LIVERMORE FALLS — On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Jocelyn Collins of Jay was two months pregnant with her daughter Annabelle, now 8, and watching the news on television while waiting for a dentist appointment.

As the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City unfolded before her, Collins worried about her cousin who worked three buildings away, but she was safe.

Nine years later, on a breezy, blue-sky Saturday morning, the U.S. Air Force veteran stood with a small crowd gathered at Geneva Hodgkins Memorial Park beside Route 17.

A large American flag dangled from the apex of a 70-foot arch formed with extended ladders from Jay and Livermore Falls firetrucks.

Annabelle clutched her mom’s left arm while Jocelyn’s 2-year-old niece, Robyn Gile of Jay, held her right hand as all three solemnly watched a 9/11 remembrance ceremony conducted by the American Legion George Bunten Post 10 of Livermore Falls, local firefighters, police and dignitaries.

Post 10 Commander John Dube of Jay opened the ceremony.

“I want to thank everyone for being here to remember the tragic events that happened nine years ago today to the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D. C., and to the crew and passengers on Flight 93 that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania,” Dube said.

Livermore Falls police Chief Ernest Steward read the Police Officer’s Prayer, and fire chiefs from Jay, Livermore Falls and Livermore rendered traditional final honors to departed comrades, each ringing a brass bell five times.

Karen Staples, representing U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, shared the Maine Republican’s sentiments.

Snowe’s statement began by mourning the Sept. 11 loss of eight individuals from Maine: Anna Allison, Carol Flyzik, Robert Jalbert, Jacqueline Norton, Robert Norton, James Roux, Robert Schlegel and Stephen Ward.

“We remember the heroic acts of valor that will always distinguish the thousands of men and women who went to work that day, or boarded a plane, or rushed to the aid of strangers whose lives they believed were as vital as their own,” Staples read.

Matt Dubois and Gail Kearns-Dube shared sentiments of U.S. Reps. Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree, in recognizing the bravery and sacrifice of the first responders, police, emergency personnel, and volunteers “who did everything humanly possible to save their neighbors’ lives.”

Other speakers did likewise and thanked Maine’s emergency responders and dispatchers who continue to provide safety for communities.

Jay police Chief Larry White shared his experience of being on patrol on the evening of 9/11.

On seeing many people standing resilient along roadsides with lit candles, White said he “knew America was going to rise to the occasion again, the same as it did after Pearl Harbor.

“Our nation believes we can accomplish anything and we prove it every time,” he said.

“I heard on the news the other day, one of the al-Qaeda leaders saying that terrorists are born every day,” White said. “But I think we have a message for them, too. We have heroes in this country that are born every day and they better not underestimate that.”

Dube, a Navy veteran, shared his sentiments, saying, “On that day nine years ago, America lost almost 3,000 people in a couple of hours. Innocent people going about their daily business not knowing what was about to happen.

“At a time when most of us thought we were at peace, someone else was planning to destroy us. Whenever I see a replay of the World Trade Center, I am reminded why I served my country, trying to keep America free and safe.”

Everyone sang “God Bless America,” and seven members of the Sons of Amvets Firing Squad gave a 21-gun salute, followed by taps performed on a bugle by Jay Amvets Post 33 Commander Gregg MacDonald.

The ceremony itself rekindled memories for Collins, whose family last year visited ground zero to educate their children.

“It was at the end of an exhausting day, but there was peace there,” she said. “It humbled you. It really makes you aware of the devastation our enemies can cause on our own soil.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com