BTS Quilt Goes to DOD

Secretary Mineta admires a quilt presented by DOT to the Department of Defense bearing the name of every woman who died at the Pentagon and on Flight 77 on September 11th

On August 27th, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and former Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Director Ashish Sen presented the Department of Defense a quilt in memory of the women who died at the Pentagon on September 11th. Women in BTS organized the quilt project and women throughout the Department of Transportation (DOT) joined in making the quilt.

At the “Hearts and Hands Across the Potomac” ceremony at DOT headquarters, Secretary Mineta presented the quilt to June Forte, curator of Pentagon quilts. “I can think of no finer way to honor the women who died than to let the warmth of this quilt sustain the spirit that resides in all of us,” he said.

The 84-square quilt has a flag in the middle and a gold star containing the name of every woman who died at the Pentagon and on Flight 77.

Director Sen said, “This quilt is a source of pride because it arose from within the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It came from our agency, but not from a directive from the leadership. It came from a group of dedicated women who asked what they could do to pay tribute to the women who died at the Pentagon.”

Secretary Mineta commended BTS staffers Stacy Murphy, Kim Webb, Kim Hill, Thea Graham, Peg Young, and Susan Lapham for their contributions. “They are the ‘Hearts and Hands Across the Potomac’,” he said.

Quilts donated to DOD have been displayed at the Pentagon as well as at various military bases and museums across the country. It is expected that the BTS quilt will be shown at a variety of future venues.