Overwhelmed by emotion to the point of collapse, he is the broken father who has come to symbolise a nation's grief. Robert Peraza lost his son on 9/11 after he was trapped on the 104th floor of the North Tower, just above the gaping hole left in the building by the impact of American Airlines flight 11.
Although ten years have passed since his son Rob came down with the towers, Mr Peraza showed just how strong the feeling of loss still is for those who lost a loved one that day. As the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was opened today to families of victims, Mr Peraza touched his son's name, fell to his knees and lowered his head.
The same man later gathered the courage to rise the stairs to the podium where family members read the names of loved ones who perished during the terror attacks. Wearing a t-shirt bearing his son's face, Mr Peraza announced that he would 'never forget' his son. 'Rob, we love you,' he said. 'We are with you all the time and we'll never forget, we'll never forget, we'll never forget.'
Rob died aged 30 on 9/11, a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald who was trapped above the smash and never returned home afterwards. He was a keen sportsman, who played rugby for his university team and ran marathons. Just a month before the attacks he wrote his parents a four-page letter describing how happy he was with his life in New York. Soon after his father said: 'We're trying to honor him so his life will have a meaning. We're doing some good deeds, and some scholarships in his name, so that other people can be able to benefit from his life.'
Ron had gained an undergraduate degree and MBA from St. Bonaventure University, where he met the girl he was still dating when he died, Megan Cressy. Sometime in the almost two hours between the plane hitting and the North Tower going down, Rob perished. He was outlived by his parents, Robert and Suzanne, as well as a brother, Neil.
Since his passing his family have strived to keep his legacy alive. An annual Rugby Alumni weekend at St. Bonventure has been renamed in his honour, two scholarships have been set up in his name and a golf tournament named after him is run once a year.
Even before his father's striking gesture today, Rob's parents have previously spoken out. 'He was born in 1971 when they first started building the World Trade Center,' Rob's mother, Suzanne Peraza, said just days after the attacks. 'Now, 30 years later, in 2001, that's his coffin. That's what's been going through my mind.'
Although ten years have passed since his son Rob came down with the towers, Mr Peraza showed just how strong the feeling of loss still is for those who lost a loved one that day. As the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was opened today to families of victims, Mr Peraza touched his son's name, fell to his knees and lowered his head.
The same man later gathered the courage to rise the stairs to the podium where family members read the names of loved ones who perished during the terror attacks. Wearing a t-shirt bearing his son's face, Mr Peraza announced that he would 'never forget' his son. 'Rob, we love you,' he said. 'We are with you all the time and we'll never forget, we'll never forget, we'll never forget.'
Rob died aged 30 on 9/11, a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald who was trapped above the smash and never returned home afterwards. He was a keen sportsman, who played rugby for his university team and ran marathons. Just a month before the attacks he wrote his parents a four-page letter describing how happy he was with his life in New York. Soon after his father said: 'We're trying to honor him so his life will have a meaning. We're doing some good deeds, and some scholarships in his name, so that other people can be able to benefit from his life.'
Ron had gained an undergraduate degree and MBA from St. Bonaventure University, where he met the girl he was still dating when he died, Megan Cressy. Sometime in the almost two hours between the plane hitting and the North Tower going down, Rob perished. He was outlived by his parents, Robert and Suzanne, as well as a brother, Neil.
Since his passing his family have strived to keep his legacy alive. An annual Rugby Alumni weekend at St. Bonventure has been renamed in his honour, two scholarships have been set up in his name and a golf tournament named after him is run once a year.
Even before his father's striking gesture today, Rob's parents have previously spoken out. 'He was born in 1971 when they first started building the World Trade Center,' Rob's mother, Suzanne Peraza, said just days after the attacks. 'Now, 30 years later, in 2001, that's his coffin. That's what's been going through my mind.'
