Paying respects to Holocaust survivor
Posted Apr16, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Three hours after the commemoration ended, the line at the candle stretched out to 60 people who wait about 20 minutes each to take photos, stand for a moment of silence or, in some cases, lay flowers by the memorial.
One who brought flowers was Alyssa Durben, a geography major who wasn’t a student at Virginia Tech last year, but transferred in since. She brought a single pink chrysanthemum. She said the emotion of the day prevented her from attending the commemoration service, but “I wanted to come now and leave this flower, especially for the Holocaust survivor [Liviu Librescu]. I didn’t know he was one until I saw it on TV. It broke my heart.”
She said the scene on the Drillfield by this point in the afternoon had become typical for a spring day. There was spontaneous laughter from various parts of the green, which was not heard during this morning’s solemn service. About 500 people played Frisbee, played football, sunbathed or walked their dogs.
-- Rob Johnson
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