Vice president, governor join in remembrance of the slain Columbine High students

By Mike Anton
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

By the tens of thousands they came, clutching flowers and teddy bears, seeking God's guidance under a weeping sky.

They turned a suburban mall's parking lot into their church Sunday -- more than 70,000 people, according to the Secret Service, twice the number expected, a crowd that flowed out into the streets and surrounding neighborhood.

A crowd that was utterly silent.

They came to share their suffering, and to lean on one another. To begin the healing, and to celebrate courage. And to pledge that Tuesday's deaths at Columbine High School were not in vain.

"What say we into the open muzzle of this tragedy, cocked and aimed at our hearts?" Vice President Al Gore asked.

"All of us must change our lives to honor these children. Somewhere in the reach of every adult in this country is a child to hold and teach, a child to save. We must teach them right from wrong. We must protect them from the violence and the cruelty in our popular culture.

"The human heart responds to goodness. I believe this. I wouldn't think life worth living if it were not so."

Jonathan and Stephen Cohen opened the memorial service in the Bowles Crossing Shopping Center with a song of hope the Columbine students helped write in the days after the massacre.

Columbine, friend of mine.

Peace will come to you in time.

It was a theme repeated again and again, a promise that wounds, fresh and raw now, one day will heal.

"Not only do I mourn with you, the entire nation mourns," the Rev. Franklin Graham said. "We cannot reverse the hand of destruction. But in your grief, I hope you can sense the arms of our nation reaching out to you.

"We ask, why? How can something like this happen? Why does God allow it? I don't have answers, friends. But I do know this: I do know that there is a God. He loves you. He cares for you. And one day he will bring justice and make all things right."

There were people in suits and ties, sweatshirts and ball caps, cowboy hats, even black T-shirts, black jeans and combat boots.

They started arriving hours in advance. Volunteers handed out lilies and roses. New Testaments and tissue. Thousands of blue and white balloons that eventually filled the slate gray sky with Columbine's colors.

At one point, a group of students began to chant.

"We are," they shouted, pep-rally style, and another group answered back, "Columbine!"

"We will stand with you shoulder to shoulder as you face your future," Gov. Bill Owens told them. "As we learn more about this, we learn how short of their goal the killers fell. Yes, they took far too many precious lives. But they failed in their goal of killing hundreds more and to burn the school to the ground.

"Behind you, scarred but still standing, is Columbine High School. Through all of the pain, one thing is clear: This community will not be beaten."

At the end of the service, four fighter jets roared overhead. One plane, flown by Capt. Scott VanBek, a 1986 Columbine graduate and a pilot with the Colorado Air National Guard, peeled away in a salute to the dead.

Thirteen doves fluttered into the sky after them, one for each of the slaying victims: Cassie and Steven. Corey and Kelly. Matthew, Daniel, Dan and Rachel. Isaiah, John, Lauren and Kyle. And one for Mr. Sanders.

"Coach Sanders, I love you and I will miss you," senior Amber Burgess told the crowd. "I know that each day your memory will push me to become a better person and live my life to its fullest."

Some listened to her, standing alone with dark circles under their eyes. Others formed tight groups and prayed. Red-eyed couples entwined like strands of rope. Parents hugged their children like they never would again.

So many of them drained and dazed.

"I'm so numb," said Debbie Bowman.

And with that, she spoke for them all.

News staff writers Brian Weber, Tustin Amole, Carla Crowder and M.E. Sprengelmeyer contributed to this report.