Clouds kept the rising sun from shining on the square at Naval Station Everett, where about 150 Navy reservists in uniform stood silent.
All had gathered early Saturday to remember the national tragedy three years ago.
Four sailors stood by a flagpole designed like a mast. At exactly 7:55 a.m., speakers blasted the national anthem, drowning out the calls of sea gulls. The sailors quickly raised the Stars and Stripes to half-mast.
Then Capt. Richard Marin told the crowd that since its independence, the United States has always stood against tyranny. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which brought down the World Trade Center twin towers in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., were no exception, he said.
“Names and places have changed, but as long as there is freedom in the world, there will be people who try to infringe on others’ rights,” Marin said.
The cloud of terrorism still hangs over the country, Chaplain Lt. Brian Banke said. But after the crowd dedicated a moment of silence to the victims of 9-11, Banke said, “The darkness can never overcome the lights.”
As the ceremony ended, the sun appeared out of the clouds, momentarily lighting up the square.
Downtown Everett
The American flag fluttered in the breeze at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett on Saturday as people crisscrossed downtown streets filled with vendors for the city’s second annual Pop &Arts Festival.
Away from the festival’s bustle, a “9-11 Eternal Flame” ceremony began at noon in the courthouse yard, where 35 people had gathered.
Hundreds of New York City police officers and firefighters died along with thousands of civilians in the events that brought terrorism home and changed the country, officials said.
The attacks meant new challenges for firefighters, such as anthrax attacks and weapons of mass destruction, Everett Fire Marshal Warren Burns said.
“We’ve learned and adapted,” he said.
Attendance at 9-11 ceremonies has declined in the years since 2001, but each individual needs to remember what happened then, said Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Tice of the U.S. Marine Corp.
“Today is such an important day not only for our community, but for the entire America,” Tice said.
During the ceremony, passersby stopped and swelled the numbers of those gathered at the courthouse. The group listened to speakers and sang, their voices rising to “God Bless America” and “Amazing Grace.”
Stanwood Library
AnnMarie Helaas was 8 years old in September 2001. Her mother, Janet Johnston, didn’t tell her much about the horrible attacks at the time.
On Saturday afternoon, Johnston, of Camano Island, brought AnnMarie to the Community Day of Remembrance at the Stanwood Library.
“I really wanted to attend a 9-11 ceremony,” Johnston said, adding that she now tries to explain what happened on that day to AnnMarie, who has grown up a lot since then.
It was the first time the library had hosted the ceremony, which drew about 35 people, said Darlene Weber, an organizer.
“I wanted to provide our city officials with a venue to be with the public and discuss and share their feelings about 9-11,” she said.
Weber, a children’s librarian, spent three hours in the morning making a U.S. flag out of paper.
The red and white stripes held the names of those who died at the World Trade Center towers. The names of the victims of the Pentagon attack surrounded the flag’s stars. Several papers flanked the flag showing the names of those who were on the four hijacked jetliners.
“Who were these people? And who are the people mourning them?” Weber thought while making the flag.
The paper flag will remain on the wall in the library’s meeting room for a while, Weber said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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