COEUR d’ALENE — Joseph Lowe enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in May 2001, following in the footsteps of his father and brother.

His enlistment came four months before the Sept. 11 attacks and four years before the battle that changed his life forever. 

Gold Star families, veterans, current and past elected leaders and others gathered Thursday morning at the Silver Lake Mall for a 9/11 remembrance ceremony organized by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. Lowe gave the address, sharing his story of service and survival. 

Lowe, a U.S. Marine corporal from Meridian, was the gunner on the crew of an M1-A1 Abrams in the Battle of Al Qaim, code-named Operation Matador. On the first day of the operation in 2005, Lowe’s tank rolled over an IED, triggering an explosion so powerful it lifted the 68-ton tank several feet off the ground. 

When Lowe regained consciousness after the explosion, he said the tank loader and commander were both “mangled” from the blast, while Lowe couldn’t move anything below his chest. 

“It was then I knew it was going to take a miracle to get us out of there alive,” Lowe told a crowd of more than 100 people Thursday morning. 

The radios in the tank were inoperable, so with only one good arm and one good leg, the loader climbed out of the tank to signal for help. Lowe heard a barrage of bullets against the tank’s exterior and feared he had sent the loader to his death. 

But instead, the loader managed to hide from the gunfire and wave down a gunship. Lowe said the helicopter pilot defied orders to land amid the battle. The commander and loader were evacuated, but because Lowe couldn’t move under his own power, rescuers struggled to remove him from the tank. The pilot had no choice but to return to base without Lowe. 

But Lowe wasn’t left alone. Luke Miller, the commander of another tank, stayed with him. 

“He sat down beside me and he prayed with me,” Lowe said. “It’s the most horrifying place to be staring death in the face knowing I’d been living solely and selfishly for myself. After Miller prayed with me, a peace that surpasses all understanding came over the two of us. All fear of death went away.” 

After a second helicopter landed, Miller carried Lowe over his shoulder, through a hail of gunfire, to the helicopter. 

“I can only say it was a miracle that no one was hit by any of the fire we faced during the two extractions,” Lowe said. 

Two decades later, Lowe is a husband and a father of four. He said the experience that left him paralyzed renewed his faith and transformed his life for the better, though he still bears physical and emotional scars. 

For years, Lowe said he’s grappled with existential questions. 

“Do we fight in vain?” he said. “Is there ever really a true victor? Are the lives lost truly worth the sacrifice? I obviously don’t have the answers to these questions. But I am confident in this. The sacrifices that have been made by so many Americans reflect their courage, their dedication to serve and protect and their love for something greater than themselves.” 

Those who died due to the events of 9/11 didn’t die for a “political party or a headline,” Lowe said. They died for the love of their country and all the people in it. 

“I believe that we honor them by living lives worthy of the sacrifices that they have made for us,” Lowe said. 

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said that even as people reflect on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, this community is reckoning with local acts of violence that occurred this year. 

He pointed to the Father’s Day shooting of Gary Hill, who was fatally shot when he intervened in a carjacking at Stateline, and the June 29 fire and shooting on Canfield Mountain that claimed the lives of battalion chiefs Frank Harwood and John Morrison and badly wounded engineer David Tysdal. 

“This community is still processing what happened on Canfield Mountain,” Norris said. “I will tell you that evil, tragedy and heroism occurred on that mountain that day.” 

Norris said North Idahoans should condemn violence. 

“We, as a community, need to stand up and support law and order and right and wrong, period,” he said. 

    A man bows his head in prayer during a ceremony in remembrance of 9/11.
  

    A man observes a ceremony honoring those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
  

    Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris becomes emotional while speaking about the events of 9/11 and the impact of local acts of violence.
  

    Idaho American Legion D1 District Commander Jim Culpepper and Post 143 Commander Tim Shaw confer before Thursday's 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Silver Lake Mall.
  

    Pastor Paul Van Noy leads a crowd in prayer.
  

    Joseph Lowe shares a moment on stage with his wife, children, parents and brother.