[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE VINTONDALE VETERANS OF FOREIGN 
            WARS POST AND KNITTERS FROM THE JOHNSTOWN REGION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARK S. CRITZ

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 24, 2011

  Mr. CRITZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the members of the 
Vintondale Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the needle arts club of the 
Nanty Glo Senior Center, and the In-Stitches Sewing Club of the SS. 
Gregory and Barnabas Roman Catholic Church for their consorted effort 
to comfort our wounded troops and their families.
  Together, these groups recently provided 100 handcrafted blankets to 
wounded service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the 
National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda right before the holiday 
season.
  Organized by Joseph Gresko and Charles Sago, two members of Post 5211 
VFW, the project was part of a tradition in helping veterans and active 
duty service members. Mr. Gresko and Mr. Sago requested the assistance 
of women in the community to knit these comforting gifts for our brave 
men and women. Marge Younkin, and her fellow members of the needle arts 
club at the Nanty Glo Senior Center, and Eleanor Chromy, and her fellow 
members of the In-Stitches Sewing Club of the SS. Gregory and Barnabas 
Catholic Church, answered the call. With a donation from the church's 
Altar and Rosary Society and contributions of yarn from other 
individuals, these women set out to work.
  Their efforts not only touched the lives of the service members that 
received the blankets, but also earned the participants recognition as 
``Persons of the Week'' in the local newspaper, the Johnstown Tribune-
Democrat, for their generosity and care. Performing this act of 
kindness for our brave men and women was not about receiving accolades 
for these individuals. As Mr. Sago has stated, these gifts are 
reminders that there are people these soldiers never knew who truly 
appreciate what they have done.
  Upon delivering the blankets to our wounded service members, I let 
them know that these gifts were a token of our appreciation for the 
service and sacrifice they have made, and continue to make, on behalf 
of a grateful nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the individuals in the Johnstown 
community who generously dedicated their time, talent, and heart for 
this worthy project.

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