Lisa Miller Communications/Media Manager City of Jacksonville
At the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, Lejeune Memorial Gardens
A remembrance and moment of silence for the late General Al Gray is scheduled for 1:30 PM, April 4 at the Eagle Globe and Anchor, Lejeune Memorial Gardens on Montford Landing Road. Planned is reflection, prayer and comments from Onslow County Commissioner Chairman Tim Foster and Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips, BGen Kevin Stewart, USMC Ret, Exec Director of the Museum of the Marine, and members of the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee who organized the remembrance event.
Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips has proclaimed Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7 as “A period of Remembrance and Honor for the life of General Al Gray.”
Onslow County Commissioners presented a proclamation that remembered General Al Gray’s distinguished service and in solemnity and to honor his memory, will lower the County flag to half-staff o April 4, 2024.
General Al Gray, who preferred to be called Al Gray, Marine, passed at his home at the age of 95 on March 20, 2024.
General Al Gray, former Commandant and Second Marine Division Commander General Gray was a living example of the Jacksonville-Onslow Community and played a vital role in our history and relationship with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River. He was the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps and the commander of the Second Marine Division at the time of the Beirut Bombing on October 23, 1983.
He saw his role as a caretaker for those under his charge when troops assigned to him were attacked in the Beirut bomb blast at the Marine Barracks in Lebanon. The impact of those who died and those who were injured in the Jacksonville-Onslow community led him to shepherd local leaders who were responding to the great loss of life and the number injured.
He was beloved by the Marine Corps, the Marines here in Jacksonville and by the Community. He spoke at numerous Beirut Memorial Observances with a standing ovation and cheers. He attended the 40th anniversary observance in 2023, where as a community we renew the vow to never forget those lives we lost.
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