CINCINNATI — The impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — the deadliest in American history — still reverberates 22 years later, even in the Greater Cincinnati region.
Among the thousands of people killed that day were a few who called the Tri-State region home at one point.
Robert David Peraza lived in New York City and was a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He lived in the Loveland and Mason areas in the late 1990s.
During the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Robert's brother Neil, an Orlando resident, remembers being at work that Tuesday when he heard about the first plane hitting the north tower of the World Trade Center.
His brother was on the 104th floor of that building.
"I'd give it all back to have him, just to go get a beer with him and say hey how you doing," said Neil. "We talk about him all the time and my girls never met him, we talk about Rob all the time. My older brother was murdered on national television and that's a tough one to swallow."
Years earlier, Robert was playing rugby at St. Bonaventure University and graduated with an undergraduate degree and M.B.A. He moved back in with his parents for a brief time in Mason.
"Rob was a really gregarious guy he would just breathe life and love into a party or a setting," said Neil. "Then just packed up one day and said 'hey I'm going to New York City, I got a job' and we said 'are you nuts' and he said 'no I'm going to do it', and that's the kind of guy he was he had the guts to say 'I'm going to make this happen' and he was really on an amazing trajectory."
The anniversary of 9/11 has turned into the largest day of service throughout the U.S.
"He was full of love that's how I want folks to remember Rob," said Neil.
Remembering others killed in the attacks:
Wendy Faulkner, 47 years old — Faulkner was on the 104th floor of the South Tower at the World Trade Center for a business meeting when the second hijacked plane crashed into the building. She lived in Mason with her husband and two daughters.
Kelly Ann Booms, 24 years old — Booms lived in Brookline, Massachusetts. She was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11. She grew up in Blue Ash, graduated from Miami University and worked as an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Michael Gould, 29 years old — Gould was a securities trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. His family lives in Cincinnati.
Brian P. Williams, 29 years old — Williams was an Edgewood, Kentucky, native, and he graduated from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky. He lived in New York, and he was a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Doug M. Cherry, 38 years old — Cherry lived in Maplewood, New Jersey. He was vice president of the professional services group for Aon Insurance Group in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He grew up in Terrace Park, Ohio.
Catherine Salter, 37 years old — Salter was a University of Cincinnati graduate and a claims manager at Aon Insurance Group in Cincinnati before transferring to the company’s New York office in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
John Jenkins, 45 years old — Jenkins was a corporate services manager for Charles River Associates. He was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, and he had lived in Erlanger, Kentucky.
David M. Scales, 44 years old — Scales was a graduate of Boone County High School and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. The Cleveland native was a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel working in the Pentagon.
Martha Reszke, 56 years old — Reszke was a civilian employee of the Army budget office and a passenger on Flight 77. Her family lives in Liberty Township, Ohio.
Michael Francis Lynch, 30 years old — Lynch lived in New Hyde Park, New York. He was a firefighter at Ladder 4 in Midtown Manhattan helping at the World Trade Center. His family lives in Mason and Blue Ash, Ohio.
