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A Letter
From Marie Horton, HMM-364 Vietnam Quilt Creator |
The HMM-364 Fox Quilt had its origins
in the squadron hospitality suite at the 2004 Helicopter
Reunion at Reno. The Purple Foxes were passing
photo albums around and telling war stories. Among the wives
there was talk about fundraising for the Purple Foxy Ladies
and as a quilter, I suggested a fund raising quilt. Doug
Orahood gave us a small red banner he had hung in his
hooch in Vietnam, which featured Snoopy flying his doghouse
and the words 'Vietnam, Nobody Said It Would Be Easy'.
This was the genesis of the quilt.
Originally
the plan was to use fabric from uniforms that had been worn
by the Foxes in Vietnam but the design for
the quilt shifted to it's current form when the guys didn't
offer up their old uniforms. There were a few Foxes
who offered uniforms and patches but not enough to pull
off the idea. Anyway, the quilt took on a life of it's own.
By New Years 2005 the design was on paper and the
work started. The color scheme was easy, purple for the
Foxes, red for the Marine Corps, greens and browns for the
landscape of Vietnam and black lettering on green
inspired by the helicopters.
Inspiration for the Purple Fox logo
came from the tail pylon of the ill-fated CH-46 YK-13.
Downed in December 1969 it had been rescued from the 'bone
yard' and kept by Stephen W. Mills. Frank Gulledge
had it framed and displayed at the 2004 Reno reunion.
Although there had been many other historical moments that
would define the bravery of the men of HMM-364, this
one piece of history was tangible. Copies from photos were
transferred to material to include on the quilt.
I
wanted the quilt to speak to the Foxes more than
anyone else. I wanted the torn strips of fabric printed
with the locations and dates to spark their remembrances
of events and each other just as their fading photographs
do. For non-Foxes and especially the next generation, I
wanted the quilt to make people ask, "What was
a Purple Fox? What do the words on the quilt mean?"
I want people to look at the quilt and be curious.
The
quilt was finished in July 2006 and made its debut at the
Purple Fox hospitality room in Fort Worth.
Any nervousness about hanging it was very short lived. Guys
would stand back and look at it and then move in closer
to read the torn strips with locations and dates. One of
the Foxes studied the quilt for a few moments and
pointed out the strips with the hills around Khe Sahn.
He said he had flown oranges and ice cream in to the grunts
on the ground and that when the oranges hit the ground,
they looked like fireworks when they bounced. He said the
ice cream was melted, the grunts ate it anyway and it made
them sick.
The
comments about the quilt from the Foxes were the
most important and assured me that the idea behind the quilt
had worked. Now the quilt will be professionally photographed
and appraised. We'll start looking for worthy locations
to display and share it.
Margie Horton 2006,
If you have questions or comments you would like to share
contact Margie
directly.
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