Community honors Sept. 11 victims

SANDPOINT — American flags flew under a clear blue sky Tuesday as residents gathered at Memorial Field to remember the 3,000 lost on Sept. 11.

Following a tradition established since the attacks themselves, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Albeni Falls Pipes and Drum band assembled with color guards consisted of police officers, firemen and coast guard members to honor those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks. A crowd of city and county officials, employees and residents from around the area filled the bleachers to pay their respects.

The ceremony began at 12 p.m. with the presentation of the color guards. Once the flags and band were in place, master of ceremonies Ed Gould took the microphone to address attendees. Afterward, Pastor Stan Norman dedicated the ceremony and opened in prayer, requesting higher guidance to honor the dead while remaining a peace-loving people.

“Guard and guide our country that in our search for security we do not trample justice or disregard the rule of law,” Norman said.

Albeni Falls Pipes and Drums provided musical interludes throughout the ceremony. Throughout the event, they played three songs, including Highland Cathedral, Amazing Grace and Lost Drummer, a piece with special significance.

“After the events at the towers, one band lost its entire drum line,” Gould said.

The bulk of the ceremony centered on Colfax, Wash., fire chief and guest speaker Ralph Walter, who shared his memories of visiting New York City firefighters shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks. Originally an educator from Pennsylvania, Walter made a change in his life when he decided to begin a career as a firefighter.

“I had to follow my dream, and that was to become a fire chief like my grandfather,” he said.

After becoming a fire chief in Washington, Walter became a key figure in training firefighters around the Northwest. He had an opportunity to get a taste of eastern firefighting when an accident left his department without any engines. In the search for new equipment, he visited New York City and stayed with a fire company after his arrival. While their style of firefighting was quite a bit different due to the higher demand for their services, the spirit of the work was the same.

Walter had a particularly memorable moment when he secretly bought his new friends lunch and was quickly told it was their job to take care of him. That same attitude carried through during the Sept. 11 attacks, a crisis that claimed many of the company’s members.

“It gives you a little bit of an idea about what happened on 9-11,” Walter said. “They took care of everyone else.”