Due to concerns about large group gatherings, the Onslow Civic Affairs Patriot Day 9/11 Annual Observance has been moved to a virtual presentation.
The event will premiere as a video presentation on Saturday, September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A former New York City Police Officer who was on duty on 9/11 and a Marine officer who was in the Pentagon on that day, with both give remembrances of the day. Carl D. Urbina was on the ground in New York City on September 11, 2001, and after his shift, volunteered at ground zero in the search for survivors. LtCol Russell Jamison Jr, USMC Retired, was at his workstation when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon.
The observance has been designated as the community’s official observance since 2006 by the Onslow Board of Commissioners. Hosted by the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee, Onslow County and the City of Jacksonville and supported by Camp Lejeune, the observance recognizes victims of 9/11.
Members of the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee present various tableaus representing those who were killed in the September 11, 2001 events. Local law enforcement, firefighters, first responders and rescue personnel as well as military representatives represented those who were killed in rescue and in response to the events of 2001. The observance was video recorded Thursday, September 9, 2021.
The observance, held at a World Trade Center beam in the Gardens dedicated by the New York City Fire Department to the Marines as the “first in” to Afghanistan in 2003, is the background for the observance. The first servicemember killed in Afghanistan, and the last Marine from Camp Lejeune killed in Afghanistan are featured in the observance.
The video of the event will premiere on the Jacksonville-Onslow Government Channel G10TV, on G10TV.org, and on both the City and County YouTube channels as well as the County and City government Facebook pages at 8AM, Saturday, September 11, 2021.
Components of the Second Marine Division Band, various fire and law enforcement officers and the Jacksonville Youth Council participated in the observance and remembrance. The Cardinal Strings from Jacksonville High School and the White Oak Chamber Choir from White Oak High School provided music for the observance.
The Onslow Civic Affairs Committee was formed to advance Civic Education in Onslow County.
Patriot Day was first declared by President George W. Bush as the official observance for the events of September 11, 2001.
