Columbine memorial ceremony draws crowd

~ The memorial will feature a water fountain and one station for each of the victims.

LITTLETON, Colo. -- On any other day, with any other crowd, a thunderstorm might have ruined the moment.

For the families of the 13 people slain at Columbine High School seven years ago, the dark sky almost seemed a fitting backdrop for the groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the long-delayed memorial to the victims.

"It was just like the day we buried Daniel," said Tom Mauser, whose son was killed in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. "It rained, and then the sun came out, bright sunshine. Today reminded me of that."

Former President Bill Clinton attended the ceremony -- his second fund-raising visit to the school -- and pledged $50,000 toward the memorial.

"I am here today because millions of Americans were changed by Columbine. It was one of the darkest days Hillary and I had in the White House," Clinton said. "This memorial is not only so you don't forget the people you love, but through your lives you honor theirs."

Memorial on Rebel Hill

About 2,000 people huddled through a rainstorm and light hail. At times, speakers paused as thunder rolled across the suburban Denver park.

"We're here to remember them, this day and every day hereafter," said Dawn Anna Beck, mother of slain student Lauren Townsend. "We're here as a family and as a community that's been through the darkest of days and is coming through to the light."

The memorial will always be a place to reflect on how lives were changed on April 20, 1999 -- and to know better those who were lost that day, she said.

"This is kind of hallowed ground to us and to the students," Gary Radtke said of Rebel Hill, the memorial site about 500 yards from the school.

"This is where everybody came to grieve after the shootings," said Radtke, whose son, Mark, was among the victims. "We've been waiting for seven years, after all the makeshift memorials, for a permanent one."

Organizers said $250,000 is still needed to pay for the $1.5 million monument to the 12 students and teacher shot to death by suicidal classmates Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

Help in healing

Construction of the memorial was delayed because parents worked to raze the school library where most of the victims were killed. Almost two years passed before everyone agreed on the scope and design of the memorial.

The memorial will feature a water fountain, an inner Ring of Remembrance and an outer Ring of Healing. There will be one station for each of the victims, and the words of those killed. Messages from their families will be engraved on the outer ring.

Among those in the crowd was Patricia Nielson, an art teacher who was wounded in the attack and huddled under a desk as the killers executed their classmates in the library.

Nielson said she was impressed Clinton has made two visits to Colorado to help. After the ceremony, the former president chatted with many of those in attendance and hugged some of them in the rain.

"I think it will really help us heal," she said.

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On the Net:

Columbine Memorial: http://www.columbinememorial.org