The Vicksburg Quilt Guild has made about 200 quilts for injured soldiers through the Quilts of Valor national program, but the guild’s 30 members have never been able to meet the soldiers who benefit from their anonymous labor of love. So they decided to craft a few quilts specifically for injured soldiers with Vicksburg ties, and on Saturday morning they presented their first to family members of Lt. Col. Ben “Ty” Edwards, who is rehabilitating in Florida from an injury sustained in Afghanistan.

“This is beautiful,” said Pam Tisdale, Edwards’ aunt, as guild members presented her the quilt. “You just don’t know how much this means to my family. Ty and his family were so touched when they found out about this, and he is going to love it.”

Edwards was born in Brandon, spent his childhood summers in Vicksburg with family and wanted to be a soldier from the time he could walk and talk, said Tisdale. He suffered a head injury from a ricochet bullet during an ambush in October while serving with the Marines in Afghanistan, she said, and has since spent time in Germany and Maryland recovering. Now at a rehab center in Tampa, Tisdale said her nephew’s progress has been nothing short of a miracle, as he has had to re-learn such things as how to speak and read and regain mobility.

“From the time he became conscious he could mouth the words ‘Semper Fi.’ He is a true Marine, and his recovery has just been a series of miracles,” she said. “It is a miracle that he is even still with us, and we know he is going to make a great contribution when he gets through all of this.”

Edwards and his wife, Anna, have two children, Mason and Alaina. Tisdale said she and her husband, Robert, will make the trip from their Vicksburg home to Tampa in two weeks to deliver the quilt to Edwards and his family. Also accepting the quilt on behalf of Edwards on Saturday were his aunt and uncle, Kathy and Milton Jones of Vicksburg.

The Vicksburg Quilt Guild also made quilts for Army Sgt. Brad Beard, who sustained extensive injuries to his arms and hands in March 2008 while serving in Iraq, and Louis Webster “Webb” Mason, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilian who lost his left arm and sustained serious injury to his left leg in Afghanistan during a volunteer deployment earlier this year. Both Beard and Mason have since returned to their Vicksburg homes, but were unable to attend the reception Saturday.

Susan Beard, president of the Vicksburg Quilt Guild, said the members collectively worked on the quilts, and they hope to hand deliver them to Beard and Mason soon. More than 20,500 quilts have been made for servicemen and women injured in the ongoing War on Terror via the Quilts of Valor program. Beard said the quilts are a small, but touching way to show support of the troops, and they are always appreciated.

“It’s comfort,” she said. “Brad (Beard)’s family said they took the quilt we made for them and just took turns wrapping up in it. It’s security and warmth. For us, it’s just a way to send our care and appreciation to the soldiers and their families.”

Beard said the guild will continue to participate in the Quilts of Valor program, and is talking with representatives with the 412th Engineer Command headquarters in Vicksburg to begin working on quilts for some of the command’s members who have been injured abroad.