Ocean City Boardwalk To Raise Flag Once More This Year On 9/11

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City’s daily flag-raising ceremony will be held for the final time this year on Saturday, marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The morning ritual in Ocean City began 20 years ago after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and has been held daily every summer since then from Memorial Day through Sept. 11.

The ceremony starts at 8:50 a.m. each day as the national anthem and a medley of patriotic songs play from the pier’s speakers. Many people walking the boardwalk stop, salute and sing along.

“Our American Legion and VFW are very instrumental in this every day. We have our police, fire department and lifeguards there when the flag goes up,” Mayor Jay Gillian told Patch. “It’s a very nice thing that’s been going on for multiple years and we’re very proud of it.”

The ritual has an even longer history that dates back to July 4, 1940. The event had renewed meaning in the World War II years that followed before it was discontinued in 1946.

The late Jim Gillian, owner of Gillian's Island Water Park at Plymouth Place, revived the tradition after he was asked by a veteran who ran the boardwalk every day to put an American flag up.

He erected a flagpole during construction of an adjacent miniature golf course. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Jim began raising a flag in front of the water park every day of the summer, scored by the national anthem and patriotic songs.

Over the past 20 years, the crowds that assemble each morning to see the flag raised have continued to grow. To give spectators more room to gather, the daily ritual was moved to its new location at the Ocean City Music Pier in May.

The tradition was inaugurated on Memorial Day with the installation of a new flag pole dedicated to the memory of three veterans from Ocean City: Joe Caserta, James “JR” Robinson and Bill Cruice.

During the final flag-raising ceremony of the season, officials will unveil a memorial plaque in honor of these men. Officials have also arranged for a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft to fly by.

In continuing the longtime tradition, Gillian said he made sure to keep the same songs that his brother played and that people have come to admire over the years, including Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A.”

“It’s good comradery. You see a lot of the same people every morning and it’s like getting a cup of coffee,” Gillian said. “You realize how thankful and lucky we are to live in this country. And in Ocean City, with our traditions and our family resort, it’s perfect for us.”

Later on Saturday evening, Ocean City will hold its annual remembrance ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The ceremony starts at 6 p.m. outside the Ocean City Fire Department headquarters at 550 Asbury Ave.

The ceremony includes music, prayer and reflections on the memory of lives lost and on the community spirit that was renewed in the 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.

“This has always been an important ceremony ever since it’s been started. We do it right before night fall. It’s important to the community,” Gillian said.

Gillian will be among the speakers at the ceremony, alongside Fire Chief James P. Smith and first responder Billio Olaschinez.

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