GMC News

Georgia Military College honored victims of September 11, 2001 and subsequent Global War on Terror

Georgia Military College honored victims of September 11, 2001 and subsequent Global War on Terror

Twenty-one years ago on September 11, 2001, the unimaginable happened. Our country was the target of a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 3,024 people who died that day, and nearly 7,000 service members who died in the subsequent Global War on Terror. Those individuals will never be forgotten. On Friday, September 9, 2022, Georgia Military College’s campuses throughout the state, the Global Online Leadership College, and GMC Preparatory School students learned about the significance of September 11, 2001 and recognized Patriot Day at their campuses. In Milledgeville at the Main Campus, GMC and the 144th Corps of Cadets hosted its annual Patriot Day ceremony.

Georgia Military College was honored to have former Naval fighter pilot, six-year prisoner of war, and renowned author, Captain Charles “Charlie” Plumb, USN (Ret) serve as the 2022 Patriot Day Ceremony keynote speaker.

During the ceremony, the children of Gold Star families that attend GMC Prep School moved the memorial wreath in honor and remembrance of Patriot Day.

Following the ceremony, students wrote the names of the 3,024 people that died on September 11, 2001 and the nearly 7,000 service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror. The GMC Pack-Howitzer cannon fired at the times the Twin Towers were struck, the Pentagon was hit, and when Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Additionally, bells at churches in the Milledgeville-Baldwin community rang at the same times.

7:40 a.m. – Patriot Day Ceremony in the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts

  • Members of GMC’s 144th Junior College Corps of Cadets, GMC Prep School junior and senior Cadets, and first responders in the community gathered in Goldstein to pay tribute to the lives lost on September 11, 2001.
  • Awards presented to GMC Prep School 9/11 essay contest winners
  • Laying of a wreath by GMC Prep School students who have been directly affected by the lasting impact of September 11, 2001: Gold Star children Madison French and Kade Horne.

8:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

  • In their classrooms, GMC Cadets recorded the names of 3,024 people whose lives were taken through the act of terrorism on 9/11, and the names of more than 7,000 service members who gave their lives trying to stop it from happening again in the Global War on Terror.

8:46 a.m. (When the first plane struck the North Tower)

  • GMC’s WWII Pack-Howitzer cannon fired and community church bells rang.

9:03 a.m. (When the second plane struck the South Tower)

  • GMC’s WWII Pack-Howitzer cannon fired and community church bells rang.

9:37 a.m. (When the third plane struck the Pentagon)

  • GMC’s WWII Pack-Howitzer cannon fired and community church bells rang.

10:03 a.m. (When the fourth plane, Flight 93, crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania)

  • GMC’s WWII Pack-Howitzer cannon fired and community church bells rang.