In the months after the
bombing, it became
apparent that there was
overwhelming support for
the creation of a major,
permanent memorial where
the Murrah Building once
stood.
In the Memorial Mission Statement, the Task Force called for
the creation of a memorial to “…remember those who were
killed, those who survived and those changed forever…” – in
short, all who were touched directly or indirectly by the
bombing.
The dedication of the
Oklahoma City
National Memorial on
April 19, 2000
The Memorial Strives
to Remind Everyone
of; 168 People Killed
19 Children Killed
1 Rescuer Killed
(Rebecca Anderson)
850 People Injured
85 Rescuers Suffered Minor Injuries
30 Children Orphaned
219 Children Lost at Least One Parent
462 People Left Homeless
7,000 People Left Without a Workplace
12,384 Volunteers and Rescue Workers Participated in
Rescue, Recovery and Support.
The Memorial Fence:
A ten foot tall chain link
fence was originally
installed around the
area that is now
the Reflecting Pool and
The Field of Empty
Chairs. The Fence stood
for more than four years
and became famous itself, with visitors
leaving stuffed animals, poems, key chains,
and other items there as tributes. Visitors may
still leave small items along and in the Fence;
the mementos are periodically collected,
catalogued, and stored.
"We come here to remember those
who were killed, those who survived
and those changed forever. May all
who leave here know the impact of
violence. May this memorial offer
comfort, strength, peace, hope and
serenity."
Like the response to the event it was
meant to commemorate, the creation of
the Oklahoma City National Memorial has
been a cooperative effort involving many
people and all levels of government.
Gates of Time
These monumental
Reflecting Pool
twin gates frame
the moment of
destruction
– 9:02 a.m. –
and mark the
formal entrances to
the Memorial. The East Gate represents
9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the
attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were
changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the
moments and days following the bombing.
Survivor Tree: Witness to Tragedy,
Symbol of Strength
It is more than 80 years old. An American
Elm Tree in the heart of downtown
Oklahoma City, it survived the bomb’s
blast and
witnessed one of the worst
terrorist attacks on American soil.
Today,
we call it the Survivor Tree.
In April 19, 1995, the tree was almost chopped
down to recover pieces of evidences.
The Oklahoma City bombing was a
bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in downtown
Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.
Timothy McVeigh detonated an
explosive-filled truck that he had
parked in front of the Federal
Building. McVeigh's co-conspirator,
Terry Nichols, had assisted in the
bomb preparation. It was the most
destructive act of terrorism on
American soil until the September
Alfred P. Murrah Federal 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma
Building
blast claimed 168 lives, including 19
Prior to the bombing.
children under the age of 6, and
more than 680 people were injured.
The blast destroyed or damaged
324 buildings within a sixteen-block
radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars,
and shattered building glass in a
three mile square area. The bomb
was estimated to have caused at
least $652 million worth of property
Sketch used by the
damage.
FBI (left) and
McVeigh (right)
Field of Empty Chairs
The 168 chairs represent
the lives taken on April 19,
1995. Nineteen smaller
chairs stand for the children.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_National_Memorial
http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12223618
http://www.answers.com/topic/oklahoma-city-bombing
http://www.oklahomacitybombing.com/oklahoma-city-bombingpictures-1.html
Terry Nichols
The resulting destruction after the
bomb detonated bring down an entire
side of the building.
http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/
The Bombing Aftermath.
Rescuers came within minutes and from far and wide.
At 9:03:25 a.m. CST, the first of over 1,800 9-1-1 calls related
to the bombing was received by Emergency Medical Services
Authority (EMSA). By that time, EMSA ambulances, police,
and firefighters were already headed to the scene, having
heard the blast. Nearby civilians, who had also witnessed or
heard the blast, arrived to assist the victims and emergency
workers.
Assisting the SEOC were agencies such as the National
Weather Service, the Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol, and the
American Red Cross. Immediate assistance also came from
465 members of the Oklahoma National Guard, who arrived
within the hour to provide security, and from members of the
Department of Civil Emergency Management. Within the first
hour, 50 people were rescued from the Murrah Federal
Building.
19 Children were killed in the bombing.
Many others were injured.
A photograph of firefighter
Chris Fields emerging from
the rubble with infant Baylee
Almon, who later died in a
nearby hospital, was
reprinted worldwide and
became a symbol of the
attack. The photo, taken by
utility company employee
Charles H. Porter IV, won the
1996 Pulitzer Prize for Spot
News Photography.
Baylee
Almon
Sandra Combs
pauses at the
chair dedicated
to Oklahoma
City bombing
victim Baylee
Allmon in the
Field of Chairs.
A Statue Entitled 'And
Jesus Wept' Was
Erected By Saint
Joseph's Old Cathedral
Across The Street From
The Oklahoma City
National Memorial To
Recognize The 19
Children Killed In The
April 25, 1995 Bombing
Of The Murrah Federal
Building.
Desmond
Vallean
survived the
Oklahoma City
bombing as an
infant. Now he
plays football at
McEachern
High School.
Vallean holds a
magazine
photo of his
father, Michael,
carrying him to
safety just after
the bombing.
Rescue Team 5
remembers the
victims who died
in the bombing
Holding his fathers hand
as he leaves the hospital.
Bella, a Border Collie from
California, that
participated in the rescue
efforts, rests in the grass
of the Oklahoma City
National memorial during
the eighth anniversary of
the Oklahoma City Murrah
Federal building bombing.