No Respect

To Aida Nordahl and some of her fellow parishioners, the strangers with shaved heads who showed up the past two Sundays at her church were up to no good. But according to sheriff's deputies, the men who came to St.Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church were actually U.S. Marines looking for a buddy. The confusion began April 24 during the Spanish Mass at the Banyan Avenue church. Three men walked in and sat down. Before the end of the service, they walked to the front of the congregation, stood facing parishioners in silence and then walked out of the church. "They have short Marine haircuts, and someone perceives that they're skinheads, and that they were intimidating people," San Bernardino County sheriff's Sgt. Frank Gonzales said. "It turns out that was not the case, and they were very polite." But for some members of the church who didn't know the men's military status, it was an unsettling experience, Nordahl said. "I was just upset that they went inside the church and did this to us," she said. "It was very disrespectful." Nordahl said she became more concerned when the men returned Sunday. The men sat in the church and talked to each other during the service. Nordahl, who has been a member of the church about a year and a half, said she had not seen the men at the church before April 24. Sheriff's deputies were called to the church after the men visited the second time, Gonzales said. The men explained to deputies that they had just returned from Iraq and came to the church looking for a friend. When they couldn't find their friend April 24, they returned the following week. The Rev. Patrick Kirsch said the matter has been resolved and that he explained the situation to parishioners. Between 400 to 500 people on average attend the Spanish Mass, Kirsch said. "We don't want to make it more than it is," he said. "I was reassured by the police that (the Marines) wouldn't be back."