United Airlines installs 9/11 memorial at Denver headquarters in memory of 18 employees killed 25 years ago

In Denver, a memorial now stands Friday for the United Airlines workers killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C and Pennsylvania. Eighteen crew members died when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the north tower and when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania 25 years ago.

United Airlines dedicated a memorial at its Denver headquarters in honor of its employees among the fallen 25 years to the day of the 9/11 attacks. It is two steel beams from the World Trade Center planted in the ground at HQ, meant to resemble the buildings they came from. There are also 18 shrubs surrounding the beams, one for each employee lost.  

"So much time has passed since an event that I remember so vividly," said pilot Miles Morgan, a captain with United Airlines.

Morgan said it's hard to convey how much different his life is now compared to when 9/11 happened. 

"My career, which was at the time, 25 years ago, just beginning and had so much runway ahead of it, is now starting to wind down," Morgan explained.

Morgan was a young airbus pilot for United when terrorists hijacked four planes and used them to attack the United States. He says, on that fateful day, he was crushed to learn he lost coworkers in the attacks.

"So I really think that this monument for us is a way to keep our people connected to the history of United, which has made us so great into who we are today," Morgan said.

Capt. Morgan says, these days, there are pilots and airline crew members who visit to train in Denver who don't remember the terrorist attacks. So he thinks it's important to have the new memorial at the facility.

"It's so important to be a steward of history and to remember the people that laid the foundation for who we are today. If you forget that, you make more mistakes in the future," Morgan said.