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March 18, 2008

Yankees pay homage at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - The New York Yankees made a pilgrimage Tuesday to the Virginia Tech memorial dedicated to the campus shooting victims.

Along with about 200 onlookers, the Yankees viewed 32 stone memorials to the victims of the shooting rampage on April 16 at the Blacksburg campus.

The players were dressed in street clothes as they filed past the stones, then paused to look toward the classroom building where all but two of the gunman's victims were slain.

Tech President Charles Steger briefly addressed the players. The Yankees were to play Virginia Tech later Tuesday in an exhibition game.

In May, the Yankees made a $1 million contribution to the Virginia Tech "Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. "

The fund is designed to cover expenses such as grief counseling, memorials and other costs for the victims and their families. Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people in two campus buildings before committing suicide.

Students who came to see the Yankees said the players will help the healing process on campus.

"It gets our minds off what happened for a while," said Led Smith, a sophomore from Parsippany, N.J.

Matt Weaver, a sophomore from Springfield, Va., said he and his father attended the Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox when the $1 million gift was announced.

He said experiencing the support made him realize how many people were affected by the mass shootings.

Dave Wechtaluk, of Elmira, N.Y, said he was impressed by the generosity of George Steinbrenner and the presence of the Yankees.

Wechtaluk, whose wife is a faculty member and son attends Tech, was happy about the visit for the students' sake.

"You look at these young people. They've grown up awfully fast," he said.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:43 PM | Permalink

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