CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Quilts of Valor presentation honors prominent Vietnam veteran

Osceola Sentinel-Tribune - 7/3/2018

WINTERSET ? In honor of his service and volunteerism, the Winterset branch of the Quilts of Valor organization awarded Steve Squire with his very own quilt during a surprise presentation Tuesday.

Steve Squire, 70, has spent his life serving others. First in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, and now by volunteering with Osceola hospice patients.

"It's been my pleasure," Squire said of volunteering with HCI Hospice Care Services' Veteran-to-Veteran program. "You were there for me when I needed ya."

As a volunteer for the Veteran-to-Veteran program since 2011, Squire has provided comfort and companionship to dozens of fellow veterans as they reach the end of their lives.

He first became involved with volunteering after fighting his own battle against prostate cancer. He's been cancer-free for four years.

After being visited by HCI Care Services staff during his battle, Squire asked the organization what he could do in return, volunteer, they said. And so he did.

"He is one of those people who I can call on and he's always there, whether it's for a hospice patient or a veteran pinning," Karen Irwin, HCI Hospice Care Services volunteer coordinator, said. "He's just the kind of person everyone talks to. He's a salt-of-the-earth guy."

Irwin submitted Squire's information to the Quilts of Valor organization after unexpectedly running into the Winterset group earlier this year. While the submission process can take up to six months, Irwin learned that Squire had been chosen relatively quickly.

"I was completely shocked," Squire said of Tuesday's presentation. "I heard about these but I didn't know I would be considered for it."

As for volunteering, Squire doesn't plan to stop anytime soon, noting that he enjoys spending time talking with fellow vets about their shared experiences serving.

Anyone interested in volunteering with HCI Hospice Care Services, should do it, Squire said.

"Step in and put your name in," he said. "People feel there's a need to serve and this is a good organization."

For information about care or volunteer opportunities for veterans, please contact HCI at 641-342-2888.