September 7, 2021 · 3 min read

9/11 memorial quilt to be displayed in N.Y., Nebraska

Quilt is part of International Quilt Museum's permanent collection

PaCurrently on view at the IQM: United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quiltat the International Quilt Museum

Panels of the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt are also currently on view at the International Quilt Museum

Panels from the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt, which is part of the permanent collection at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s International Quilt Museum, and part of a current exhibit there, will also be displayed in Staten Island, New York, for the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The memorial quilt includes a block for Ronald Bucca, a New York City fire marshal who was killed after ascending the World Trade Center's South Tower during rescue operations on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Where to Turn Foundation worked with the quilt museum to bring the 9/11 memorial quilt to Staten Island, where it will be exhibited at St. John’s University, Sept. 9-12. This marks the third time that the quilt will be displayed at St. John’s on Staten Island.

“Nearly 20 years ago we promised to never forget and it is an honor to return the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt to St. John’s once again to continue to keep that promise,” Dennis McKeon, executive director of Where to Turn, said. “Thanks to Corey Gammel for creating this fitting tribute to the victims of 9/11 and St. John’s for once again hosting.”

This block is for Paul Robert Eckna, a UNL graduate who was working as an international equities trader in the World Trade Center's North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

The quilt consists of more than 140 individual quilts or panels, each with 25 blocks. Each block is dedicated to a victim of the attacks. The total square footage of the quilt is more than 15,500 feet and, if laid end to end, it would cover more than five football fields. The quilt was created through a grassroots effort led by Corey Gammel, who, after visiting Ground Zero, launched United in Memory Memorial Quilt Inc. to create a memorial quilt that would serve as a lasting tribute similar to The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

More than 3,000 volunteers from 17 countries had a hand in making the quilt blocks. In May 2002, volunteers held workshops to assemble the blocks into panels. A group of about 40 women worked together that summer to create the panels. Since then, it has been shown throughout the country.

The International Quilt Museum acquired the quilt and added it to its permanent collection in 2015.

The International Quilt Museum is also hosting an exhibition with additional panels, “Trying to Make Sense of It: 9/11, Loss, and Memorial Quilts,” which will show through Oct. 16. The entire 9/11 quilt is on view through an interactive kiosk in the gallery. Visitors may browse the quilt or search for a name to see the block dedicated to that individual.