Melrose Holds 9/11 Anniversary Ceremony: ‘We Need To Remember’

MELROSE, MA — Melrose community members gathered outside City Hall on Sunday morning for a brief ceremony to mark the 21st anniversary of the September 11th Attacks.

Now more than two decades after Sept. 11, 2001, this weekend’s ceremony saw speeches from Mayor Paul Brodeur and First Baptist Church of Melrose Pastor Terron Tuckett, who both recalled moments of unity in the wake of the attacks.

“The things that bring us together as a country and as a people are so much bigger than what divides us,” Brodeur said.

Tuckett discussed a member of his church community at the time who died on Sept. 11.

“In the midst of that pain, we as a community came together and certainly, we as a nation came together,” he said.

Attendees observed a moment of silence around 9:03 a.m. to reflect on the moment that Flight 175 struck the second tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Locally, in Melrose, Brodeur noted the loss of Raymond Rocha. Born and raised in Melrose, Rocha was 29 when he died on Sept. 11. He was a broker with Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment firm with offices in the World Trade Center, as noted in his obituary in the Boston Globe.

“Everyone Raymond J. Rocha met, it seemed, became part of his large family, and he was constantly in touch,” his New York Times obituary separately said.

Rocha played football at Melrose High School, where his number 17 jersey now hangs on display in his memory.

With new generations taking the field in recent years, Brodeur noted a special need to ensure that the memories of Rocha and the many others lost on Sept. 11 remain alive.

“He is a symbol, as are all the folks that we lost on that day,” Brodeur said. “And we need to remember.”