LEWISTON – The courage of both victims and heroes in the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001, was commemorated in remarks delivered by U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Saturday morning.

“We owe it to the families of all the victims, as well as to the nation, to do everything within our power and our God-given abilities to prevent such horrors in the future,” she told a memorial service audience of several dozen people. She emphasized the point with a quote from the Sept. 11 Commission Report, saying, “It is the responsibility of both the president and Congress to proceed with `unity of purpose, because our nation demands it.’ And, I would add, that is how the nation can best pay tribute to the fallen.”

Snowe paid tribute to the eight people from Maine killed on that day three years ago – Anna Allison, Carol Flyzik, Robert Jalbert, Jaqueline Norton, Robert Norton, James Roux, Robert Schlegal and Stephen Ward.

“They and others who died on Sept. 11, 2001, will live on in countless unseen but immensely significant ways,” she said, adding that all will be remembered for “the millions of small human kindnesses, and in many cases on Sept. 11, the great acts of heroism, that will always distinguish the 3,376 men and women of 115 different nations who went to work that day, or boarded a plane, or rushed to the aid of strangers whose lives they believed were as important as their own – and never returned home.

“Each had a story. Each had a soul,” she said. “And having visited Ground Zero in the aftermath, I can tell you their presence still triumphed over the twisted destruction – and it always will.”

Snowe also spoke about several acts of support and compassion by Maine people in the days following the 9-11 tragedies. She noted help from firefighters who went to the scene, a concert by the Portland Symphony Orchestra, donations by Baileyville pulp and paper mill workers of more than $6,000, and a gift from one employee of his entire $600 tax-relief refund. She also recalled how owners of a restaurant in Castine, who for years had used an entertaining trick to pin patrons’ dollar bills to the ceiling, took the entire $12,313 off the ceiling and donated it to the wife of a World Trade Center elevator operator.

“That, my friends, is the America our enemies could never understand – and never will,” she said.

George Simones of Greene, head chanter of Holy Trinity Church, also participated in the service at the side of the altar. He had taken part in a hometown parade earlier Saturday morning and he wore his Greene Volunteer Fire Department uniform to the memorial service. Many noted it was particularly appropriate attire for the occasion.

Following the service, the Rev. Ted Toppses said, “The Greek Orthodox faith is very welcoming, and so when a tragedy like Sept. 11 happens, I think it’s as though direct members of our family have passed away. We want to honor their memory, to celebrate their lives and who they were, but also to remember their sacrifice for our freedom.”

While conversing with Snowe, Toppses noted that he had been assigned at St. Catherine’s in Falls Church, Virginia, on Sept. 11, 2001, and he watched the cloud of smoke rising from the Pentagon that day.

Small American flags were given to members of the congregation as they entered. At the conclusion of the program, everyone stood and sang “God Bless America.” While most held their flags solemnly, an infant in her mother’s arms enthusiastically waved her flag above the heads of those around her.