MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University's Office of Justice, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (JIDE) invites the community to help commemorate Patriot Day from noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 11, in University Union Room 110.

JIDE will have materials showing the bravery of everyday people and what can be done when differences are put aside. Visitors are invited to check out the 9/11 materials on hand, add comments to the Patriot Day Memory Book and grab a free U.S.A. flag sticker or badge as a memento of a day of American heroism when people united for the common good.

On Dec. 18, 2001, Congress designated Sept. 11 of each year as Patriot Day, and on April 21, 2009, Congress requested that Sept. 11 be observed as an annually recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Each year the Presidential Proclamation calls upon all departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.