National Park Service at 100: Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma

April 19, 1995. This is the date that American-born terrorism struck in the heartland of America. This is the date that Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck loaded with explosives in front of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This is the day that one man ended lives and changed America.

More than six years before the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania, the United States was attacked by one of its own people…over political beliefs. McVeigh was later executed and Terry Nichols, his co-conspirator, was sentenced to life without parole in federal prison.

Instead of living in fear, Oklahoma City leaders sought to make something positive out of a terrible act. They wanted to find a way to remember the 168 men, women and children who perished that morning. In the end, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum were created to honor the fallen and keep their memories alive. The memorial and museum actually also recognize the survivors and rescue workers.

The outdoor memorial opened in 2000. It consists of two bronze walls with the official entrances where the entrances to the federal building once were. The eastern gate has 9:01 carved on the inside. This marked the last minute of peace. The bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m. the western gate has 9:03 carved on the inside. This marked the first minute of lives being changed forever.

Between the gates is a shallow reflection pool. The water covers a black granite base. It supposedly allows people an opportunity to see someone affected by what happened here.

Possibly, the most emotion-challenging part of the memorial is the site of the 168 chairs. Each chair has the name of a person killed that day. The chairs are aligned in nine rows, based on the floor of the Murrah Building where they worked or were at when the explosion occurred. The small chairs symbolize the 19 children killed.

Each chair is made from bronze, stone and glass. The glass base has the name of the victim. Some women were pregnant, so the names of their babies are also included on their bases. At night, the bases are lit and some people believe the chairs appear to be floating in the dark.

A portion of the building was retained after the clean-up.

The memorial recognizes the people who survived on a Survivor’s Wall on a portion of the building not destroyed. Seven panels contain hundreds of names of people who worked in the building or nearby.

A lone elm tree has been given the name “Survivor Tree,” because it survived the blast. It was used as shade by workers arriving early before the attack. Afterward, it was nearly cut down because investigators wanted evidence hanging in the branches, or what was left of the branches not destroyed by the bombing.

When people gathered around the tree for a memorial service a year later, someone noticed the tree was blooming again. Thus, it was named the Survivor Tree. Since then, it’s common to see people praying or holding prayer services near the tree.

A memorial fence grew from the disaster. Originally set up to protect the federal building grounds during the clean-up and investigation, the fence became the collection site of flowers, note and stuffed animals. People still put mementos along the fenceline, which now protects the chair and pool area. Items are occasionally collected and catalogued.

Along a wall of what is now the museum and journal record building, one of the rescue workers spray painted a message:

Across the street from the national memorial is a small memorial highlighted by a weeping Jesus. He is turned away from the horror of the event. In front of him is a granite wall with 168 holes, one for each victim.

This was my second visit to the memorial. It’s difficult not to be challenged emotionally when you think of what one of our own people did to his fellow countrymen. We didn’t have a chance to visit the museum during this trip, but hope to return to Oklahoma City. A return visit to the memorial and a trip to the museum will be on our list.

For more information on the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, please visit the website at www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.