September 21, 2026 - The public is invited to a Sept. 23 memorial service for 13 coal miners who died in an accidental explosion 25 years ago in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. 

Music will start at 4 p.m., and the service will begin at 5 p.m. inside West Brookwood Church, 12882 Lock 17 Road in Brookwood.   

The service honors the memories of 13 men who died in Jim Walter Resources Mine No. 5 on Sept. 23, 2001. Every year since the tragedy at the now-closed No. 5, family, friends, co-workers and others gather to honor the deceased, each Sept. 23.

Sep 23, 2025; Brookwood, Alabama, USA; Larry Spencer leads a delegation of people who are laying greenery at the memorial for the miners killed int eh Brookwood mining disaster during the 24th Annual Miners’ Memorial Service at West Brookwood Church.

Photo: Gary Cosby Jr., Tuscaloosa News

"I hope we never see another day like that," Larry Spencer, United Mine Workers of America International vice president of District 20, which encompasses much of the Southern U.S., said during the 2025 ceremony.

"That's one reason we do this (memorial event) every year. We want people to remember that this can happen, it will happen, so take care of your business."

A pair of blasts ripped through a now-closed Jim Walter Resources Mine No. 5 at Brookwood in 2001, less than two weeks after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Miners rushing in to help victims of the first explosion were fatally injured by the second one. 

The explosions killed Gaston Adams Jr., Raymond Ashworth, Nelson Banks, David Blevins, Clarence "Bit" Boyd, Wendell Johnson, John Knox, Dennis Mobley, Charles Nail, Joe Riggs, Charles Smith, Joe Sorah and Charlie Stewart. 

Sep 23, 2025; Brookwood, Alabama, USA; the 24th Annual Miners' Memorial Service at West Brookwood Church.

Photo: Gary Cosby Jr, Tuscaloosa News

The Miners' Memorial Monument, inscribed with the miners' names, now stands outside West Brookwood Church, where the Sept. 23 memorial service will be held.

While the service is primarily held in remembrance of the 2001, the ceremony also pays tribute to all fallen miners.  

The service will be hosted by the Alabama Miners Memorial Foundation.