[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1901-E1902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO THE FAIRFAX COUNTY URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 21, 1999

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to 
rise today to welcome home the members of the Fairfax County Urban 
Search and Rescue Team, and to salute their heroic efforts to rescue 
survivors in Izmit, Turkey in the aftermath of the country's worst 
earthquake in history. Called Virginia Task Force One, this highly 
trained team of rescue specialists are a credit to our nation both as 
ambassadors and humanitarians.
  On August 17, 1999 at 3 a.m., Turkey was shook by a catastrophic 
earthquake recorded at a magnitude of 7.4. The ground's rumbling came 
in the still of the night while most people were sleeping, and sent 
others running out

[[Page E1902]]

into the streets in a panic. In just 45 seconds 60,000 buildings 
crumbled to the ground, entombing at least 20,000 and perhaps as many 
as 40,000, with another 30,000 people injured, and 600,000 people left 
homeless.
  Just a few hours after this tragedy hit, the 72 operational members 
of the Virginia Task Force team, comprised of urban search and rescue 
technicians, cave-in experts, canine teams, physicians, paramedics, 
logistician, and command and control personnel, prepared for one of 
their toughest missions. They brought with them 56,000 pounds of 
specialized equipment and supplies, including thermal imaging cameras, 
listening devices, advance life support medical equipment and supplies, 
communications equipment, food and water. They soon joined rescue teams 
from France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Israel to work 
round the clock to uncover victims buried under the once protective 
walls of their home.
  Amid the tragedy and destruction of Turkey's massive earthquake, the 
Virginia Task Force courageously searched in perilous conditions for 
signs of life. More than 1,000 aftershocks continued to shake the earth 
and rain pelted against them creating muddy quagmires which complicated 
their efforts to clear debris and rescue survivors. Yet they 
demonstrated exemplary perseverence in their mission and successfully 
pulled four survivors from the twisted ruins. The first rescue was a 
frightened seven-year-old boy who had been trapped in bed for more than 
two days when his apartment building collapsed around him. 
Miraculously, he was not injured. After 4\1/2\ hours of chipping, 
shoveling and sawing through 15 feet of rubble, they saved the life of 
a vivacious 24-year-old woman in surprisingly high spirits. Another 8 
hours of digging uncovered a second woman who had been entombled in the 
rubble. And 64 hours after the quake struck, miraculously they saved 
the life of Ayse Cesen, 46, whose brother had given up hope and brought 
a coffin to collect his body.
  I join the country of Turkey in offering our heartfelt thanks to each 
and every member of the Virginia Task Force Team who selflessly 
demonstrated their invaluable skills and knowledge to locate survivors 
and recover victims. I salute the valiant efforts of Anthony MacIntyre, 
James M. Strickland, Barry Anderson, William Baker, William M. Bertone, 
Bernard D. Bickham, Donald C. Booth, Edward M. Brinkley, Jon P. Bruley, 
Gary B. Bunch, Gregory A. Bunch, Carlton G. Burkhammer, John Chabal, 
James M. Chinn, Brian Cloyd, David P. Conrad, Dean W. Cox, Kevin R. 
Dabeny, Michael B. Davis, Jeffrey L. Donaldson, Robert C. Dube, 
Benjamin A. Dye, Garrett L. Dyer, Thomas P. Feehan, Thomas H. Galvez, 
Thomas J. Griffin, Dan Hafling, Sonja Heritage, Kit R. Hessel, Andrew 
J. Hubery, Michael A. Istvan, Gerald Jakulski, Joseph M. Kaleda, Joseph 
E. Knerr, Elizabeth Kreitler, Randal A. Leatherman, Evan J. Lewis, 
Jeffery S. Lewis, Mark F. Lucas, Ramond Lucas, Craig S. Luecke, Michael 
J. Marks, Christopher M. Matsos, John C. Mayers, Shawn K. McPherson, 
Charles Mills, Susan Mingle, Gerard Morrison, Dewey H. Perks, Mark J. 
Plunkett, Thomas W. Reedy, Michael P. Regan, Michael T. Reilly, Jerome 
A. Roussillon, Charles S. Ruble, Dean A. Scott, William E. Shugart, 
Dallas L. Slemp, Frank Stoda, Rex Strickland, Michael Tamillow, David 
L. Taylor, William E. Teal, Scott Tezak, Dean Tills, James H. Tolson, 
Jack Walmer, James J. Walsh, Peter West, Charles A. Williams, Kea A. 
Zimmerman, and Robert J. Zoldos.
  The Virginia Task Force Team and their families deserve the highest 
praise possible for the sacrifices they have made to come to the aid of 
the grief-stricken people of Turkey. As they have proven in the past, 
Fairfax County rescue workers are among the best trained in the world. 
The expertise they bring to such devastating scenes helps shine a ray 
of hope on an otherwise desperate situation.

                          ____________________