As a piece of the South Tower stood beside him as a silent testament to the resilience of a nation, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox called Sunday’s Sept. 11 commemoration “the most important thing we’ve ever done in this amphitheater.”

The commemoration in honor of the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, held at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater Sunday night, was not unlike the thousands of others held across the nation.

It featured musical performances, an invocation from a religious leader, speeches from local politicians and a moment of silence for those who were lost.

But despite the well-worn nature of many aspects of the ceremony, something made it fundamentally different.

As the Stillman College Choir broke into its rendition of God Bless America, the hundreds assembled gradually began to rise. As the music ended, Maddox opened his remarks.

“I imagine that when we enter heaven it will sound a bit like that,” he said.

In a rear row, a middle-aged woman began to cry. For a community that has gone through so much over the past several months, the memory of Sept. 11 and the perceived randomness of the attacks hit close to home.

Members of the Tuscaloosa Police and Fire Departments paid tribute to the lives lost and lessons learned. In his address to the crowd, State Rep. Bill Poole said, “Ten years later, even so many miles from New York City, we stand in solidarity with our brothers.”

Many said they felt that, in light of Tuscaloosa’s own disaster in April, that solidarity was even more poignant now than 10 years ago.

“In both cases, citizens transformed themselves into heroes and dealt with tragedy as a community,” Maddox said. “In many ways, we have a shared understanding of tragedy and triumph.”

Lieutenant Brady Perrigin of the Tuscaloosa Fire Department echoed the mayor’s sentiment.

“Both [Sept. 11 and the tornado] are tragedies we hope never happen again,” he said. “In one aspect, it makes you more prepared for a tragedy. But it also helps you place yourself in their shoes.”

Poole also summed the common link in his speech.

“In our own recent tragedy, we had victims, and we had heroes.”

The tornado of April 27 made the images of the worst terror attack in world history that much more real for George Tyler, a UA sophomore, who is also a member of the Air Force ROTC.

“Ten years after the fact, that we can bring this many people together is truly incredible,” Tyler said after the ceremony.

He joined a group of eight other ROTC members who sat wrapped in patriotic pride. “[Sept. 11] was a time in the country’s history that always needs to be remembered.”