JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – The JBLM Patriot’s Day and Massing of the Colors ceremony will be conducted on Wednesday, September 11, starting at 3 p.m. on Watkins Parade Field.

To remember 9/11, the 90-minute ceremony will include Patriot’s Day remarks, an artillery battery salute, and more than 100 military and civilian organizations will join their flags and unit colors. This will be the 23rd annual Massing of the Colors ceremony at JBLM, and the first year it is being conducted in conjunction with Patriot’s Day.

This colorful Massing of the Colors ceremony is a tradition that brings more than 100 different flags and organizational colors together to commemorate those patriots who have served our country, those currently serving, and those who will defend the nation in the future.

The I Corps Band will provide military music as patriotic organizations representing various Veterans groups, fraternal organizations, and area civic and youth organizations carry the American Flag and their organizational colors and banners onto the parade field and assemble in one large formation for a massive patriotic display.

The event is open to the public. People wishing to attend should access JBLM Lewis Main and process through the Welcome Center located near the Liberty Gate (Main Gate) by taking I-5 to Exit 122. Drivers must present a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance and passengers over age 16 must present a picture ID.