Tears, remembrances, and calls for unity and rededication during Sept. 11th Space Coast memorials
PALM BAY — The dark days that followed the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York were filled with unyielding tragedy but also camaraderie, duty, and honor, a retired New York firefighter said during a memorial Sunday.
“Needless to say, it was tough on all the senses,” retired New York Fire Department Cmdr. LeRoy Haynes said, speaking to a crowd of about 150 people at Palm Bay’s Patriot Day memorial service, held in front of City Hall.
The Patriot Day gathering — one of several in Brevard County on Sunday — marked the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks, carried out by 19 Islamic extremists who hijacked four airliners, targeted the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon and Capitol in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, leading to a global war on terrorism and two-decades-long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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In Viera, a metal beam from one of the World Trade Center towers was the site of a memorial at The Avenue Viera. In Merritt Island, others also planned to pay tribute to the fallen.
In Palm Bay, City Council members, firefighters, and police braved the afternoon heat and threatening skies to honor those killed on 9/11. Two ladder trucks from Palm Bay Fire Rescue hoisted a giant American flag for display.
"Each of the lives lost on Sept. 11th had a meaning and a purpose," Mayor Rob Medina told the audience. "Our nation became one voice."
For Michael Moody, the memorial was a necessary tribute to the men and women — including his brother — who died in the attacks. Moody, a retired New York firefighter, was in Satellite Beach watching the unfolding events in real time that day in 2001.
Later he heard of the heroics of his brother Thomas Moody, who ascended one of the towers before dying in the building's burning collapse in lower Manhattan. Moody, who spoke to the crowd, choked back emotion as he recalled the story. His brother, he said, left behind a widow and four children.
"His name is on the memorial slab at the reflecting pool. That's my brother," he said, adding that his sibling was one of 343 firefighters killed that day.
He also called on audience members to recall the sacrifice of those who toiled in the burning wreckage of the towers in the weeks and months that followed."Many of them are still suffering," he pointed out.
"We must never forget," Moody said.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Firefighters recall dark days of 9-11 during Space Coast memorials
