Taylor Perry was in third grade on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, but she remembers much.
The images of destruction were on televisions all the time and everyone at school was talking about it.
Now, as a teenager and Mitchell High School senior, she said she understands the importance of honoring the military personnel, firefighters, police officers and civilians who died that day.
And she and fellow members of Mitchell’s Air Force JROTC did just that on Friday morning.
Perry is the support group commander of Mitchell’s Air Force JROTC, which has held a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony for several years.
“I feel very honored to be part of the ceremony,” she said, noting that she’s participated for three years.
“It’s a great tragedy and we should always remember those who have fallen,” Raul Castillo, wing commander, said after Friday’s ceremony, which included music by Mitchell singers, the raising of the flag, a 21-gun salute by a police honor guard and fire truck sirens.
The ceremony was attended by other students, parents and community members, including firefighters and police officers.
About 100 of the JROTC’s 300-plus cadets participate in the annual ceremony, said Lt. Col. Keith Woodfork, who leads the JROTC program. Usually, it’s mostly upperclassmen who volunteer, Woodfork said.
Lt. Fred Varnell of Colorado Springs Fire Department Station No. 7 said the station has participated in the memorial ceremony for several years.
“These are our kids,” he said, adding that firefighters participate to support the school and the community.
It’s impressive and inspiring to watch the JROTC wing perform, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to drill with such precision, Varnell said.
“It gets better every year,” he said.
Mitchell High School has a personal link to the terror attacks of 2001. A flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 175 graduated from Mitchell in 1975 and her family still lives in the area. Kathryn Yancey LaBorie was on the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Center.
“We need to always remember the sacrifices that were made,” Varnell said. That includes police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and civilians who rushed in to help, and the military members who died in the ensuing military action.
“There was a lot of courage that day.”
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Contact the writer at 636-0162.
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