Oklahoma City Bombing - April 19, 1995
Today marks the 12th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Even though I wasn't there when it happened I feel a strange attachment to it, almost like it really happened to me. I guess in some respects it did happen to me, it happened to all of us. Having been connected in some way to the OKC area for most of my life I feel a stronger connection than most of you might. On the day of the bombing my sister was a student at Southern Nazarene University(SNU) located in the city of Bethany, just seven miles from the sight of the bombing. Even at that distance there were several items knocked off of shelves in her apartment, others on campus had even thought there might have been a small gas explosion in one of the buildings.
By the time I made it to SNU the remnants of the Alfred P. Murrah Building had been demolished, the large hole in the street filled and repaved, and the memorial had not been built yet. The chain link fence that surrounded the construction area had become a makeshift memorial where people had left their tokens of love and remembrances.
I remember when I returned to OKC in 2000 I transferred my residence due to insurance regulations connected with the job that I had. I remember a buddy of mine telling me, "Yup, you're now officially an Okie!", to which I replied, "No way! I'm a cajun through and through and there's nothing in Oklahoma that'll change that!". But Oklahoma, and especially the OKC area has a special way of making you one of them. I tell people that Oklahoma City is the friendliest city in the world and one of the greatest places to live. But no one seems to believe me. Until you've lived there, you'll never know exactly what I'm talking about. It's something that has to be experienced. The longer I lived there the more I felt like an "Okie" but honestly didn't appreciate it until I moved away. It seems to me, and I've heard it from many others, Oklahoma will steal a piece of your heart, and it certainly has mine. I think that its mostly because of this I feel so close to the Oklahoma City Bombing.
By the time I made it to SNU the remnants of the Alfred P. Murrah Building had been demolished, the large hole in the street filled and repaved, and the memorial had not been built yet. The chain link fence that surrounded the construction area had become a makeshift memorial where people had left their tokens of love and remembrances.
I remember when I returned to OKC in 2000 I transferred my residence due to insurance regulations connected with the job that I had. I remember a buddy of mine telling me, "Yup, you're now officially an Okie!", to which I replied, "No way! I'm a cajun through and through and there's nothing in Oklahoma that'll change that!". But Oklahoma, and especially the OKC area has a special way of making you one of them. I tell people that Oklahoma City is the friendliest city in the world and one of the greatest places to live. But no one seems to believe me. Until you've lived there, you'll never know exactly what I'm talking about. It's something that has to be experienced. The longer I lived there the more I felt like an "Okie" but honestly didn't appreciate it until I moved away. It seems to me, and I've heard it from many others, Oklahoma will steal a piece of your heart, and it certainly has mine. I think that its mostly because of this I feel so close to the Oklahoma City Bombing.
-387,000 Estimated number of people in Oklahoma City who knew someone killed or injured in the bombing (more than a third of the population).
-190,000 Estimated people in Oklahoma City who attended funerals for bombing victims (19% of the population).
-Over 300 Buildings Were Damaged or Destroyed.
-168 People Killed
-19 Children Killed
-1 Rescuer Killed (Rebecca Anderson)
-850 People Injured
-30 Children Orphaned
-219 Children Lost at Least One Parent
Below is a memorial video I found on YouTube.com. Very moving, it covers the bombing and the entire memorial area.
This video of the song, "The Change" was made by Garth Brooks as a tribute to the OKC Bombing. Garth is a native of Yukon, OK just 15 miles west of OKC.
posted by Tracy Crouch at
10:06 PM
1 Comments:
Nice Blog. I was in the apartment that morning at SNU and heard that explosion. I looked out the door to see what what had blown up. It was like it happened yesterday as I watched the local TV helicopter fly over the half destroyed building for the very 1st view we had. Very sad day.
Scott
By
Scott and Cherie, At
9:02 PM
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