Currently at the Memorial & Museum
Preserving History...
Museum Artifacts Tell a Story
April 04, 2011
At the request of the Japanese government, the U.S. Agency for International Development has deployed two Urban Search and Rescue teams, California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) and Virginia Task Force 1 (VA-TF1), to assist in search and rescue efforts in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. Both were also deployed to assist in the rescue and recovery of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building. The teams consist of 70 multi-faceted, cross-trained personnel who serve in six major functional areas: search, rescue, medical, hazmat, logistics and planning. In addition, they are supported by canines that are specially trained and qualified to be able to conduct physical search and heavy-rescue operations in damaged or collapsed reinforced concrete buildings.
Betty Roberts of Tulsa, Oklahoma, created "The Healing Quilt" to honor first responders. With help from her son Jim, Roberts collected uniform patches from agencies directly involved in the rescue and recovery operation. The quilt includes approximately 200 patches from agencies in the United States and Canada. Other symbols include 19 teddy bears, one for each child killed; hands; and the colors blue, purple and yellow. The blue represents the State of Oklahoma, while purple is for the children and yellow stands for the missing. The quilt, 60" x 80," was delivered to First Lady Cathy Keating on March 5, 1996, by Barbara Roberts and her daughter, BJ Roberts.
This quilt, along with documents and photographs chronicling the efforts of the 11 USAR teams assisting in the rescue and recovery, are preserved in the Archives and Special Collections of the Museum.
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