Iraqi Freedom T-shirt Quilt

Luis Alvarez and his wife, Lianny had their Project Repat blanket made as a way to hold onto important memories.

“There are shirts in our blanket that go back as many as fifteen years.We have kept them because of the memories they stir up. There are many memories shared with family and friends, and we want those memories to live on through our stories”  

Each patch of their quilt means so much more to Luis and Lianny than the t-shirt that bore it. By presenting them in their blanket they have made a storyboard that holds within it their pasts.

Luis reflected on one shirt in particular that holds a memory, emotions and a part of who he is, “One t-shirt  I have not worn more than three times in all the years I have had it because I wanted to make sure it lasted. In 2004, the 747th Finance Detachment were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This shirt is the one we designed to memorialize our time there. It represents how much of a family the 747th Finance Detachment had become to one another. Even more it reminds us that we were successful in our mission of returning home safely. There are few words that can tell how special the time and people I got this shirt with are to me”