8:35 p.m., War Memorial, Virginia Tech



On his perch on the gray ledge of the War Memorial, Henry Bodenstein, 21, wiped away tears with his sleeve. Moments before he had been sitting with friends, joking and answering his cellphone.

Bodenstein sat high above the crowd in a maroon shirt with “We are Virginia Tech” printed across the back. When the vigil ended, it closed the same way as last year’s candlelit ceremony after the shooting, with the crowd shouting, in a deep echo: “Hokies!”

He joined the masses, his voice rising into the air, shouting “Hokies” in return. He watched the crowd with its flickering candles scatter across the Drillfield. Sitting on the ledge, he put his arms around the shoulders of two friends and watched the ceremonies end.

Submitted by Erinn Hutkin | The Roanoke Times