Manson Veteran Darren Perri honored with quilt presentation

MANSON – Manson Veteran Darren Perri was honored for his service with a Quilt of Valor in a recent ceremony at Radiance Winery in Manson.

Gail Shaw from the foundation’s Lake Chelan Valley chapter presented Perri, with a red, white, and blue comforter crafted by the local quilting group. Family, friends, and members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6853 attended the ceremony.

“This quilt is meant to comfort,” Shaw said.

“We consider it a privilege to honor you as we will never know the extent of your sacrifices and service to protect and defend the United States of America,” she said. “We hope that you will keep it with you as a tangible reminder that no matter where you served, you have never been forgotten.”

“I was Honorably Discharged in 2004 as a Sergeant E5, graduating from the Henry H Lind NCO Academy at Fort Lewis,” Perri said. “This was a life achievement for me and will always bring me pride.”

“I feel incredibly honored to receive a Quilt of Valor,” he said. “It is personally the greatest recognition and feeling of love and appreciation for my service in the United States Army.”

While serving for our country, Darren was awarded an Army Commendation medal, two Army Achievement medals and a Humanitarian Award for his efforts in Nicaragua providing hurricane relief efforts in 1999.

Perri enlisted in the army in 1997 and attended basic training at Fort Bragg and Advanced Individual Training for 88M at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. 

The U.S. Army Transportation Corps' 88M Motor Transport Operators are disciplined, technical experts that provide the Army with motor transportation capabilities to support movement of personnel and cargo.

After completion of training, Darren mainly drove M88 6x6 Tractors with 40ft trailers while stationed at Fort Bragg and Fort Lewis. He drove many miles in FMTV (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles) and LMTV (Light Medium Tactical Vehicle) cargo trucks. Darren drove for company commanders at both duty stations in HMMWV's (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles).

Darren was born and raised in Manson and graduated from Manson High School in 1997. 

“At an early age I fell in love with the big green army trucks I would see going over the pass, on their way to training in Yakima,” he said. “It was my dream to someday drive one of the trucks.” 

Darren’s love for the Chelan valley brought him back to Manson after discharge from the service. He started his civilian career driving a dump truck for his dad at "Perri Trucking". 

Darren held various jobs before securing a position with the Washington State Parks as a Construction and Maintenance Specialist for the Eastern Region. 

“Washington State Parks is a great organization to work for, with so many beautiful duty stations,” he said. “I hope to retire from this organization after many more years of service.” 

Darren is a proud member of the Lake Chelan Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

The Quilts of Valor Foundation was established in 2003 and has awarded over 382,000 quilts to veterans nationwide. Butch Sims and the Chelan VFW Post 6853 nominated Perri for his unparalleled commitment to the VFW.

For more information regarding the Quilts of Valor Foundation, contact Sue Freden, Group Leader at lakechelanqov@gmail.com. The group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Chelan Fire Station.

Norm Manly contributed to this report.

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.