Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony will be held September 11

The Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021, at 11 a.m., in the Heilman Amphitheater on the grounds of the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.

The ceremony will commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, and those who died in the downed jet airliner in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

The keynote address will be given by Daniel Fauls, a U.S. Navy veteran who barely escaped injury during the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and returned the next day to help assess damage and aid in recovery efforts. He then volunteered to go to New York City aboard the USNS Comfort to assist victims there. Fauls will be introduced by his daughter, Danielle, a 21-year-old Air Force ROTC student at the University of Virginia who was one year old at the time of the attack.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend the ceremony, which will begin at 10:40 a.m. with a medley of patriotic music provided by the 380^th Army Band Ensemble followed by welcoming comments from Dr. Clay Mountcastle, Virginia War Memorial Director. Sailors from Navy Recruiting Station Richmond will ring the ship’s bell from the USS Virginia in memory of each of the 125 Virginians who died at the Pentagon.

September 11 has been designated annually by the United States Congress as Patriot Day, a National Day of Mourning, to honor and remember the 2,997 persons who died and the more than 6,000 injured as the result of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and at The Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

“We must never forget our fellow Americans and fellow Virginians who died during the terrorist attacks twenty year ago on 9/11/01,” said Dr. Mountcastle. “It is difficult to believe that it has been two decades since this terrible day yet it seems almost like yesterday. There is no more fitting place than on the hallowed grounds of the Virginia War Memorial to join together and reaffirm our patriotism and resolves to stand up to any who would attack our great nation.”

“I not only invite everyone to bring their family and friends to participate in this solemn ceremony but to come visit the many new exhibits in the Memorial’s Galanti Education Center and Wright Pavilion. These exhibits include an actual slab of stone from The Pentagon still scarred with jet fuel burns from the 9/11 attack,” noted Dr. Mountcastle.

“Children of all ages and their parents are also invited to join author Tara Riley Krohn, as she reads from her picture book, Unfurling The Freedom Flag, in our Veterans Art Gallery immediately following the conclusion of the Patriot Day Ceremony,” Dr. Mountcastle added.

There is no charge to attend the Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony or to visit the Virginia War Memorial. The Memorial will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking is also free but limited in the Memorial’s surface lot and parking deck. In case of inclement weather, the Ceremony will be held in the Memorial’s Shrine of Memory-20^th Century.

For more information, please visit www.vawarmemorial.org, www.dvs.virginia.gov, or Facebook.com/vawarmemorial or call 804.786.2060.

About the Virginia War Memorial

The mission of the Virginia War Memorial is to Honor Veterans, Preserve History, Educate Youth and Inspire Patriotism in All. Dedicated in 1956, the Memorial includes the names of the nearly 12,000 Virginia heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and the Global War on Terrorism. The Virginia War Memorial is and will always be the Commonwealth’s tribute to those who served and most especially, to those who died defending our freedoms. Every day is truly Memorial Day at the Virginia War Memorial. The Virginia War Memorial is a division of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and serves as an integral part of its mission in support of all Virginians who have served in our military. It is located at 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220. For more information, please visit www.vawarmemorial.org or www.dvs.virginia.gov.

About the Virginia Department of Veterans Services

The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) is a state government agency with more than 40 locations across the Commonwealth of Virginia. VDVS traces its history to 1928 and the establishment of the Virginia War Service Bureau to assist Virginia’s World War I veterans. Today, VDVS assists veterans and their families in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; provides veterans and family members with linkages to services including behavioral healthcare, housing, employment, education and other programs. The agency operates two long-term care facilities offering in-patient skilled nursing care, Alzheimer’s/memory care, and short-term rehabilitation for veterans; provides an honored final resting place for veterans and their families at three state veterans cemeteries. It also operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth’s tribute to Virginia’s men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice from World War II to the present. For more information, please visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.