Grati-Wednesday 23rd September 2026

 

Happy Wednesday Friends!

Hope you have bought your tickets to our very special 15th Anniversary Thank You Weekend.  Only 25 sleeps till the Saturday night dinner.

Please enjoy another wonderful collection of gratitude letters and images. 

Grab a nice warm cuppa or cold drink (depending on where you live!), sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude!

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Hi Melissa L! 

I’d like to say thank you so much for the laundry bag you made for me, I absolutely love it, and I am very impressed with the logo! You knocked it out of the park!

 

Reading your letter I was surprised at how much our families seem to have in common. Although I’ve been in the Navy for near on 20 years now, I started my working life as an apprentice diesel mechanic. I did enjoy it, but my family has a lot of ADF history so I decided to continue that on and be the 5^th straight generation to serve. 

 

I too have 3 children, they are a bit younger though and all boys. I have 9 year old twins, and a 7 years old, and all 3 of them really keep us on our toes! My wife and I are about to celebrate our 10^th wedding anniversary and she works in medical administration.

 

We are currently packing to go on a holiday so I have a lot to get done, but I just wanted to quickly log on and send this email before going away so you knew that I had received it, and thank you once again!

 

Regards,

 

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We received a message from a Vietnam Veteran:

"I've just received the beautiful quilt that was made and I am absolutely amazed. I want you to thank everybody there for their help and I'm just amazed and I thank you very much. All of you and thank you for what you've done yourself."

The quilt was made by Kerry B and embroidered by Inge C

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Dear Bridget R,

WOW ! 

I’m seriously blown away. I received my quilt yesterday and a little overwhelmed. It’s perfect and I’m extremely grateful. I even got a little tear in my eye just staring at it this morning with my coffee.  

With sincere gratitude, 

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Dear Ruth S,

 

I hope this email reaches you well.

 

Firstly, my sincere apologies for the delay in my response. I recently had to move house (Defence Force life!) and the mail redirection did not pick up parcels.

 

Fortunately, the nice owner of my previous rental property tracked me down, and I have finally received your lovely laundry bag.

 

I was very overwhelmed to receive it, please note that receiving it, well… It really did brighten up a difficult day!

 

I understand you’re from South Australia, which makes it even more special to receiving, noting that you’re from an AFL State… So creating such an amazing Wallabies Rugby Union bag must not have been easy, as I bet there is not too much Rugby material readily available down there!

 

It was such a lovely gift… And something I will greatly treasure throughout my service and beyond…

 

(My boys, 12 and 11 think it is pretty cool too!).

 

Once again, thank you so much for the gift, and thank you for the efforts of yourself and everyone at Aussie Hero Quilts.

 

There is not too much colour on naval ships, so the work you do really adds something special to every deployment and please know that every piece is greatly valued, as each stitch brings us all a little closer to home!

 

Thank you Ruth.

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Hi Janine,

I absolutely adore the dhoby bag you made for me and it couldn't have arrived at a better time as 2 days after it arrived, I deployed aboard HMAS Stuart.

I enjoyed reading your letter and the insight into who you are and what you do, so here is a little about me.

I’m 24 years old currently in the RAN as Seamanship and Small arms Specialist or as we are better known a Boatswains Mate, I love what I do and have always wanted to serve, I have recently learned that I have a great grandfather who served. I’m originally from Melbourne VIC but I now live in Perth WA, I miss home sometimes but it is things like the dhoby bag that you made that remind me why I do what I do and why I’m prepared to do more if it is required. Thank you Janine I will always cherish my arcade themed bag. I especially appreciate the care instructions. 

Warmest Regards

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Morning Ellen N,

 

I am writing you to inform you I have received one of your laundry bags. It is light blue at the top with the centre being a blue square pattern and red hearts, and light blue at the bottom again.

I saw your family history and it is very impressive I appreciate the work you have put in and equally the service your family has provided to this country.

 

I personally have served in the ADF since 2024, prior to that I served in the French foreign legion for 5 years and have visited many of the WW1/WW2 Battle fields.

I currently work the indigenous soldiers at HQ Regional force surveillance group.

 

Another member of my section received a laundry bag from you however doesn’t have access to email and requested I thank you equally for the bag he received, his bag has an array of birds.

 

Kind regards,

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Hello Chris E,

Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for how long this has taken me to respond to your letter and I feel terrible knowing the time and effort you put into my laundry bag and I was yet to respond.

I received my bag when I was deployed on HMAS Parramatta in South East Asia in 2022. It's now 2026 and my laundry bag has seen a lot of use but remains in excellent condition and I have attached a photo for you to see.

Whilst I was deployed I loved reading your letter about yourself and your family and it made me feel closer to home (I also support Essendon). Much like your family, mine too has a family footy tipping competition. I see you do a lot of volunteering and donate your time and resources to many things which is admirable. And, congratulations to your husband who was recognised for his contribution to cricket, which I'm sure is continuing.

You also sound like an extremely deserving person of the Knox Citizen of The Year, that is an amazing achievement.

A little bit about myself, I am originally from Mount Gambier in South Australia. I am 28 years old and I live in Sydney, NSW with my partner. I serve in the Navy as a Leading Seaman Marine Technician and I have been in the Navy for 7 years now. After receiving my laundry bag (which I love very much and have always believed I have the best one) I continued to serve on ANZAC Class Frigates around Australia and South East Asia until January this year I changed my roles. I now work for the Commander of the Australian Fleet as the VIP Boat Squadron Engineer.

It is great to see that these laundry bags are made for purpose and last a long time!!!

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Dear Ruth S,

Thank you so much for the wonderful Harry Potter themed laundry bag. It was such a lovely surprise, and I really appreciate the thought being put into it.

The Harry Potter theme makes it even more special as I love the books and movies and we’re all currently watching the series.

It was incredibly kind of you to send it, and I’m very grateful for your thoughtfulness. Thank you again, Ruth. It really means a lot.

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Hi Gayle W, 

I've received the laundry bag and found your letter inside. Thank you for the kind message. I hope life is treating you well.

I really appreciate all the time and hard work you've put into making the laundry bags. 

Thank you again for your effort and generosity.

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This is one of the 15th Anniversary Star quilts made by a group of our volunteers who contributed one or more stars towards the quilt.

"I had some gorgeous hands create a beautiful quilt and laundry bag for me recently. Please pass on my most sincere thanks - they’re absolutely gorgeous and I love them! My three-year-old daughter especially loved the quilt and wanted to keep it for herself!

The group:

Bobbie S, Cassandra P, Jacqui D, Hilary T, Sue N, Raelyne B, Clarissa L, Steph.

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Cheers Catherine D

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.  Wednesdays would be so totally boring without them!

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