By CATHERINE TSAI
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) - One by one, students, parents and neighbors arrived at Columbine High School on Tuesday to remember those killed five years ago in the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
Retirees Les and Vi Fast, who live nearby, walked across a field near Columbine in the morning sun. Like others, they said they were here for quiet reflection.
"We just can't believe something like this could have happened in such a beautiful community," Vi Fast said.
Her husband added: "Having been a schoolteacher myself, I was thinking of Dave Sanders," the teacher who bled to death while authorities waited to enter Columbine.
Five years ago, on April 20, 1999, Columbine students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and Sanders before committing suicide. The anniversary forced many to come to grips with an unspeakable violence.
"I just want today to be a peaceful day to remember and to hope for the future," said Kallen Dunn, 36, who went with her son, Michael, a 15-year-old Columbine student.
"Certain days are harder than others. This is one of them," said Joe Kechter, whose son, Matt, was among those killed. "We were told by counselors that the fifth would be harder. I don't know the reason but it is true. I wish there were other things we could have done today."
Erin Walton was one of the last survivors to escape that day, stepping over the bodies of classmates as she fled.
"It's very, very hard to be in a school atmosphere," she said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I always carry that with me and I always have to be in a room with a window and a door. It's a comfort zone for me."
The school sat empty Tuesday, its 1,700 students given the day off. The building has been overhauled since the tragedy, with a new library replacing the room where 10 of the students were slain.
A memorial and candlelight vigil were planned for Tuesday evening in Clement Park, the sprawling field that virtually surrounds the school. Speakers were expected to include Anne Marie Hochhalter, paralyzed from wounds inflicted by the killers, and Dawn Anna, whose daughter, Lauren Townsend, was killed by the gunmen.
Mark Taylor, who was hit by more than a dozen bullets, still has one lodged near his heart. Featured in the Michael Moore film "Bowling for Columbine," Taylor often speaks to church and student groups about what happened.
"I think my healing is going across the country and sharing my story with others and seeing other people's lives touched by it," he said on ABC. "That's a form of healing for me."
The students who were enrolled at Columbine then are long gone; the 1998-99 freshmen class graduated two years ago. But brothers and students of those wounded in the attack are still here.
Among them is Maggie Ireland, sister of Patrick Ireland, who became known to TV viewers throughout the nation as "the boy in the window" because of his dangling escape onto an armored car.
"It's most definitely something I think about every day," Michael Shoels, father of slain student Isaiah Shoels, said on NBC's "Today."
"But, you know, we can't wallow in victimhood," he said. "Under the circumstances, we need to get out there and do something about it." He said he takes a message of peace around the country, "something on this Earth that is meant for me to do."
The only administrator left from 1999 is Principal Frank DeAngelis, who said staying at Columbine helped keep him sane.
"People ask me all the time when will that magical day occur in which Columbine will return to normal?" he said on ABC. "I don't think we'll ever return to normal."
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On the Net:
Columbine Memorial: http://www.columbinememorial.org
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) - One by one, students, parents and neighbors arrived at Columbine High School on Tuesday to remember those killed five years ago in the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
Retirees Les and Vi Fast, who live nearby, walked across a field near Columbine in the morning sun. Like others, they said they were here for quiet reflection.
"We just can't believe something like this could have happened in such a beautiful community," Vi Fast said.
Her husband added: "Having been a schoolteacher myself, I was thinking of Dave Sanders," the teacher who bled to death while authorities waited to enter Columbine.
Five years ago, on April 20, 1999, Columbine students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and Sanders before committing suicide. The anniversary forced many to come to grips with an unspeakable violence.
"I just want today to be a peaceful day to remember and to hope for the future," said Kallen Dunn, 36, who went with her son, Michael, a 15-year-old Columbine student.
"Certain days are harder than others. This is one of them," said Joe Kechter, whose son, Matt, was among those killed. "We were told by counselors that the fifth would be harder. I don't know the reason but it is true. I wish there were other things we could have done today."
Erin Walton was one of the last survivors to escape that day, stepping over the bodies of classmates as she fled.
"It's very, very hard to be in a school atmosphere," she said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I always carry that with me and I always have to be in a room with a window and a door. It's a comfort zone for me."
The school sat empty Tuesday, its 1,700 students given the day off. The building has been overhauled since the tragedy, with a new library replacing the room where 10 of the students were slain.
A memorial and candlelight vigil were planned for Tuesday evening in Clement Park, the sprawling field that virtually surrounds the school. Speakers were expected to include Anne Marie Hochhalter, paralyzed from wounds inflicted by the killers, and Dawn Anna, whose daughter, Lauren Townsend, was killed by the gunmen.
Mark Taylor, who was hit by more than a dozen bullets, still has one lodged near his heart. Featured in the Michael Moore film "Bowling for Columbine," Taylor often speaks to church and student groups about what happened.
"I think my healing is going across the country and sharing my story with others and seeing other people's lives touched by it," he said on ABC. "That's a form of healing for me."
The students who were enrolled at Columbine then are long gone; the 1998-99 freshmen class graduated two years ago. But brothers and students of those wounded in the attack are still here.
Among them is Maggie Ireland, sister of Patrick Ireland, who became known to TV viewers throughout the nation as "the boy in the window" because of his dangling escape onto an armored car.
"It's most definitely something I think about every day," Michael Shoels, father of slain student Isaiah Shoels, said on NBC's "Today."
"But, you know, we can't wallow in victimhood," he said. "Under the circumstances, we need to get out there and do something about it." He said he takes a message of peace around the country, "something on this Earth that is meant for me to do."
The only administrator left from 1999 is Principal Frank DeAngelis, who said staying at Columbine helped keep him sane.
"People ask me all the time when will that magical day occur in which Columbine will return to normal?" he said on ABC. "I don't think we'll ever return to normal."
___
On the Net:
Columbine Memorial: http://www.columbinememorial.org
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
