JEROME — It was a beautiful day that day, too.

And like five years ago, Sept. 11 came to a screeching halt.

Without introduction, the sounds of screaming panic bellowed from speakers over a suddenly still crowd of hundreds who had gathered at the “healing field” in Jerome.

Then the familiar sequence: The breaking news reports of planes striking the towers; the president’s response; the aftermath.

Soon everybody, including the speakers, fell silent.

All eyes fastened on an enormous American flag hoisted 170 feet into the wind, and as people watched from an enclosure of 3,000 smaller flags, each person drifted into private thought.

In the 10 minutes of silence, Teresa Nazareth was moved by the unity of the crowd. She reached for it as memories of tragedies in her homeland mixed. She recalled not only the media images and sounds of the Sept. 11 attacks in America but also the aura of fear she grew up with when the Nazis bombed her native England.

The image of coffins and widows was one she hoped never to see again when she moved to America.

“This generation went through 9/11. I went through World War II,” said Nazareth, who lives with her husband in Filer. “We went through hard times but the country pulled together. We need to pull together.”

For Olivia Rowe, the ceremony stirred pride in the Magic Valley and appreciation to the people who put on the event. “I think we’re very fortunate to have someone to create this display for people in this area,” Rowe said. “I think it was a wonderful way to pay tribute n not just to the people who lost their lives but to all first responders.”

Blair Crouch, general manager of Crossroads Point Business Center, was praised for putting on the event by more than just Rowe. He says the “healing field” project has been extremely rewarding.

“I want to echo thanks to all the volunteers who put this together,” Crouch said. “It’s been a very positive emotional experience.”

In a silence broken only by sniffs, the flag was lowered to half-staff, the National Guard’s 25th Army band played a drumroll and then the audience sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

After the national anthem, Kelly Klass of local radio station KLIX read “My Name is Old Glory,” a poem written by Howard Schnauber about the American flag.

“Look up! And see me!” he read to the audience. “Those who would destroy me cannot win.”

Cassidy Friedman is a staff writer at the Times-News. He can be reached at (208) 735-3241 or by e-mail at cfriedman@magicvalley.com