A small service to commemorate the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, will be held in Lehighton on the anniversary of the heinous attack.

The Lehighton United Veterans Organization will conduct a 9/11 Remembrance Service at 6 p.m. Friday at the Lehighton Veterans Memorial Park off the bypass.

Retired Lt. Col. Dennis DeMara, Pennsylvania Army National Guard and Afghanistan veteran, will be the speaker, according to Kevin Long, commander of the Lehighton UVO.

“We just thought that it’s a day to remember,” Long said. “I know the (Carbon) county will do their (own 9/11 service) thing in the morning, (but for the) people that aren’t able to attend in the morning, all we want to do is just a remembrance ceremony.”

Long said the 9/11 attacks served to pull our country together.

“History is not a fairy-tale; it’s history and it’s where we come from,” he said. “We just can’t let that fall by the wayside; we have to reflect on this, the lives that were lost that day, nearly 3,000, and the lives that were lost since then.”

Long said that while those who were around on that fateful day can recall exactly what they were doing at the time of the attacks, the service is a way to educate the younger generation who may not have been around to witness it.

“Some people weren’t even born; some of the younger kids don’t even know what happened that day,” he said. “It’s for us to keep that history alive so that people don’t forget the sacrifice; just to reflect, and that we appreciate the sacrifices that have been made.”

Long said it’s amazing how our nation and world have evolved in the 19 years since 9/11, and that the service is meant to be a “time for reflection.”

“It’s for those that want to come out and reflect, and how everything has changed since then,” he said. “We never forget the sacrifices that have been made.”

The Carbon County Veterans Affairs Department is conducting a Patriot Day memorial service on Sept. 11 at 8:40 a.m. in the Josiah White Park in Jim Thorpe. All first responders and the public are welcome to attend.

Tamaqua’s South Ward Playground Association has canceled its ceremony this year because of COVID-19 concerns.