OXFORD – The Oxford Fair held two events Thursday in honor of emergency responders and military servicemen on the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A short service was held at the harness racing track, where fire engines from the Oxford and Paris Fire Departments suspended a large American flag between extended ladders. Steve Wallace, executive director of the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce, read a statement made by Sen. Olympia Snowe on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

“On this day, we find mutual solace in the fact that none of us grieves alone,” read Wallace, “that, on this day, those whom we never know are kept in our thoughts and prayers, and that there are no strangers among us, only Americans.”

After a reading of the Fireman’s Prayer by Chief Brad Frost of the Paris Fire Department, the American Legion of Oxford performed a flag raising. A P-3 Orion aircraft from the Brunswick Naval Air Station flew over the fairgrounds soon after.

Another service took place in the evening, and began with a color guard featuring members of the local American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ladies Auxiliary and U.S. Marine Corps. Several members from area police, fire, and emergency services also attended.

Wallace, a veteran of the Marine Corps, said he once believed that a person could only earn valor by facing combat. He said his perception changed after the events of Sept. 11.

“All these folks, these public servants, put their lives on the line every single day,” he said.

Peter Ogden, director of Maine Veterans Services, said 39 Maine residents have been killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since Sept. 11, 2001. He said the first victim of the wars was Cmdr. Robert A. Schlegel, a Navy serviceman from Gray who died in the attack on the Pentagon.

“To those of you here who may choose to wear the uniform in the future, you have some mighty big shoes to fill,” Ogden said.

Wallace concluded the tribute by expressing his gratitude to the assembled servicemen and emergency responders.

“We thank you for coming here today, and we’re in humble debt for what you’ll do for us tomorrow,” Wallace said.