Never Forget: 13 faces lost at Columbine 18 years ago

Columbine 13 killed: Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey Depooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Valasquez, Dave Sanders

Never forget. These are the faces and the names of the 13 people killed April 20, 1999 at Columbine High:

Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey Depooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Valasquez, and Dave Sanders.

I'm always sad that I never got a chance to know them directly. I came to know them only later, secondhand, through their family and many friends, and it still hurts. I can hardly imagine what it's like for the people who lost them.

I'm so sorry. Each one of them has a wonderful story, and each one is a terrible loss. Eighteen years. This marks the year that most of the families have been living without them for longer than they had them. (Lauren's family will reach that day soon. Of course it's very different for Dave Sanders' family, and those women have such a special place in my heart. I'm thinking of all of you today.)

One small thing that makes me happier is gazing at these photos I took/compiled of Columbine 10 years after. It looks so peaceful and serene, which it is--especially compared to the page I also link there showing the destruction right after. It makes me happy that time does not heal all wounds, but it does heal some things, at least for the kids there now.

Here's a glimpse from that page: