The Virginia War Memorial will hold its annual Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The ceremony will mark the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia and the downed aircraft in Shanksville, Pa. The attacks, which were the first enemy assault on American soil since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, resulted in the deaths of 2,997 people and injuries to more than 6,000 others.

Sept. 11 is recognized each year as Patriot Day, a National Day of Mourning established by the U.S. Congress to honor the victims of the attacks.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Lynn Wright, former deputy director of Naval Intelligence. Wright, who now works as a private consultant and advisory board member for academic and security technology firms, previously served as CEO of Naval Intelligence Professionals, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing Naval Intelligence capabilities. She also is an advisory member of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. Wright witnessed the Pentagon attack firsthand and saw the immediate aftermath.

“We are honored to have former Director of Naval Intelligence Lynn Wright as our keynote speaker for the 2024 Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony,” said Virginia War Memorial Director Clay Mountcastle.

Attendees are requested to arrive early to this free event.

At 10:40 a.m., the Virginia Barbershop Chorus will provide patriotic music. The ceremony will include the placement of wreaths in memory of those who lost their lives during the 2001 attacks. Representatives of the Freedom Flag Foundation, the Richmond-based nonprofit organization dedicated to remembering the events of 9/11, also will participate.

Free parking is available in the Virginia War Memorial surface lot and parking deck at 621 S. Belvidere St. The Virginia War Memorial will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The documentary film, “A New Century, A New War,” will be shown all day in the Memorial’s Reynolds Theater.

For more information on the 2024 Commonwealth’s Patriot Day Ceremony, visit dvs.virginia.gov.