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Local Veteran Receives Quilt of Valour

Wednesday, 28 July 2021 05:48

Daniel Olmstead received his very own Quilt of Valour on Tuesday. He served with the United Nations Emergency Force Middle East in 1977 and 1978.

WOODSTOCK - The Quilts of Valour recently honoured a local veteran.

Daniel Olmstead was presented with the beautiful handmade quilt at his home in Woodstock on Tuesday. Olmstead suffers from PTSD after serving with the United Nations Emergency Force Middle East in 1977 and 1978.

"I was part of the campaign that was the buffer zone between Egypt and Israel, there were 3 or 4 parts of that wall campaign and in that particular campaign, over 50 Canadians were killed." 

Olmstead was serving with the United Nations on a peace keeping mission.

"Most Canadians think that all missions with UN or NATO, well they don't hear about the real factors or the real stories. The directives failed us in every mission." 

He wasn't diagnosed with PTSD until starting another battle, this time with cancer in 2015.

"I finally got to a point where I was losing weight, not sleeping and everything was just really bad and I contacted Veteran Affairs Canada and went through that process. I was diagnosed by multiple psychologists and unfortunately it earns you a label and my label was PTSD." 

Olmstead says life was difficult when he returned home in the late 70's and he had to move out west for work. 

"When I got home, I had no support, everybody asked if you were in the military, a veteran and all that but it didn't help you at all. I couldn't get a job, it was just like being a Vietnam veteran, exact same cause and effect. We had no transition, we had nothing, no support." 

He moved out to BC in the hopes of a new life for 18 years, before moving back to Woodstock to be closer to family. 

Quilts of Valour is a non profit organization who honours veterans that were injured, whether that is visible injuries or invisible injuries. 

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