A quilt of valor was presented to Director Lori Evans before The North Platte Canteen Musical Sunday matinee at the downtown Fox Theater.

Evans directs the musical and is a veteran of the United States Navy, serving from 1984-99. She attended basic training in Orlando, Fla. and attended Hull Maintenance Technician School in Philadelphia, where she graduated first in her class.

Evans was stationed on a destroyer tender homeported in Alameda, Calif., from where she made two western Pacific cruises with port visits in Hawaii, The Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, as well as Diego Garcia and the Seychelles, both of which are in the Indian Ocean.

After four years of active on-board duty, Evans transferred to the active reserve, as part of the Ships Intermediate Maintenance Activity in San Francisco. After her husband was sent to the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Va., Lori transferred to a submarine tender, the USS L.Y. Spear. Her final duty station in the reserve was as an instructor at the Fleet Training Center in Norfolk, Va., teaching shipboard damage Control. On that assignment, she received the “Sailor of the Year” award.

She received these awards during her Navy service:

• Two Navy Achievement medals
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
• National Defense Medal
• Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon
• Two Good Conduct Medals
• Two Sea Service ribbons
• The Battle “E” Ribbon

Evans became involved in music and theater on a repair ship, where, she said, “our job was to sit at anchor off the coast of Oman and repair ships that were forward deployed to the Persian Gulf.”

The ship would be at anchor for more than three months, so to entertain the crew and the crews of some of the tended ships, she directed plays such as ‘The Music Man,” “Mousetrap” and “Aunti Mame.”

Heartland Quilter Marilyn McGahan told Evans that her quilt has a label indicating it was pieced by several members of the Heartland Nebraska Quilt of Valor Group. President Chris Reinert quilted and bound it.

“We honor you for your service. We know you left your home and loved ones to protect us from the effects of war,” the quilters said. “Welcome home.”

Three more quilts of valor will be awarded at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the 20th Century Veterans Memorial in North Platte. The quilts are made for veterans who were touched by war.

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