"We are Virginia Tech"

[Judy G. Russell]

"We are Virginia Tech," the plaque reads. "We will prevail."

Thirty-two stones stand in a semi-circle on the drill field on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. They are called Hokie stones, and each one stands for a life senselessly cut short in a shooting rampage on the campus on April 16, 2007.

1. The memorial stands in front of Burruss Hall.

http://jgrussell.smugmug.com/photos/558565958_YXpTB-O.jpg

2. Nicole Regina White anchors one side;

http://jgrussell.smugmug.com/photos/558566256_ztsC7-O.jpg

3. Brian Roy Bluhm anchors the other side.

http://jgrussell.smugmug.com/photos/558566157_M3B3n-O.jpg

4. Birthdays are still remembered...

http://jgrussell.smugmug.com/photos/558566448_fXpcR-O.jpg

5. And the campus will never be the same...

http://jgrussell.smugmug.com/photos/558566541_Bgn2G-O.jpg

[Mike]

Thank you fro that. It's very moving.

[Judy G. Russell]

Thank you fro that. It's very moving.Thanks, Mike. It is a powerful scene, though not as much as the makeshift memorials after the shootings. Those were just heartbreaking... lots of handwritten notes and the like...

[Mike]

It is a powerful scene, though not as much as the makeshift memorials after the shootings.Agreed--the memorials with the personal, often intimate, touches are more heartbreaking. But the memorial you photographed has permanence....

[Judy G. Russell]

Agreed--the memorials with the personal, often intimate, touches are more heartbreaking. But the memorial you photographed has permanence....It does, and it needs to be there.