diff --git a/Dockerfile.openj9 b/Dockerfile.openj9
index 4dd6ab7..accbadb 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.openj9
+++ b/Dockerfile.openj9
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ FROM ubuntu:24.10 AS run
 
 COPY --from=build /build/dist/jre /usr/lib/jvm/openj9-jre
 RUN ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/openj9-jre/bin/java /usr/bin/java
+
 ENV JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/openj9-jre
 
+# verify installation
+RUN java --version
+
 # ------