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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Young County veteran James Workman was presented a Quilt of Valor for his 23 year of military service in the U.S. Navy. Workman was presented the quilt Wedensday, Oct. 29 at his home. -
(JAMES WORKMAN | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) James Workman stops to take a photo on a vessel while in service in the U.S. Navy as a dental officer. Workman served on the USS Proteus and the USS Chicago. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) U.S. Navy veteran James Workman puts on a smile for his 96th birthday in July.
After hitting a milestone with his 96th birthday in July, Young County veteran James Workman was presented with a quilt in honor of his 23 years of military service by the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
Workman was presented the quilt at his home in Eliasville with friends and fellow veterans in attendance Wednesday, Oct. 29.
The veteran said he was stunned by the honor and thanked those who came out to his home to present him with the quilt.
“It’s so nice of you to be here and celebrate this together, and that’s what it’s all about (is being) together. It is just a wonderful thing,” Workman said.
Workman is a retired U.S. Navy dentist who served from 1956-1979 and was stationed predominantly on the West Coast. He was deployed overseas in Guam and Taiwan and served on the USS Proteus and USS Chicago.
In his over 20 years of service, he crossed the equator four times and visited Japan, Singapore, Australia, China and more, including three Western Pacific cruise (WEST-PAC) tours and multiple tours in Vietnam.
Young County Veterans Service Officer Adam LaVine said the Quilts of Valor Foundation was formed in 2003 by Catherine Roberts whose son was deployed to Iraq. She received inspiration after having a dream about a young man being wrapped in a quilt that brought comfort.
“Hope, inspiration and healing is what she felt. The message she got from her dream was that quilts mean healing, and thus Quilts of Valor Foundation was born and has awarded roughly 424,000 quilts nationally,” LaVine said.
The quilt was custom-made for Workman to honor his service, remind those of the freedom awarded by his service and to offer him healing and remembrance.
A Quilt of Valor consists of three layers woven together. The top layer represents the communities and individuals, the center is the warmth, comfort and peace for the individual who receives it and the backing is the strength of the recipient to support their family or community.
Workman was born in Wichita, Kansas and moved around before later enlisting into the U.S. Navy Reserve. He completed six years in dental school where he was an ensign.
After graduating from dental school in Dallas in 1956, he made his first journey which took him to California.
“My first duties were in San Diego, and then I went up to a naval air station in Ventura. That’s when I was with the Seabees and outside of Ventura,” Workman said. “I went across to Taipei, Taiwan for two years. I was made Lieutenant Commander over there. I came back to Washington, DC.”
He later received his master’s degree in dentistry from Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
There were 1,200 aboard the USS Chicago and each one was a client of Workman as the ship’s dental officer. He saw a patient every hour and Workman said the ship was a small city where everyone knew everyone.
He retired in San Diego with his wife Anna, who was an avid golfer, bridge player and cocktail partier.
Instead of going to a military retirement home in Richmond, Virginia, the couple purchased land in Young County in 2004.
Anna served as the secretary of the United Nations Association of San Diego and performed numerous civic duties before passing away in 2019 in Mclean, Virginia. The two were married for 44 years.
After his father and grandfather died at 76 years old, Workman thought he would get his last years in the beauty of Young County, but 20 years later he remains living the simple life.
