"It kind of tore me up," Jump said. "I didn't know there were people doing something like this."

The quilt was one of many made for the national Quilts of Valor project, of which the Village Quilters were a part. One of the Village Quilters, Anna Kelly, won first place for interpretation of theme for her quilt in the Quilts of Valor challenge. 

"Every other year our quilt guild has a challenge. It's like a competition within the guild," Kelly explained. "This year, we decided on the Quilts of Valor. Awards are presented in three categories." The Quilts of Valor is also a national project. 

While making the quilt, Kelly recalled how difficult it was for her since her own son, Scott, is serving in the Air Force. 

"I kept thinking about who they (the quilts) are going to," she said.

"When they got all these quilts, Village Quilters members Kate Meyer and M.J. Sepples decided they were going to take them to the veteran's hospital in Johnson City and distribute them to veterans there," Kelly said.

Then she recalled someone suggested it would be a good idea to find local veterans go present the quilts to so the guild held some quilts while others are going to the hospital in Johnson City and to the new facility in Knoxville. 

"Mine was going to go Johnson City, but Jeff (her husband) felt very strongly about giving it to someone in the Loudon area," she said.

She and her husband decided to present the quilt to an area veteran. 

"So he started making telephone calls," she said. 

After talking to about six different people, Kelly said her husband talked to Jerry Halkey, a Village resident, who suggested Craig Jump. They called him and explained the program and asked if the Kellys could present the quilt to the Jumps. 

Jump served in the U.S. Army between April 2002 and May 2004, when he was injured on duty. 

At the time of the injury he was a private first class. 

Jump was loading supplies on an aircraft when a cable snapped, severely injuring his chest.

After the accident, Jump said he was diagnosed with marfans syndrome. He explained that is a disease that breaks down the connective tissue in a person's body - the aorta, organs and other areas. 

"It doesn't allow the connective tissue and stuff to heal itself. It just breaks down, so my aorta and heart has to get tested because it causes problems with that," he said. 

"Some people have it and don't know until they are in a car crash or a major accident," Jump said.

Doctors have told Jump he will eventually be wheelchair-bound. 

"But I am trying to fight it as long as I can," he said. 

After he returned home, Jump, his wife and their two children, Jacob, 7, and Kaylee, 3, went to live with Lora Jump's parents in Loudon. However, a Habitat home is being built for him and his family next to her parents' home. 

Kelly said the presentation was rewarding to her as she learned the Jumps are having a Habitat home built for them. 

"They are putting it on the property right now," Jump said Tuesday. The home will be completely handicap accessible, he added.

"My mother-in-law donated some land for the home, so they can be here to look out for me, and I'm here to take after father-in-law, who was in Vietnam," Jump said. "He's 65. He's had strokes and heart attacks. We look out for each other."

"They are having a patriotic theme in their new home, and Lora has wanted a quilt to hang over their bed," Kelly said.  

"It brought tears to their eyes," she recalled of the Jumps as they received the quilt. "That just warmed my heart because I felt it was going to a couple that really valued it," Kelly said. "It meant a lot to them. That is the point to the whole program. To make them feel good and let them know we know how much they sacrificed."

"We're just so glad we were able to help someone in that position," Jeff Kelly said.  His wife agreed. "It was nice to be able to present it to them. They are a sweet family," she said.

"It touched me inside to know there's people out there who think about the soldiers and pray for them when they are oversees and want to support them. I heard something about quilts for veterans, but I didn't know what all was going on until I received the one for myself," he said.

"She (Anna) put a lot of love into that quilt, I know that," he added.

Jump said his wife was in tears, too. 

"She was excited there's people out there who want to support our military, unlike back in Vietnam when there was a lot of them went through a hard time," he said.