Took The Boy to the Murrah Bldg memorial today

[dlbleak]

Reviving this one. The wife and I went for the first time today. Very powerful and emotional. I’m glad we went and can’t believe we waited so long. As we left I texted my mom and brother. I think we will make this our next family get together.

 

[DavidMcmillan]

We have been several times, and each time is very moving. One of my daughters was on her way to the SSA office that morning to change the name on her account since she had recently married. She was delayed by a traffic accident that happened in front of her. I have met so many people affected by that day. Firemen, LEO's, Southwestern Bell employees who worked in the aftermath, clergy who were there praying and counseling workers, etc. It was an event that changed many of us.

Thank you for taking your family. The memory must never be lost.

 

[John6185]

It is important to "visit" certain things such as this to remember what evil man can do, some are denying the Holocaust and say it was a hoax to perpetuate WWII and the involvement of the United States. We need to bring these things to the front sometimes but every year they bring up the OKC Bombing and it hurts those affected by the bombing all over again I would think.

 

[Backstrap]

McVeigh was indeed mad at the government - he was at Waco (selling literature on the outskirts) and planned the OKC bombing to occur on the second anniversary of the Waco fire. I feel this Memorial is a beautiful tribute to those who were injured or lost their lives that day.

 

[LBnM]

My desk, and the person filling in for me were instantly destroyed along with four other coworkers and and many friends. Changed my life forever.

 

[dlbleak]

My desk, and the person filling in for me were instantly destroyed along with four other coworkers and and many friends. Changed my life forever.

View attachment 120980

Wow, were you off sick, vacationing or what?

 

[Shadowrider]

I had parked my truck where the bomb truck was parked I don't know how many times while I went into the credit union. I had planned to go there that very morning but decided to go at lunch the day before. Knew several of those killed and some of the survivors. My dad was a personal friend of the credit union manager and was in the ANG with her late husband.

I heard about it on the radio but thought not a lot about it. I thought is was a gas main that blew or something. A programmer and friend came out and told me he was leaving to go to the hospital, that his wife was injured. I knew she worked in the Federal courthouse building across 4th street from it. I thought oh **** I better go look! So I went up to the conference room, took my shop boots off and walked in to watch the TV coverage. I got in there at the very moment that the News 9 chopper was rounding to the front side of the building and what I saw pretty much floored me, I did have to sit down. I said that I knew for certain that it was a planned attack based on the damage and had no clue how big a bomb would be needed to do that kind of damage, but whoever it was was serious. That building had always fascinated me as I thought it was just an example of government waste in how heavily it was constructed. The amount of steel and concrete in it was kind of mind boggling to me. I never knew until after that it was designed to be "bomb proof".

The day before when I left it was right at 12:00 noon. The church bells were ringing as I walked out the back side as I often did when I left. The back which was actually over part of the underground parking to the building was like a park with big trees and lots of planters and I noted how peaceful it was to be in the middle of downtown, but it was especially beautiful that day. I had no clue it would be my last time to be able to take that walk.

I've been down there and walked around it, but I still haven't made it through the memorial to see the exhibits but my wife has. Don't know if I ever will go. Maybe some day.

 

[Tanis143]

I've not been able to go. My mom was on the scene about 20 minutes after it happened. At the time she was doing a lot of volunteer work for Red Cross. She was there when the 2nd bomb scare happened and everyone rushed away from the site. She told me about one person who's leg was almost torn off trying to crawl away. I went up there on Saturday and worked at the Red Cross building helping package supplies to be trucked in. My mom took me down halfway through the day. Its something that hit me very hard when I saw the building and the damage. I knew a few kids in school who lost parents and/or siblings. I was a senior at Moore High. I remember sitting in my car at Main St and Berry RD going to lunch when they broke over the radio that the verdict came back guilty. Me and several others started honking.

Part of me really wants to go, but haven't been able to yet.

 

[golddigger14s]

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy) was a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.
George Santayana - Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana

 

[LBnM]

Wow, were you off sick, vacationing or what?

No, I was on TDY to our Houston Field Office for three days training them in a new computer system we had designed. My son called me and I was back in OKC before my boss in Irving, TX could drive up. We had a team come in from Washington to take over our work while I and some others spent the next month or so working with the survivors and family members of the deceased (and going to funerals..) Our office was right next door to the Credit Union so knew many of them well. (and right over the babies.)