Victims are mourned from coast to coast;

By Fred Kaplan, Globe Staff; and Pamela Ferdinand, Globe Correspondent

NEW YORK

In a day of mourning from Long Island to Los Angeles, families, friends and co-workers gathered yesterday to comfort one another and remember the 230 people who died last week when TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean.

More than 2,000 friends and relatives of victims streamed into an abandoned hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport to mourn their loved ones.

In Central and East Moriches, residents gathered to pay tribute to a couple who lived on Long Island. Boy Scouts tied 230 purple ribbons to a fence at East Moriches School, to street signs and telephone poles along the town's street. Hundreds of residents gathered at Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial Park, and flags flew at half-staff across town.

Friends, relatives and colleagues of the 52 TWA employees who were on the plane also gathered in Los Angeles, Kansas City and St. Louis, the airline's headquarters.

"We are a family," pilot Bill Compton said before the St. Louis service. "We've come through this last, turbulent decade because of our strength, our teamwork. At this point, we've got to provide strength for each other."

At the airport service, Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York said: "Your pain has reached out and touched so many peoples' hearts. . . . The whole mood of the country has changed. . . . The one true good that might come of this is that we might reach out to other people more than before."

Cardinal O'Connor urged worshipers not to be troubled that they might not have loved their lost husbands or children enough. "Don't let yourself be tortured," he said. "They are at peace. And what do they want more but that you are also at peace?"

Dazed relatives held each other tightly in the heat of the hangar. Arriving and departing jets roared overhead as Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Jewish and Islamic clergy offered words of consolation.

Elaine Wood, a singer in a choir that performed at the service, said of the mourners: "I think they were holding up very well. Some brought pictures of their loved ones. Some came up to the speakers and said how much they appreciated their remarks."

One woman, who lost her 23-year-old niece, told reporters, "It was the beginning of healing." Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki and New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman also attended the service.

The service was closed to the public and the press. The sermons could be heard through an audio feed. A police officer who was inside the hangar said as much as possible was done to make the place seem like a church. A stage and altar were set up, surrounded by blue curtains and flanked by flowers.

TWA flight attendants and captains, wearing white ribbons, handed a white rose to each of the mourners as they filed in. Most of them had taken buses from the nearby Ramada Inn, where at least 155 families are staying.

The ceremony lasted an hour and 45 minutes, during which time the names of the 230 passengers and crew were read. "For this community today, we may be of different faiths, but we cry in the same voice," Rabbi Joseph Potasnik said during the service. "Today we come together with one heart for those whose hearts are broken."

Some relatives said they were upset President Clinton didn't attend the Kennedy Airport service. White House spokesman Jim Fetig said Clinton was concerned his attendance would "divert security and other resources away from the recovery effort."

At St. John the Evangelist Catholic parish in Central Moriches, relatives and friends of Eric and Virginia Holst gathered to pray.

"He was my best friend, my playmate growing up," John Holst, 34, said of his younger brother. "I'm going to miss him so much."

More than 300 people sat under wooden rafters as Rev. James McDonald prayed for the family, his voice resonating throughout what was once a gym. Two candles burned on the altar and pictures of the Holsts were passed among friends and relatives.

"They died loving God and loving each other," Father McDonald said. "We have seen the devastation and destruction, and it has touched this small and insignificant corner of God's world."

The Manorville couple, both in their early 30s, married six years ago. Eric Holst had a dental practice in town and assisted at the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office, where his body was identified last week. Virginia Holst had thyroid cancer, but was starting a new business. Her body has not been recovered, relatives said.

Several hours later, residents poured into a small park in East Moriches to pray for the victims and their families.

"All week long, it's been so mechanical," said Pat Wyles, who lives on Atlantic Avenue near the busy Coast Guard station that is the command center for the recovery operation."Today is about remembering the people instead of the process."

As residents sat on metal chairs in the park, local police officers and firefighters stood at attention.

A contingent of local ministers spoke. One asked for patience for the rescuers and an end to anger and frustration. And one minister urged those were disturbed by the crash to seek help.

"The best thing we can do is be a community of prayer," said Rev. John Fleischman. "We're here to support one another. . . . Our community has been severly impacted by this tragedy."