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At the Va. Tech Memorial Service

August 19, 2007

By Rex Bowman

BLACKSBURG — Thousands of members of the Virginia Tech community gathered on the campus Drillfield today to dedicate a memorial to the 32 students and teachers killed in an April 16, 2007 massacre.

The ceremony began when Tech's Corps of Cadets color guard marched onto the field.

Thousands of students, teachers and administrators then listened as the Highty-Tighties, the Corps marching band, played the national anthem.

The memorial, a collection of 32 gray Hokie stones, arranged in a semi-circle, replaces a temporary monument created by students in the days following the April 16 massacre.

The stones from the original memorial were taken by students from a construction site on campus. Those stones will be offered to families of the 32 victims.

Student gunman Seung-Hui Cho, 23 of Centreville, killed 32 students and teachers before killing himself.

Rex Bowman is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Photos

Brown (he preferred not to use his first name), a Virginia Tech cadet, stands guard at the memorial on the drillfield Sunday morning, August 19, 2007, hours before the memorial dedication ceremony. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Brown (he preferred not to use his first name), a Virginia Tech cadet, stands guard at the memorial on the drillfield Sunday morning, August 19, 2007, hours before the memorial dedication ceremony.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Allison Cook and her father, Paul Cook, stand near the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech on Sunday, August 19, 2007. Allison was shot three times during the April 16 shootings. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Allison Cook and her father, Paul Cook, stand near the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech on Sunday, August 19, 2007. Allison was shot three times during the April 16 shootings.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Boxes containing the original stones placed at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, can be seen on Sunday near the permanent stones etched with the names of the victims from the April shootings. Smaller stones were also placed on top of the permanent stones for representatives from the families of the victims to take with them during the ceremony. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch).

Boxes containing the original stones placed at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, can be seen on Sunday near the permanent stones etched with the names of the victims from the April shootings. Smaller stones were also placed on top of the permanent stones for representatives from the families of the victims to take with them during the ceremony.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

The families of the victims were the first to visit the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The families of the victims were the first to visit the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Renee Cloyd, mother of Austin Michelle Cloyd, visits her daughter's stone at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech on Sunday, August 19, 2007, hours before the memorial dedication ceremony. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Renee Cloyd, mother of Austin Michelle Cloyd, visits her daughter's stone at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech on Sunday, August 19, 2007, hours before the memorial dedication ceremony.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

The families of the victims were the first to visit the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The families of the victims were the first to visit the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia Tech junior Derek O'Dell, of Roanoke, visits the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007. O'Dell was injured in the April 16 shootings. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Virginia Tech junior Derek O'Dell, of Roanoke, visits the memorial on the Virginia Tech drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007. O'Dell was injured in the April 16 shootings.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Members of the Virginia Tech community gather on the drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007, for the dedication of the memorial to those killed in the April 16 shootings. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Members of the Virginia Tech community gather on the drillfield on Sunday, August 19, 2007, for the dedication of the memorial to those killed in the April 16 shootings.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Boxes containing the original stones placed at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, can be seen on Sunday near the permanent stones etched with the names of the victims from the April shootings. (Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Boxes containing the original stones placed at the memorial on the drillfield at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, can be seen on Sunday near the permanent stones etched with the names of the victims from the April shootings.
Photo: Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch