( CNN ) -- As anger grows over the continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico , friends and family gathered Tuesday , united in grief , to pay tribute to the 11 men lost in the explosion of the drilling rig that triggered the underwater gusher . `` Today we gather here as a community -- a community that none of us ever wanted to be a part of , '' said Steven Newman , president and chief executive officer of Transocean , which owns the rig . `` A community of loss , of remembrance but also of hope and most of all a community of faith . A faith that has been tested by this tragedy and one that we hope will be strengthened by this gathering . '' The men lost in the April 20 blast aboard the Deepwater Horizon were remembered as husbands , fathers , avid hunters and fishermen . `` These were exceptional men , '' Newman said during the emotional ceremony . `` They were colleagues and crewmembers . Hard-working men who loved their country and their god . '' A gospel choir sang religious hymns , and country star Trace Adkins , himself a former oil worker , gave a brief video statement before a photo montage was played to the soundtrack of his song about life on the rig , `` Black Gold . '' Banners with the images of the victims -- Donald Clark , Shane Roshto , Dewey Revette , Adam Weise , Wyatt Kemp , Dale Burkeen , Jason Anderson , Karl Kleppinger , Stephen Curtis , Gordon Jones and Blair Manuel -- hung from the ceiling of the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson , Mississippi . An engraved ship bell rang 11 times to mark each victim 's death , and families were presented with one of the 11 bronze hard hats that ringed the stage to represent their loved one 's loss . None of the men was found following the explosion despite a massive search effort . `` It 's hard for us , '' Naomi Beckham , the aunt of crane operator Dale Burkeen , said after the service . `` We ai n't got no closure . We do n't have a body for him . ''
11 men died in Deepwater Horizon explosion . Country singer Trace Adkins made a video appearance . Bodies of the 11 men have not been found .