The last time the AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed in Washington was 1996. The quilt will return to the National Mall starting June 27. Click through to meet some of the people who helped care for and prepare the quilt for its journey.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
The last time the AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed in Washington was 1996. The quilt will return to the National Mall starting June 27. Click through to meet some of the people who helped care for and prepare the quilt for its journey.
AFP/Getty Images
Julie Rhoad, executive director of the Names Project Foundation, stands in her office in Atlanta, where sections of the AIDS quilt are stored. The quilt, she says, is a testament to an American tragedy.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Julie Rhoad, executive director of the Names Project Foundation, stands in her office in Atlanta, where sections of the AIDS quilt are stored. The quilt, she says, is a testament to an American tragedy.
David S. Holloway/CNN
Stephanie Laster folds a panel she made for her cousin as she and other workers prepare it for its journey to Washington. Laster was diagnosed with HIV 15 years ago and has made several panels in memory of family members who died of AIDS.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Stephanie Laster folds a panel she made for her cousin as she and other workers prepare it for its journey to Washington. Laster was diagnosed with HIV 15 years ago and has made several panels in memory of family members who died of AIDS.
David S. Holloway/CNN
Gert McMullin and Dean Williams pack the sections of the quilt for transportation. McMullin was one of the first volunteers to make a panel for a friend -- she lost 300 of them to AIDS. The quilt gave her a way to heal.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Gert McMullin and Dean Williams pack the sections of the quilt for transportation. McMullin was one of the first volunteers to make a panel for a friend -- she lost 300 of them to AIDS. The quilt gave her a way to heal.
David S. Holloway/CNN
Dean Williams, left, and Roddy Williams ready the quilt for its journey to Washington. Started in 1987, the quilt is marking its 25th anniversary.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Dean Williams, left, and Roddy Williams ready the quilt for its journey to Washington. Started in 1987, the quilt is marking its 25th anniversary.
David S. Holloway/CNN
Quiltmakers have sewn in wedding rings, ashes and other mementos into panels they have made in memory of someone who died of AIDS. Others have painted pictures and written poems.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Quiltmakers have sewn in wedding rings, ashes and other mementos into panels they have made in memory of someone who died of AIDS. Others have painted pictures and written poems.
David S. Holloway/CNN
It's a massive undertaking to ship the quilt in its entirety to Washington. Here, volunteer Dean Williams, left, and warehouse manager Chili Crane, right, pack some of the 48,000 panels.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
It's a massive undertaking to ship the quilt in its entirety to Washington. Here, volunteer Dean Williams, left, and warehouse manager Chili Crane, right, pack some of the 48,000 panels.
David S. Holloway/CNN
Inside the blue containers lie panels that tell the stories of lives ended by AIDS. AIDS has killed more than 600,000 people in the United States since the epidemic erupted in the early 1980s.
AIDS quilt prepared for D.C. visit —
Inside the blue containers lie panels that tell the stories of lives ended by AIDS. AIDS has killed more than 600,000 people in the United States since the epidemic erupted in the early 1980s.
David S. Holloway/CNN