Remembering victims
New names on flag join list of those killed in terrorist acts
By Carrie Coppernoll
Published: December 29, 2006
Two Oklahomans' names will be added to a 2,000-square-foot U.S. flag memorializing Americans killed by acts of terrorism.
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Connecting to strangers
Judith Tuttle of Moore asked to stitch the square of Martin Burnham, even though she never met him. The Kansas man and his wife were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines and held hostage for more than a year. Burnham died in a rescue attempt, but his wife survived.
Tuttle lived in Wichita at the time of the kidnapping, and remembers watching the story of the Burnhams on the news. She began stitching his square Thursday.
"It's a therapeutic thing,” she said. "We find it's a way of participating and becoming closer to the people who have had these kind of losses. You become more involved. You're not just reading it in the newspaper.”
Tuttle, who runs a cross-stitch design business from her home, donated her design skills to help create the new squares.
Millie Fisher of Oklahoma City quickly stitched the yellow letters of Joseph Arguelles' name under the green symbol OIF, which stands for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Arguelles, 44, of Florida was a contract worker in Iraq who died from small arms fire.
Fisher and five others gathered Thursday at the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism to start stitching some of the new squares.
"It's something we can do to help out,” Fisher said, sliding her needle artfully through the red fabric.
One of the sewers, Kathye Michaelis of Oklahoma City, said the flag reminds her of the Vietnam wall in Washington. Both memorials list every single name.
"This is a way to make people remember,” she said, looking up from her square. "And I think it's important for people to remember. I know they're not all military people, but they all paid a price.”
More help needed
Volunteers have offered to stitch about 100 squares, but Butler said she's looking for more help. Her goal, she said, is to involve as many people as possible.
Beverly Jennings, who owns Cross Stitch Haven at SW 89 and Western, came Thursday to create a square. She donated fabric and other supplies for the flag update. The designs are fairly simple, Jennings said, and even novice stitchers can follow the pattern.
"I feel like it's kind of an honor to be associated with something like this,” Jennings said.
Contributing to something so large is a powerful experience, said Butler, who herself stitched one of the original squares. When she started sewing, she said, she looked up as much information as she could about the man whose name she had. He was James Patrick, a father-to-be who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"You just have to remember people,” Butler said. The flag, she said, is the perfect way to do that: "Their name is written down somewhere. It's permanent.”
Related Topics:
War and Conflict, Terrorism
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