Army Command Sgt. Maj. (RET) Mike Birnbaum of Rapid City was honored with a Quilt of Valor for over 38 years of South Dakota National Guard service at Joint Force Headquarters on Camp Rapid, on October 2, 2024. Jan Clites, on behalf of Quilts of Valor, presented Birnbaum with his quilt made by Faith and Freedom of Calvert County, Maryland. “I want to thank everyone who is here today as this is a pretty special honor. I want to thank my wife Sarah because she’s served for as long as I did and to my brother Terry who put me in for this award,” said Birnbaum. Birnbaum was drafted into the United States Army on June 20th, 1967, and served in Vietnam with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Division as an Infantry Senior Sergeant. He spent some time as a civilian before enlisting in the South Dakota National Guard in 1973 where he served for over 38 years. Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Birnbaum served as the fifth State Command Sergeant Major for South Dakota, responsible for all enlisted personnel from 2001- 2006. Birnbaum retired from the SDNG in 2006 and currently resides in Rapid City with his wife Sarah. The Quilts of Valor foundation was started in 2003 and has presented over 390,000 quilts to honor and comfort those veterans and service members that from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Latin America, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan where upon return from service, some were met with criticism. The quilt serves as a tangible reminder of appreciation and gratitude for their service and their mission is to cover Service Members and veterans touched by war with comfort and healing Quilts of Valor. There are four foundation groups in South Dakota located in Spearfish, Pierre, Mitchell, and Huron. For more information on the program and the nomination process visit www.QOVF.org.