’re all gone, he would like it to be placed in the 7th United States Cavalry Association headquarters.
Vaupel was able to watch a video of Hodge explaining the symbolism of the quilt to the other attendees at the reunion and was amazed at just how big
of an impact it had on everyone. Little did she know that Hodge later took an opportunity to pass out pre-addressed envelopes so that anyone who wanted to could write a thank you note to Vaupel for her part in making the quilt. The week after the reunion, heartfelt thank-you notes and pictures started pouring into her mailbox. Some even included money. “I was just blown away,” Vaupel said.
Vaupel knew that she needed to do something good with the money and asked Hodge for advice. Speaking for Charlie Company, he recommended that she donate it to the Purple Heart Chapter of Rochester. She plans to donate it in Hodge’s name along with a letter telling of his vision for the quilt and how he made it come true. “I really feel like this story needs to be told,” she said.
Danny and Cassie Alligood says
Thank you Ms. Wingert for telling our story and the meaning of the quilt ‘designed’ by Duane. His vision definitely came to fruition with his, Joan’s and Lisa Vaupel’s efforts. It is and will be a one of a kind to symbolize the losses, sacrifice, and bravery of each of those of the Charlie Company 1st Battalion 7th US Cavalry Regiment during the 1970 Cambodia excursion.