CHARLOTTE, N.C. – One national organization is marking the anniversary of Sept. 11 in Charlotte by honoring heroes who don't always get the attention they deserve.

• The 'Hiring our Heroes'  job expo hosted 85 companies searching for their next candidate
• Experts say more than 200,000 thousand service members exit the service each year and can become underemployed
• Organizers say more than 31,000 veterans and military spouses have obtained job opportunities through Hiring our Heroes events

The 'Hiring our Heroes'  job expo hosted 85 companies searching for their next candidate to be a veteran or service member.

Organizers with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation say service members face unique challenges when transitioning back to civilian life. Experts say more than 200,000 thousand service members exit the service each year and can become underemployed.

"With me being in college and also being in the military, sometimes internships don’t take that time to hire the military because of the time period we are gone,” U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant Djerhkea Eppsdukes says. She most recently graduated from Johnson C. Smith University.

She says the job fair will help her use her skills as a welder to transition from a trade to the technology field.  

In remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, military members paused for a ceremony at noon.

To date, organizers say more than 31,000 veterans and military spouses have obtained job opportunities through Hiring our Heroes events.