National September 11 Memorial & Museum opens tribute
exhibition in Des Moines, IA

Ceremony highlight includes presentation of Freedom Quilt “War Paint”
to the Memorial & Museum

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened a tribute exhibition in Des Moines, IA, on Oct. 23, 2007, as part of its national tour. The traveling exhibition, which honors the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who lost their lives on September 11, is intended to raise funds and awareness in support of building the National Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero. In a ceremony that morning, former New York Governor George Pataki, local first responders and a former FDNY firefighter who lost his son on September 11, were among those signing a steel beam that will be used in the construction of the Memorial & Museum.

The exhibition tells the story of September 11 through photographs, artifacts and a short film from the point of view of families, responders, survivors, volunteers and everyday people who came together in the aftermath of the attacks. People from across the country were invited to come together again to pay tribute to the victims and to sign the steel beam.

“In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, our nation came together in a show of extraordinary unity,” said New York City Mayor and National September 11 Memorial & Museum Chairman Michael R. Bloomberg. “Building the National Memorial & Museum is an opportunity for people to come together again to create a lasting legacy for future generations. This tour will allow people across the country to take part in the creation of a new monument that signifies our response to the attacks and offers hope for the future.”

The exhibition’s opening ceremonies included remarks from former New York Governor George Pataki, Honorary Chair of the Memorial & Museum Board; Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge; Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie; Iowa Homeland Security/Emergency Management Administrator David Miller; Memorial & Museum Board Member Lee Ielpi, a former FDNY firefighter who lost his son on September 11; Memorial Museum Curator and Director of Collections Jan Seidler Ramirez; and Freedom Quilts Founder Betty Nielsen.

Nielsen, a resident of Fonda, IA, and founder of the Freedom Quilts project, presented the National September 11 Memorial Museum with a quilt called “War Paint” so it could be placed in the Museum’s permanent collection. The project was conceived on the night of September 11, 2001, to create quilts to comfort the families of the victims of the attacks. Beginning with a small group of Iowa women and the hope of making just a few quilts, Freedom Quilts has now produced nearly 6,000 quilts to date by women of all ages, across the Midwest.

Speaking about the quilt, Nielsen said, “War Paint is the last of our five original quilts. The quilt symbolizes the 5,693 quilts that we have given to the families across the world to comfort them. War Paint stands for all those who have had a hand in this project. It is a symbol of how we all felt that day. We were united and ready to defend our country.”

For five years, Nielsen did not know who would receive the War Paint quilt. She said it just wasn’t right to give it to one person when it felt as if the quilt belonged to all. After the fifth anniversary of September 11 and after speaking with Ramirez, she finally knew where the quilt should go.

“The quilt was going home,” said Nielsen. “To a place of honor for all to see. And I hope those who visit the museum will know that on September 11, among all the devastation that day, our country did come together to unite and help one another.”

Nielsen commented during the ceremony how proud she is of all the people who have supported the Freedom Quilts project.

She added, “We truly have made a difference in this world. And I believe War Paint will help the families realize that we have not forgotten the pain of September 11, nor the loved ones they lost that day.”

After the ceremony, participants were invited to sign a steel beam that will be used in the construction of the Memorial & Museum. The beam is approximately 37 feet in length and weighs about four tons. The event concluded with a tour of the exhibition.

Following Des Moines, IA, the exhibition traveled on to Nebraska. For more information on the tour and additional tour stops, visit www.national911memorial.org. The tour was launched in Columbia, SC, on September 10 and has already garnered the interest and support of thousands of visitors, yielding nearly $1 million in contributions since the announcement of the tour schedule in August.

Construction of the Memorial began in March 2006, with preliminary work to cover the original box beam columns that outline the perimeters of the Twin Towers. In August 2006, heavy construction work began to build the footings that will hold up the Memorial and Plaza. At the end of this year, steel is expected to begin to rise at the site.

Reprinted from SQE Professional, December 2007