Never forget. 

That was the promise Americans made after the Sept. 11 attacks. But 25 years later, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Pete Holley said memories of the attacks appear to be fading in many communities, including some in Idaho.

“It just gets quieter every year,” Holley said. “More empty seats, less chairs, fewer people. Then it turns into a memory and then into the history books.” 

Not so in Coeur d’Alene, where more than 300 people, among them Gold Star families and veterans, gathered Friday morning at the Silver Lake Mall for a 9/11 remembrance ceremony organized by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. 

“This is Kootenai County,” Holley said. “You show up.” 

That strong showing of support doesn’t only happen on 9/11. 

“This community shows up all the time,” Holley said. “You show up when a family’s house burns down. You provide donations. You line the streets when we bury one of our own. You feed crews you’ve never met. And that, apparently, is not normal. But this community does love its first responders and its military personnel.” 

On the 25th anniversary of the day that changed the U.S. and the world forever, speakers reflected on how acts of violence and times of tragedy can bring communities together, against all odds, and bring out the best in people. 

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said instances of violent crime plummeted nationwide in the months after Sept. 11. 

“A sense of national community was born from that event,” he said. 

He said it’s important to remember what led up to the events of Sept. 11 and placed blame for the attacks on “failed immigration policy” and “lack of immigration enforcement.” 

“Not putting America first also contributed to 9/11,” he said. 

Joseph Lowe, a U.S. Marine corporal from Meridian and Friday’s keynote speaker, shared the story of how he was injured when his tank rolled over an IED in the Battle of Al Qaim, code-named Operation Matador, in 2005. 

He said the experience that left him paralyzed renewed his faith and transformed his life for the better, though he still carries physical and emotional scars. 

“It’s a constant reminder of the cost of conflict and war,” he said. 

Lowe said he’s come to believe that the fight against evil begins within individuals, families and communities. 

“The true strength of this nation begins with us,” he said. 

Today, Holley said, the promise never to forget is a mandate to teach a new generation of people who were too young to remember 9/11 as it happened or were not yet born. 

“Find a young person and tell them your story,” Holley said. “Where you were, what you felt, what changed afterwards, who you were after that event. Even 3,000 miles away, it reached you and that’s worth talking about. That’s how a legacy survives. Someone must carry it. Today, that’s us.” 

    Veterans and other community members observe a ceremony in remembrance of those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
  

    Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris becomes emotional during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Silver Lake Mall.