OK - Murrah Building bombing, Oklahoma City, 19 April 1995

[DollyPardonMe]

And now it's fifteen years since the Murrah horror. In 1995, I was a teacher at a small Oklahoma college when the call came in and faculty gathered around a small black & white TV, the only thing then available in our building. Disbelief. Too shocking for tears - just...disbelief, a kind of cosmic disconnect from reality of what had just happened in-state, just 200 miles away. Who did this? Surely an act of terror - and even then, to me, it seemed very, very possible that this particular terror was home-grown. And so it turned out to be.

A couple weeks later I was in OKC, across the street from the Murrah Building. Still so shocking that even a normally talkative teacher could be silenced. The horror. The who, what, where, and when were well-established; the "how" was in the process of being decided. As for the "why" - who can understand the machinations of a mad mind? Why. And is it a wonder that, when I see right-wing anti-government protests these days, I think of Tim McVeigh, and I remember the Murrah?

15 years later, what haunts me are Rebecca's screams
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/blogs/weblog.aspx?column_id=29

Oklahoma City marks 15 years since bombing
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-mar...article/3455146?custom_click=headlines_widget

15 years later, victims, residents remember Oklahoma City bombing
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/19/okc.bombing.anniversary/?hpt=C2
(don't miss the video interviews with four child survivors)

Re: The article "15 years later what haunts me are Rebecca's screams".

When my EX-Husband was in the USAF we were stationed at Tinker AFB in Midwest City, Oklahoma. My kids were old enough now that I could work and didnt have to leave them with a sitter. My first job in what seemed forever was at a company called Emergency Physicians Billing Service. I worked with "Rebecca" here. She was the funniest girl you would ever want to know. That Oklahoma accent and stories of her kids would just keep you enthralled! She decided to leave EPBS and go to school to become a nurse. On the day of the Oklahoma bombing she was off-duty. She had heard about the bombing and literally ran down to the Murrah building to try and help. While trying to help with the wounded a bunch of debris fell on her head. She died about 5 days later and left behind a husband and 4 children. She gave the gift of life to several because she was an organ donor. I wouldnt have expected anything else from such a sweet person..I still miss her smile!

 

[fran]

Thank you DMP. The thanks button just didn't seem enough. I appreciate your first hand experience with one of the special people who lost their life that day, as a result of one man's ................I don't even have words..

When I traveled across the U.S. this past summer, I had two 23 yo's with me. They don't remember the OKC bombing, they were just babies then. When my sis took me to the memorial, I didn't even ask them if they wanted to go and they just didn't understand. They do now,..............it's in-line with the Twin Towers horror. They REMEMBER that, as they were in HS.....

NOW they get it!

The day my sis took me to the memorial, it was much more emotional than I projected in my previous post. At least for me. My sis and I talked in whispers. It was like we were talking to those no longer able to speak.....



DMP, did you know that your acquaintance has a special place in the memorial?

http://www.nps.gov/okci/faqs.htm

8. Why are the chairs arranged the way they are and what do they represent?
The chairs have been arranged in nine rows, which represent the nine floors of the Murrah Building. Each individual’s chair was placed on the row (or the floor) they worked on or were visiting when the bomb went off. The chairs were grouped by agency and in alphabetical order within that agency whether the person was employed in that agency or visiting. The five chairs located in the western most column represents the five people killed who were not in the Murrah Building at the time of the bombing. Two were in the Oklahoma Water Resources Building, one person was in the Athenian Building, one person was outside the building near the blast and the fifth chair represents the nurse who lost her life in the rescue efforts.Both the Water Resources Board building and the Athenian Building were so heavily damaged they had to be torn down.

The chairs have also been arranged to abstractly reflect the outline of the blast cavity of the Murrah Building with the heaviest concentration reflecting the heaviest damage to the building.



Just as we'll 'NEVER FORGET' 9/11, we'll NEVER FORGET OKC!

Such a tragedy,
fran
:rose:

 

[DollyPardonMe]

Thank you DMP. The thanks button just didn't seem enough. I appreciate your first hand experience with one of the special people who lost their life that day, as a result of one man's ................I don't even have words..

When I traveled across the U.S. this past summer, I had two 23 yo's with me. They don't remember the OKC bombing, they were just babies then. When my sis took me to the memorial, I didn't even ask them if they wanted to go and they just didn't understand. They do now,..............it's in-line with the Twin Towers horror. They REMEMBER that, as they were in HS.....

NOW they get it!

The day my sis took me to the memorial, it was much more emotional than I projected in my previous post. At least for me. My sis and I talked in whispers. It was like we were talking to those no longer able to speak.....



DMP, did you know that your acquaintance has a special place in the memorial?

http://www.nps.gov/okci/faqs.htm

8. Why are the chairs arranged the way they are and what do they represent?
The chairs have been arranged in nine rows, which represent the nine floors of the Murrah Building. Each individual’s chair was placed on the row (or the floor) they worked on or were visiting when the bomb went off. The chairs were grouped by agency and in alphabetical order within that agency whether the person was employed in that agency or visiting. The five chairs located in the western most column represents the five people killed who were not in the Murrah Building at the time of the bombing. Two were in the Oklahoma Water Resources Building, one person was in the Athenian Building, one person was outside the building near the blast and the fifth chair represents the nurse who lost her life in the rescue efforts.Both the Water Resources Board building and the Athenian Building were so heavily damaged they had to be torn down.

The chairs have also been arranged to abstractly reflect the outline of the blast cavity of the Murrah Building with the heaviest concentration reflecting the heaviest damage to the building.



Just as we'll 'NEVER FORGET' 9/11, we'll NEVER FORGET OKC!

Such a tragedy,
fran
:rose:

Thank you Fran! I will remember that...Remember was the 5th chair!

 

[SoccerMom]

I was pregnant with my oldest child when this happened, and I remember just staring at the TV and sobbing. And the picture of little Bailey haunts me to this day. I cannot even think of it without tearing up. My daughter was born on May 23, 1995- the day that they brought the Murrah building down. That is what is on the front page of the paper that we saved for her baby book. I keep it in the back of the book, where my younger children have never seen it. :*(

 

[wfgodot]

And we must always remember them - the victims and their families and friends. Some links from this morning as OK Gov. Fallin speaks live at the Murrah site (should have had this thread up earlier and linked to the speech but am running behind).

Oklahoma City Bombing’s Unanswered Questions in New Book (Daily Beast)

Oklahoma City tree planting remembers 9/11, Murrah Building bombing (Daily Oklahoman)

Remembering The Oklahoma City Bombing 17 Years Later (ktul.com)

Bombing still sparks emotions (Norman Transcript)

Oklahoma City's 17th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony (Daily Oklahoman)

 

[Tuffy]

Wow, has it been 17 years? I can still clearly picture the look on Tim McVeigh's face when they brought him to jail. *shudder* A look of just stone cold indifference.

 

[wfgodot]

I was in the City about a week after the bombing. The Murrah Building still stood, its face blown off. I'm rarely speechless but seeing the destruction hatred caused really left me in a dark silence, brooding. Where there's sorrow there is holy ground, and the ground where the Murrah once stood is sanctified by the deaths of the innocent. We must never forget the cost of terror, or those who died on 19 April 1995 will have died in vain; we can't allow that to happen.

 

[Sooner Fan#1]

I distinctly remember.

God Bless

 

[Tuffy]

I was in the City about a week after the bombing. The Murrah Building still stood, its face blown off. I'm rarely speechless but seeing the destruction hatred caused really left me in a dark silence, brooding. Where there's sorrow there is holy ground, and the ground where the Murrah once stood is sanctified by the deaths of the innocent. We must never forget the cost of terror, or those who died on 19 April 1995 will have died in vain; we can't allow that to happen.

I only saw pictures and video of the aftermath. I can only imagine what it would feel like to see it in person. There is something terribly wrong with a person when they have a beef with the government, and they take it out in such brutal way on Innocent office workers and their children.

 

[Herding Cats]

I will not forget. I cannot forget.

Thanks for the post, WFGodot.

Best-
Herding Cats

 

[wfgodot]

It seems like yesterday; and it seems so long ago. I remember my colleague Bob getting a phone call from one of our former students from OKC, calling from there with the breaking news. My building didn't even have cable, so the third floor faculty watched the horror unfold on a 12" black and white TV with an iffy antenna, teachers getting out of class replacing others on their way to class, huddled around the set. It was shocking; it was unreal; it was in our state, and less than 200 miles away.

 

[tk71texas]

i remember like it was yesterday......i was 23 and had never cried so much in my life. All those people and so close to home. I'm from Tulsa and it was very emotional for me.

 

[angelmom]

Never forget.

My oldest was 4 months old and I just remember holding him and crying. It felt like the world was ending.


:cry:

 

[myzzy]

thank you, Its been so long, yet the mention of it makes it feel like yesterday.. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who lives were lost.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

It's one of those days you will always remember where you were at when you heard the news. I was at lunch having a salad at a local sports grill.

I was young. 20 years old. Newly married.

Just last year, my DD's softball team went to play a big tournament in OKC.
We visited the museum while we were there. Breathtaking! They did such a great job on that.

My prayers and thoughts are with all the loved ones today.

 

[noZme]

I remember well. A couple friends were with me at the beach, we came in from our morning jog & had left the tv on.... most of that day we watched & cried. Our wonderful spring holiday at the beach was quite a contrast to the people who were beginning their day as usual, going to work & then all hell broke loose.

Tuffy, I too remember McV's stone cold demeanor & have many more indelible "snapshots" in my memory from that day. So much horror, but also heroism. God Bless them.

 

[Kat]

Yes I remember, I was sitting in Kaiserslautern Germany watching AFN (armed forces network) one month away from delivering my 4th child. Also seeing the picture of Baylee. I've never forgotten her name.

 

[LiveLaughLuv]

My hearfelt sympathies to all the families who have lost their loved ones.

May All their Souls Rest in Peace :rose:

 

[Sooner Fan#1]

Thanks for the links, wfgodot.

I remember watching it all unfold on the tv in my office with my husband.

Unbelievably sad.

I was also there the week after with my dd and her bf. Cannot even describe it. The horror was thick in the air.

God bless all that were affected by it.

 

[Melanie]

I was in the City about a week after the bombing. The Murrah Building still stood, its face blown off. I'm rarely speechless but seeing the destruction hatred caused really left me in a dark silence, brooding. Where there's sorrow there is holy ground, and the ground where the Murrah once stood is sanctified by the deaths of the innocent. We must never forget the cost of terror, or those who died on 19 April 1995 will have died in vain; we can't allow that to happen.

I still remember that scene on the news as if it was yesterday, and I will never forget the babies and children being carried out. And the three women who died carrying unborn children.

McVeigh was the one who had an easy out!

Six years, one month and 23 days after a truck bomb shattered the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, federal prison authorities placed a needle in Timothy McVeigh's right leg and pumped a deadly stream of drugs into his veins.

My blessings to all the survivors and rememberance to those who perished.

Mel