CHUBBUCK — Jim Jones stood draped in a patriotic quilt, fighting back tears while people lined up to shake his hand and thank him for his military service.

During a Saturday morning ceremony hosted at Cottonwood Cove Retirement Community, the Navy combat veteran was flanked by two friends who also served their country in conflict — David White and Richard Palmer. They, too, were wrapped in quilts and overwhelmed with gratitude.

Mimi Jones, no relation to Jim Jones, awarded the three veterans unique red-white-and-blue quilts that she made to recognize their contributions toward protecting the country.

She learned of the Quilts of Valor Foundation — which started in 2003 in Washington, D.C., and has awarded more than 187,000 quilts to U.S. veterans who have been “touched by war” — while attending a quilting camp in South Carolina.

Mimi Jones decided to make quilts to honor veterans in her own family, including her dad, two brothers and two brothers-in-law. She continued making quilts on behalf of the foundation to recognize friends’ military service and is now the organization’s Eastern Idaho Representative.

At the foundation’s request, she awarded her first quilts for veterans she’d never previously met during the Memorial Day Weekend event.

“I’ve gotten thank you notes that I have sat and cried (upon reading),” Mimi Jones said. “I had one who said, ‘You helped me realize that what I did was all right.’ He served in Vietnam.”

The quilts are embroidered with details of the veterans’ service. She spends $175 to $200 on materials for each quilt and invests roughly two weeks of steady work in making them.

Jim Jones, who is a local pastor, wasn’t aware he was being honored until he was called to receive his quilt. He’ll display the it proudly on his favorite recliner.

“My wife said, ‘We’ve got somewhere we need to be at 11:30 a.m.,’ and when I walked in here I heard Mimi Jones say, ‘Oh, we can start,’” Jim Jones said. “It completely took me by surprise, but what an honor.”

Palmer’s wife, Teresa Palmer, learned of Quilts of Valor through her nationwide support group for spouses of disabled soldiers. She completed an online application and brought it to the attention of the other recipients’ spouses, who participate with her in the support group’s local chapter.

The quilt recipients have all coped with post-traumatic stress disorder. Palmer wears ear plugs in public due to his combat-related sensitivity to loud, startling noises. Palmer, a Pocatello native, joined the Marine Corps out of high school and served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.

White, who was Palmer’s high school classmate, also served in the Gulf War with the 82nd Airborne, an infantry division of the U.S. Army.

“It means the world to me,” White said while admiring the craftsmanship of his new quilt. “I’m trying to hold back my tears.”

For more information on Quilts of Valor, visit www.qovf.org.