Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 4, 1995 TAG: 9511060051
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANGIE CANNON KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Like hundreds of others, Carole Johnson found comfort in Friday's dedication of a memorial to the 270 people who perished when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland.
``While it is a recognition of what happened to 270 innocent people, it is also a reminder we have yet to get justice,'' said Johnson, of Pittsburgh, wearing a button of her smiling daughter, Beth Ann, who perished in the terrorist bombing on Dec. 21, 1988.
But while the day offered solace, many families feel frustrated that the bombers still are free nearly seven years later.
Across town, five Pan Am families boycotted the solemn services and pressed the Justice Department to release all the evidence against the two indicted Libyans. They plan to hold their own small service Saturday.
At Friday's ceremony, nearly 1,000 friends and relatives of the victims gathered in the rain at Arlington National Cemetery as President Clinton dedicated the Scottish monument, known as a cairn, and vowed that the United States would ``never, never relax our efforts'' to apprehend the bombers.
``Let us take this cairn as the sign of our bond with the victims of Pan Am 103 to remember the light they brought into so many lives, to work to bring justice down on those who committed the murders, to keep our own people safe and to rid the world of terrorism, and never to forget until this job is done,'' the president said.
Located under tall oak trees, the sandstone cairn is a gift from the people of Scotland. The stones, cut from a quarry near Lockerbie, form a tapering tower nearly 11 feet tall with the victims' names engraved at the base. The cairn is made up of 270 cobblestone-sized blocks, one for each life lost.
``Its pink sandstones appear to be uniform, but upon closer examination, each stone has its own unique characteristics ... a perfect representation of each victim ... so very similar, yet so unique,'' said Jane Schultz, whose son, Tom, died in the disaster. ``Its circle cannot be broken, therefore love never dies. A perfect thought on this day.''
by CNB