Lot 29
9-11 Signed Commemorative Banner
The 9-11 commemorative banner is a continuous roll of white paper marked with signatures and messages of hope, love, thanks, and anger in multicolor inks. Signatures and dates range from September 11th to September 16th, 2001. It is 189 inches in length (15 feet 9 inches) and is 30 inches high.
On September 10, 2001, little did New York construction worker Glen Makuch realize that the events in the city the next day would change his life and the lives of all New Yorkers totally, and affect the rest of the world as well. Mr. Makuch was one of the first responders at the ruined World Trade Center, relying on his construction skills and qualifications to aid in the humanitarian relief of his fellow New Yorkers. As part of the Search, Rescue, and Recovery team, he was one of the people working tirelessly to find the survivors of the catastrophe, and to honor the fallen in the tower.
During the initial few days, in an effort to uplift the moral of his fellow workers and the visitors from all walks of life who came to the staging area just near the Jacob Javits Center, Mr. Makuch put up a roll of paper on the wall in the dining and break area. He supplied pens and pencils and markers, and left this roll of paper as an entryway to group expressions of feeling and solidarity.
People from all walks of life came to visit the devastation, and many left their words of encouragement and anger, healing and unity, on Mr. Makuch’s banner. The variety of signatures reflects the many Americans in all walks of life who each felt this attack as a national tragedy. Signers of the banner range from fellow rescue workers, medical personnel, family of the missing and dead, heartsick visitors, politicians, and even former President George Bush. This banner has their written testimonies from this troubled and apocalyptic time, and is a testimony to the resiliency of the American people to rise above the shock and horror or that day.
Like many of the first responders, Glen Makuch is now in serious physical condition, at the mercy of the many diseases brought on by exposure to the toxic remains of the World Trade Center’s two towers. Hopefully this banner will act again as a healing force in this courageous worker’s new challenge.
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000