Mitchell High School holds 9/11 Memorial to honor graduate who died on United Flight 175

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Mitchell High School students and community members gathered Friday for the school's annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony to remember the people who died that day, including a Mitchell High graduate.

This year marks 20 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks. During the memorial, the national anthem played, the American flag hung at half-staff, and a photo of Kathryn Yancy LaBorie stood in front of Mitchel High School.

LaBorie, a 1975 Mitchell High School graduate, was a flight attendant aboard United Flight 175, the second plane that crashed into the south tower.

Every year, her family comes to the ceremony to remember her.

"I hate to think about it, what happened," said Gene Yancey, her father. "Kathryn was trying to keep those terrorists out of the flight cabin where the pilots were."

The Mitchell High School's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, joined by Colorado Springs firefighters and police officers, commemorated LaBorie, along with others who died.

While the JROTC cadets weren't actually alive when 9/11 happened, several said this ceremony helps keep LaBorie's memory alive and educate others on the attack.

During Friday's ceremony, a Mitchell High School student was awarded a $1,000 scholarship in honor of LaBorie.