Pastor calls for 'unity' during troubled times
Rich Crettol of Sandpoint, center, of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Color Guard open the 9-11 remembrance ceremony Saturday at Sandpoint City Beach.
SANDPOINT — Americans have not done enough to get past the fear generated by the terrorists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, said the Rev. Stanley Norman Saturday.
Norman gave the invocation at the 9-11 memorial service hosted Saturday at Sandpoint City Beach by Albeni Falls Pipes and Drums.
“Our own fears have turned murderous,” he said, referring to a national debate over whether a mosque should be built near Ground Zero.
He urged people to band together as they did after the attacks that claimed lives in NewYork City, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Peace comes when justice is sought everywhere, he said.
“We must hold firmly to our unity.”
There will come a time, Norman said, when war like slavery will be “ a historic memory.”
David Ward, a former New Jersey resident and retired U.S. Immigration Service employee, was the guest speaker.
He paid his respects to the 343 firefighters who died in the attack, plus the 37 port authority employees and 23 New York police officers.
Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks.
A teen who saw the Twin Towers emerge into the New York City skyline, Ward said the United States is still at risk for terrorist attacks because not enough has been done to protect its borders.
“What they have planned for America would make your hair stand on end,” he said. “We as citizens need to be prepared.”
America’s enemies exploit the country’s laws, Constitution and political correctness, Ward said.
More money is spent on bailing out banks and automobile companies than on national security, he added.
He said the country will have another 9-11 attack because of apathy and complacency.
Ward also said those who have no problem the mosque being proposed for construction near the World Trade Center site — who say to “just get over it,” need to understand that is not an option.“To those people, I say ‘hell no we’ll never forget.’ ”
About 125 people attended the event — a much larger crowd than the previous year’s commemoration, said Ed Gould of Albeni Pipes and Drums.