Specialist E4 Kavin Owings will receive the Quilt of Valor at this year’s Veterans Day ceremony that will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at the high school. 

Each year members of the Peacemaker’s Quilters present the Quilt of Valor to a local veteran. 

This year’s guest Speaker will be J. Y. Miller. A U. S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam. A Central Methodist graduate and retired teacher, he achieved the rank of Major during his military service, later served in the U.S. Army Reserves, and is a member of the American Legion Post 211 in Glasgow, and the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Specialist Kavin Owings entered military service on May 20, 1988. He reported to the Springfield National Guard unit and received basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. While there, he attended the 64C transportation school. Upon completing his training, he entered active duty with the U.S. Army, where he was assigned to Ft. Sill, Okla., for field artillery training. In 1988, he was deployed to Wertheim, Germany, to join the 4/27th field artillery unit. From there, he entered the Gulf War to serve in Operation Desert Storm. Their unit fired rockets off the back of a tank called MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems).

For his service to his country, Specialist Owings received the Southwest Asia Service Ribbon with two Bronze Stars, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Marksmanship Rifle M-16 Ribbon, the Army Marksmanship Grenade Ribbon, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Liberation of Kuwait Ribbon.

Kavin said he loved being a part of the military, but war is not always the answer. It can destroy a nation or build it up. After they bombed Kuwait, they received orders to move through Kuwait. 

It was a sad and humbling experience seeing people standing along the road begging for food, water, and shelter because of what had been done to their homes and cities, he explained.

There is a price for freedom, and Owings said he was proud to serve his country so that we can all enjoy that freedom. He said he will always remember those who did not come home.

Specialist Owings was honorably discharged at Ft. Dix, N.J., on January 1, 1992.