Clay County first responders will march through downtown Green Cove Springs on Friday, Sept. 11, to mark the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Honor March begins at 9:15 a.m. along Palmetto Avenue and Walnut Street. It ends at the Spring Park gazebo, where a ceremony starts at 9:30 a.m., according to a Clay County government announcement. The ceremony is free.

Ceremony Will Honor More Than 400 Responders

During the ceremony, officials will read the names of more than 400 firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency responders who died on Sept. 11, 2001. The Clay County Fire Rescue Honor Guard will strike "The Four 5s," a traditional fire service bell toll. A local bagpipe group will close the service with "Amazing Grace."

Clay County Fire Rescue, the Clay County Sheriff's Office and other county agencies organized the observance together.

Public Invited to Watch March and Ceremony

The public is invited to line Palmetto Avenue and Walnut Street to watch the march. Chairs will be set up at the gazebo for the ceremony, and attendees are welcome to bring their own.

As we reported Wednesday, Sept. 9, the Rotary Club of Orange Park planted 200 American flags along U.S. 17 ahead of the anniversary. Friday's ceremony in Green Cove Springs is the county's official observance.

Fire Station Memorial Holds Trade Center Steel

Clay County also maintains a permanent 9/11 memorial outside Fire Station 20, which opened in August 2025, according to the county's memorial page. The site features two 9-foot sections of exterior wall structural steel from the 68th floor of World Trade Center 1, the North Tower. Clay County Fire Rescue and the International Association of Firefighters Local 3362 applied to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's World Trade Center Artifacts Program in 2011 to obtain the beams. A Callery pear Survivor Tree, an offspring of a tree that survived the original attacks, also grows at the site. Clay County Fire Rescue applied for the tree in 2021.