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Two retired military Veterans were presented Quilts of Valor for their distinguished service by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) at their most recent meeting.

Coast Guard Commander Richard O. Ellis (Retired) and Air Force Major General John H. Miller, Jr. (Retired) were recognized and presented Quilts of Valor by quilter Sharon Elliott, a member of DAR.

A Quilt of Valor is a handmade quilt awarded US service members who have been “touched by war”, offering comfort and a symbol of gratitude for their service. Volunteer quilters create the quilts, which are individually presented and are considered the civilian equivalent of a military award recognizing the sacrifice of those who have served in conflict and other military operations.

Commander Rich Ellis was commissioned through Officer Candidate School as an Ensign in 1992. He retired from the US Coast Guard service as a Commander in 2013.

Commander Ellis’ active and reserve service included maritime and shore operations, search & rescue, law enforcement, and disaster response, including Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  His participated in joint operations with the US Navy in the Persian Gulf, Pacific Ocean, Caribbean and the Atlantic, as well as joint operations with FEMA and multiple state governments. During his service he was stationed in Houston, Wilmington, NC, New Orleans and San Diego.

Commander Ellis earned his BA from the University of Dallas and his MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed the Naval War College Reserve course and the National War College Reserve course.

He is married to Michelle Ellis and they have five children.

General Miller entered the US Air Force in 1968 as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corp program at Clemson University. He has commanded the 4450th Tactical Squadron; the first operational squadron of the F-117A stealth fighter; the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing in Korea; the 49th Fighter Wing in New Mexico; and 57th Wing in Las Vegas, NV.

General Miller received numerous recognitions including named as Air Combat Command’s outstanding wing commander in 1994.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with12 oak leaf clusters for his service during the Vietnam War.

General Miller won several individual Top Gun trophies during his career:  2 Wing level Top Gun awards; Top Gun at the Air Force’s Fighter Weapons Instructor School; Top Gun trophy for best leadership and bombing accuracy in an international bombing and navigation competition in Scotland.  General Miller is a command pilot with over 3,600 fighter flying hours, including 126 combat missions in the F-105, 86 of which were over North Vietnam. He recently received the FAA’s prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of incident free and accident free flying.

General Miller earned his BA degree in History from Clemson University, a Master’s degree in Military Arts and Sciences from the US Army Command and General Staff College and is a graduate of the prestigious National War College in Washington, DC.

He and his wife DeSha have two children and three grandchildren. During his 32 year military career, the Millers moved households 21 times from the east coast to the west coast, Germany, Japan and Norway.

Tullahoma resident Sharon Elliott has been making Quilts of Valor for ten years. During this time she made 20 quilts and presented them to military Veterans.

“My son was in the Navy over 17 years and he was wounded. I wanted to show him and other soldiers how proud their nation, family and friends were of them when things got tough and our prayers were with them always,” said Mrs. Elliott.

Mrs. Elliott described how she makes the quilt. “I draw my own pattern of the logo of the branch of service the soldier was in. To me, this makes the quilt more personal and have more meaning. It takes me about three weeks to make a Quilt of Valor.”

Her quilts have earned two national awards. She considers quilting her hobby and has been quilting almost 40 years.

In addition to Quilts of Valor, Mrs. Elliott makes quilt tops and takes them to Trinity Lutheran Church where she and other ladies make quilts for the needy. Last year the group made over 288 quilts.