Members of the American Legion Honor Guard shook hands with area veterans who received Quilts of Valor, after a ceremony held Saturday in Marshall. The quilts represent comfort and care for veterans, presenters said.

MARSHALL — It’s been almost 20 years since Marshall area soldiers returned home after being deployed to Iraq. But the experience of being welcomed home by a crowd of family and friends is something Nathan Green said he’s never forgotten.

“I remember just standing there, my body shaking from all the emotions pouring out of me, and looking for my mother because I wanted to give her a hug first,” Green said.

Green, one of six area veterans who received Quilts of Valor over the weekend, encouraged everyone to support the veterans in their lives.

“As you celebrate Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, hold your loved ones close and give thanks for the time which you have been given to spend with them,” he said.

The Marshall area Quilts of Valor group presented veterans with patriotic-themed quilts at a ceremony on Saturday. Mark Bollig, Nathan Green, Alan Martin, Leon Mortland, David Schroeder and Thomas Werner, were each wrapped in quilts as a reminder that they would never be forgotten.

“They sacrificed a lot for all of us,” said Nancy McClain, of Quilts of Valor.

Quilts of Valor is a nationwide group that sews and presents quilts to nominated military veterans. Since 2017, the Marshall area group has presented more than 400 quilts, McClain said.

Saturday’s group of quilt recipients came from different branches of the military, and served during different conflicts. Three quilt recipients served in the Navy. Alan Martin was a boiler operator on two cruises of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard. David Schroeder served on three different ballistic missile submarines. Thomas Werner served as a nuclear power plant operator and electrician on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. Werner was deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 and 1993.

Quilt recipient Mark Bollig served in the Air Force from 1993 to 2015, as an avionics technician working with C-135 aircraft. Leon Mortland served in the Army, and was sent to Vietnam where he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.

Green was among the Minnesotans deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 and 2005. During Saturday’s quilt presentation, he said he wanted to reflect on the experience of coming home after his 15-month deployment.

The soldiers traveling back to Marshall by bus were greeted along the way by fire and rescue vehicles, and people holding signs of support.

“On the buses, we were listening to the Marshall radio station as it was giving the play-by-play of our journey home,” Green said. “As we rounded the last curve on Highway 23 before entering the city limits, ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ by Thin Lizzy came on to the radio, and the timing was impeccable.”

Hundreds of people were gathered to greet the troops in Marshall.

“As the buses slowed to a stop, we passed a large semi trailer parked at our right which displayed photographs of all of us who were deployed, but on our left stood those faces we had been dreaming of for months, our families,” Green said.

Green said he was thankful to have such a wonderful welcome.

“We were so lucky to have such an unstoppable group of people at home, who I’m sure put countless hours into every detail of it,” he said. “Nearly 20 years has passed so quickly, and I’m thankful for every one of them that I have been given.”

Not every veteran has had the same kind of welcome home, Green said.

“I know there were many veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and especially the Vietnam wars who did not receive a welcome home at all, in many cases. It was the exact opposite of a welcome for some of them,” Green said.

He encouraged people to show support for their loved ones, including the veterans in their lives.