In a solemn ceremony that had many in a crowd of some 300 people shedding tears, the University of Miami held a candlelight vigil on Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a day most everyone in attendance agreed began like any other but ended like no other.

“Look around you,” UM President Donna E. Shalala said. “In a way, you are all children of 9/11.”

Those who attended the solemn ceremony, held on the University Center Rock in front the UM Bookstore, heard from first responders who served on Miami-Dade’s urban search-and-rescue team that went to Ground Zero.

Search team manager Jack “Pat” Selts recalled seeing the massive debris field created by the collapsed World Trade Center Towers and wondering just where to begin search efforts.

Jack Swerdloff, a second-generation firefighter, said his team members usually are able rescue a handful of victims from disasters such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, sites where the team has been deployed. But there were no such rescues in New York. “It was a quiet ride home,” he said.

President Shalala recognized the men and women in uniform who helped save lives during the tragic events of ten years ago and the days that followed.

Over the next few days, a banner for students, faculty, and staff members to sign their prayers and thoughts will be available at the University Center.