April 19, 1995

Almost 30 years ago...

Oklahoma City was subjected to the terror of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Today Dave and I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, which poignantly tells the story of that day and the aftermath.

The tree depicted here is an American Elm, and is called the Survivor Tree.

 

 

 

"There are no words..."

These were my first thoughts upon exiting the museum, which used multimedia, interactive media, artifacts, and video, to take us through the timeline of April 19, 1995. A recording from a water permit hearing in the Oklahoma Water Resources Board building across the street captured the routine beginning to the day, the sound of the blast, and the ensuing chaos. 

Plunged into a cacophony of sirens, screaming, first responders' directions, and noise, a lot of noise, we viewed men's, women's and children's shoes; broken and unscathed watches; misshapen file cabinets and a steel door bulged and bent from the blast of the bomb; eyeglasses and coffee mugs, some in perfect shape and others shattered; and the recorded stories of the survivors. A trip to the copy room or bathroom made the difference between life and death, minor or life-threatening injuries.

Museum entrance

The museum separated the various events and efforts into rooms - one explained the extraction of survivors from the rubble, another documented the heroism of everyday people and first responders; a third depicted the impact of the blast on the second-floor day care center; the next chronicled the collection of evidence and the detective work to find the perpetrators, yet another for world media response. An exhibit showing the work of search and rescue dogs, their vests, booties, and reward toy, was especially touching. Here is one of the photographs from that room.
 

SAR dogs were integral to finding survivors in the rubble.

 

 

Did you know the ordinary work of Oklahoma State Trooper Charlie Hanger, who says he was "just doing my job" led to the jailing of Timothy McVeigh? He was pulled over for driving without license plates on what turned out to be the getaway car. The Trooper noticed a bulge under McVeigh's jacket, and told him to put his hands up and spread his legs. After retrieving the gun and other weapons, the trooper booked him into the county jail as the media coverage of the bombing played on a nearby TV. Eventually, federal agents connected the dots and found McVeigh, still jailed on weapons charges and the original reason he was pulled over:  driving without license tags.

The Survivor Tree

 

Rev. Billy Graham attended a time of prayer a few days after the bombing.

 

Memorial Empty Chairs with Loblolly pines.
Smaller chairs were used for the children.

These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 AM – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The 9:01 gate represents the innocence before the attack. The 9:03 gate symbolizes the moment healing began. 

There is matching "gate" at the other end of the reflecting pool.

 

The two gates are the 9:01 gate and the 9:03 gate.
The reflecting pool is in between.

Oklahoma Standard

Interspersed throughout the museum exhibits and mixed in with the dreadful depiction of devastation and death I found hope. Stories of those who were injured helping carry someone else's stretcher; an office worker declining to be rescued until everyone in his area was safely on the ground; ordinary folks showing up to feed first responders; clergy volunteering to pray or give last rites; locals answering the call for blankets, water, food, flashlights, rain gear, boots for the workers and dog booties, and blood donations. A memorable story from a volunteer - she took work boots donated by a man, and then realized he climbed back into his truck in his socks. Whenever a call would go out, people responded incredibly.

This has been called the Oklahoma Standard. It's a standard to which all of us should aspire.

Show up. Rise up. Step up.