Army veteran Larry Smith honored with Quilt of Valor

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
May 29, 2024 | 1:15 PM

Retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith and his wife, Jackie, center, display the Quilt of Valor. It was presented to him on May 21 by the Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation. The couple is joined by Juliette Cassagne, left, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR, and Deborah Springer, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith is a recent recipient of the Quilt of Valor awarded by the Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

The Natchez Chapter NSDAR recognized Smith for his military service and sacrifice at a ceremony held Tuesday, May 21, at Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veteran’s Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd.

“I am honored and grateful to receive this award from the [Natchez Chapter] Daughters of the American Revolution,” Smith said after the ceremony. “During my years of military service, I occasionally received the odd medal or ribbon for this or that, but never for patriotism. They are so very kind to consider me worthy of the distinction. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Deborah Springer, who chairs the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee, said the award presented to Smith carries a three-part message: “We thank you for your service, for your willingness to lay down your life for our country. We thank you for your sacrifice in serving our nation, [and] we hope your quilt provides healing, peace and comfort.”

Smith was nominated for the award by G. Mark LaFrancis, president of the Home with Heroes Foundation Inc., that operates the military museum. LaFrancis is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served for 27 years. His wife, Eileen, along with Smith’s wife, Jackie, attended the Tuesday afternoon ceremony.

The Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, recently honored retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith with the Quilt of Valor. Deborah Springer, left, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee, presented the quilt in a May 21 ceremony at the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veteran's Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd. She was joined by Juliette Cassagne, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR.

The Natchez Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, in partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, recently honored retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith with the Quilt of Valor. Deborah Springer, left, chair of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR Service for Veterans committee, presented the quilt in a May 21 ceremony at the Miss-Lou Military Museum and Veteran’s Welcome Center at 107 Jefferson Davis Blvd. She was joined by Juliette Cassagne, regent of the Natchez Chapter NSDAR.

Smith served almost three decades in the U. S. Army, from Cold War Europe in the 1980s to the Global War on Terror in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

When Smith joined the Army in 1983, he began as a private and rose through the ranks to become a sergeant, as well as a company and field grade officer. In addition to serving as a military policeman, he served in the Chemical Corps, in Air Defense, and Military Intelligence. He was “assigned to storied units like the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Infantry Division,” Smith wrote in his personal biography.

Before his retirement, he served as a foreign area officer. He also served as chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Nepal. He later worked with the U.S. Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A native of Savanna, Ill., Smith and his wife moved to Natchez in 2021.

In Springer’s remarks about the award, she said the quilts represent healing. She noted the mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to “cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing.”

Springer said the foundation began in 2003 with a dream by Catherine Roberts whose son was deployed in Iraq. Since then, the organization has awarded more than 300,000 quilts, she said.

According to the foundation’s website, Roberts’ dream was a literal dream. Roberts recalled:

“The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter.

“Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was: Quilts = Healing.”

From this dream, Roberts said, she was inspired to have volunteers “donate their time and materials to make a quilt.”

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