Postcards of hope

9/30/2026

Greg Wilcox has had an interesting journey. By trade, he was a computer programmer with several companies throughout the years. In his spare time, he has enjoyed photography, filmmaking and visiting art museums all over the world. But to define him as a computer programmer with a penchant for the arts would be an understatement. 

If any endeavor could demonstrate his unique eye for photography, it would be his “I Love NY” project, centered around the 9/11 terrorist attack. In the wake of the event, Wilcox decided to go to New York to document what happened. 

“I just drove out there, and I got to a rest area in Ohio, but I had car trouble and self-doubt. It’s like, ‘What am I going to do when I get there?’ So, I came back home, took a bus out and I took photographs because I knew it was an historic event. I helped some kid look for his boyfriend at — I don’t know if they were mortuaries or makeshift morgues or just information centers. And a lot of my recollection of it is just gone. If I didn’t have those photos, it’d be like I was never there,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox spent a few days in the city, photographing people and places and visiting memorials. He had a less-than-friendly encounter with some locals while at a bar.

“I remember sitting in a bar writing a postcard to someone back in Des Moines, and one girl said, ‘Well, what’s your story?’ And I told her, and her friend was angered. She goes, ‘We don’t need you here. You don’t need to be here.’ She was hostile; the other one seemed sympathetic. I did a lot of photography, listening to people talk and interjecting once in a while,” Wilcox said.

Plenty of full-time photographers went to New York to document the aftermath, but none were likely from Des Moines, and certainly none who did it as a hobby. When Wilcox returned to Iowa, the project truly began. He would go around to various people and places with the popular slogan, photograph it and send it to New Yorkers. 

Who did he send these postcards to? Well, it was organized randomness.

“I would say, like, let’s look at some of the names here. So, if we look at Wilcox, that’s my last name. So, I would have just typed in Wilcox into Yahoo, and that address came up. Blair is my uncle’s name, my grandfather’s name. Murray is my cousin’s name. Sometimes the card reflected the organization I sent it to. Gay bar, the Blazing Saddle, sent it to Dick’s Bar. The cop cars I sent to the New York City Police Department,” Wilcox said.

Some photos had “I Love NY” written in snow on Des Moines police cars. Others had the leaders of a deaf church signing the slogan and holding the sign. It was on the marquee of the Winterset theater. Written in corn or on chalkboards. A photo of the sign of the old Ellis Island bar showed an Iowa tie to New York. He would send these heartfelt messages with an Iowa twist to people and businesses in New York to show Iowa’s support.

Perhaps no gesture was more apparent than having the slogan written in office lights on the Ruan Center in downtown Des Moines, made possible with the help of DMACC students. 

Wilcox received responses from several people. Some came from regular, everyday New Yorkers. Some came from businesses that had employees who died in the attacks. Some were from organizations including cycling clubs, museums and even the Metro Transit Authority. All shared the same sentiment — a thank you for thinking of them. 

“There is a couple touching, heart-wrenching ones like this one. Rear Admiral Joel A. Miele, Sr. P.E. wrote me twice in 2002, and then his daughter wrote me in April 2017, saying he passed away in 2013, saying, ‘Today, while going through his office, I came across the postcard you sent to the Commissioner in solidarity and support after 9/11. I wanted you to know that he had it proudly displayed on his bookshelves all this time,’ ” Wilcox said.

Some may have already seen the photos and project at the Iowa State Fair. In 2003, Wilcox convinced the fair to let his project be displayed in the hallway of the Cultural Center. 

“The items were fixed to large foam cores and covered most of that hallway. I had a guest-signing book; people loved it,” Wilcox said. 

In contrast, response to tragedies around the country today might come with a like or a share on social media to show support. The days of sending postcards seem to be long gone. The approach Wilcox took is rare today and would have been even in the most popular postcard times. What it does show is the sentiment many Americans felt after the events of Sept. 11. Many people wanted to help but were not sure how to do so. Wilcox’s photography and project were his way of showing support, much to the appreciation of the random, yet thoughtful, selection of the New Yorkers who received his cards. 

View his gallery at https://wilcoxgregorya.myportfolio.com/i-love-new-york or scan this QR code. ♦

Cyote Williams was born and raised on the south side of Des Moines and writes about entertainment, sports and personalties across the Des Moines metro for CITYVIEW. Phone: 515-953-4822 x333.