Oklahoma City Memorial
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Monday, May 21, 2018
Clear, 85°
“The Oklahoma City bombing was simple technology, horribly used. The problem is not technology. The problem is the person or persons using it.” - Billy Graham
Parking around the corner and walking down the street to this Memorial, you get your first glimpse of the wall as you approach a sign stating: “Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum” with the NPS logo next to it.
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Just past this wall, in front of the museum, are several children playing with the provided chalk in the “Children’s Area” of the Memorial immediately, giving magnitude to what happened here twenty three years ago.
Children’s Area
Walking toward the West Gate, you approach a 200 foot section of fence with many tributes, photos, and memento’s left to honor those killed. There are words of hope, forgiveness, and caution being left by those viewing this wonderful memorial.
The Fence
I notice across the street from this entrance a small memorial on the street corner of the Saint Joseph Old Cathedral. On the corner, there is a white statue with its back turned toward the Memorial. I found this odd at the time but, did not walk across the street to see what it was focusing on. (I’ll explain what this is later in this blog post.)
There is a quiet reverence as you move around the grounds. An NPS guide was giving a talk to a group of children and their teachers explaining what happened here and the aftermath, including the years until the Memorial was completed. She answered questions asked by the children and gave many insights into the impact this event had on this city, those visiting from afar, and the healing process taking place within this Memorial.
On the morning of April 19, 1995 the Oklahoma City bombing occurred when a truck packed with explosives was detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Timothy McVeigh, who in 2001 was executed for his crimes, was about to commit mass murder. His co-conspirator Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison. Until September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing was the worst terrorist attack to take place on U.S. soil.
Inside the vehicle was a powerful bomb made out of a deadly cocktail of agricultural fertilizer, diesel fuel, and other chemicals. McVeigh got out, locked the door, and headed towards his getaway car. He ignited one timed fuse, then another.
At precisely 9:02 a.m., the bomb exploded.
AP Photo Building
Within moments, the surrounding area looked like a war zone. The powerful explosion blew off the building’s entire north wall. A third of the building had been reduced to rubble, with many floors flattened like pancakes. Dozens of cars were incinerated and more than 300 nearby buildings were damaged or destroyed.
AP Photo Building fire
Emergency crews raced to Oklahoma from across the country, and when the rescue effort finally ended two weeks later, the death toll stood at 168 people. The human toll was still more devastating as the list of the deceased included 19 young children who were in the building’s day care center at the time of the blast. More than 650 other people were injured in the bombing.
It was the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.
In December 2000, McVeigh asked a federal judge to stop all appeals of his convictions and to set a date for his execution. The request was granted, and on June 11, 2001, McVeigh, at age 33, died by lethal injection at the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the first federal prisoner to be put to death since 1963.
In May 1995, the Murrah Building was demolished for safety reasons, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum later opened at the site.
The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial is a place of quiet reflection. Designed by Butzer Design Partnership, this Memorial honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995. It encompasses the now-sacred soil where the Murrah Building once stood, as well as the surrounding area devastated during the attack.
The elements of the Memorial:
Gates of Time
These monumental 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.
9:01 Gate in Daytime
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.
9:03 Gate at Night
Entering though this gate up the ADA ramp one enters the footprint of the old building’s space and the former street where the truck parked outside. Gone is the former N.W. Fifth Street which has been replaced with the Reflection Pool. Fifth Street now dead ends just outside the Memorial site.
Reflecting Pool Daytime
Here, the shallow depth of gently flowing water helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The placid surface shows the reflection of someone changed forever by their visit to the Memorial. This area is where the truck was parked just outside the building.
Reflecting Pool at Night toward 9:01 Gate
Field of Empty Chairs
The grassy area that once was within the footprint of the Murrah Building is used to showcase those lives lost inside the building that morning. The 168 chairs represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995.
Field of Chairs in Daytime
They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children who were killed.
Going back down to the Memorial at night everything takes on a very different perspective. There were only a couple of people, at the far end of the Reflection Pool, standing under the 9:01 gate. The quiet, with no vehicle traffic or anyone around, magnified the soft sounds of the water in the pool and to my right the chairs were lighted at their bases giving them a warm glow. It was easier to see the names of those who perished in the lighted bases. Since the previous visit, as we approach the Memorial Day weekend, small American flags have been added to the left of each chair, again magnifying the importance of what happened here so many years ago.
Chairs at Night with lighted bases
Flag markers for Memorial Day Weekend
Survivor Wall
On the east end of the Memorial stand the only remaining walls from the Murrah Building. These walls remind us of those who survived the terrorist attack, many with serious injuries. Today, more than 600 names are inscribed on salvaged pieces of granite from the Murrah Building lobby.
Original Wall Damage
The Survivor Tree
As you walk around the Reflection Pool and the Survivor Wall, you see a beautiful tree up on a small hill overlooking the Memorial. In daylight it stands tall and a proud reminder that we as a country survive these tragedies and grow stronger from the experience. At night, in the soft lighting around the Memorial, it stands as a silent sentinel watching over those lost here.
Survivor Tree
The Survivor Tree, an American elm, bore witness to the violence of April 19, 1995, and withstood the full force of the attack. Years later, it continues to stand as a living symbol of resilience. The circular promontory surrounding the tree offers a place for gathering and viewing the Memorial.
Rescuers’ Orchard
To the side of the Reflection Pool next to the Survivor Tree is an area with planted trees. Like the people who rushed in to help, this army of nut and flower-bearing trees surrounds and protects the Survivor Tree. An inscription encircling the Survivor Tree facing the orchard reads: To the courageous and caring who responded from near and far, we offer our eternal gratitude, as a thank you to the thousands of rescuers and volunteers who helped.
Just past the tree on the wall of the museum building there is a spray painted message from one of the rescue workers on Team # 5 who searched inside the heavily damaged building.
Rescuer's Wall Message
Plaque Explanation
Children’s Area
In the aftermath of the blast, children from around the country and the world sent in their own expressions of encouragement and love. That care is represented today by a wall of tiles painted by children and sent to Oklahoma City in 1995. In addition, buckets of chalk and chalkboards built into the ground of the Children’s Area give children a place where they can continue to share their feelings — an important component of the healing process.
The Fence
The first Fence was installed to protect the site of the Murrah Building. Almost immediately, people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the Fence. Those items now total more than 60,000 and are collected and preserved in our archives. Today, more than 200 feet of the original Fence gives people the opportunity to leave tokens of remembrance and hope.
Across the street from the West Gate (9:03 or “healing side”) is the Saint Joseph Old Cathedral, the oldest parish in Oklahoma City, which was significantly damaged during the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building. The Parish House for the church was demolished during the bombing. The Church has erected a memorial on this site. Several steps lead up to the statue. A black granite wall to the west has niches in it for prayer candles, representing the 168 victims. Standing on the steps at various heights are black granite pillars. The significance of these is not "officially" stated but many believe they represent the 19 children killed in the bombing.
The site is harshly black and white. The statue of Jesus is white, contrasted with the broken, black wall that is the opposite of his perfection and represents the terrible evil that has transpired. The white stone statue of Jesus, with His head bowed, stands with His back to the memorial, His right hand over His face and the other clenched over His heart. The words "And Jesus Wept" are engraved on the granite base.
And Jesus Wept night
The statue was erected by the Church and dedicated on the third anniversary of the bombing with the inscription: "AND JESUS WEPT / John 11 / On April 19, 1995 at 9:02AM, a bomb exploded just a few hundred feet east of here. In that instant and the ensuing calamity, 168 people were known to be killed. Devastation covered this area. The parish house which stood on this corner was demolished and Saint Joseph Old Cathedral was severely damaged.”
In the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus is seen as weeping over Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed. He wept for those whose lives would be lost. In the shortest verse of the Bible, Jesus weeps over the death of his friend Lazarus. Here we depict that same Jesus weeping and turning away from the bombing destruction. He stands facing the niches in our granite wall that represent each of the victims of the bombing.
Walking around this Memorial conveys both a bittersweet emotion in me seeing how the damage and destruction changed so many lives here in Oklahoma City and around our nation. The sweetness comes from this beautifully presented Memorial and the many facets within this solemn ground. It is run by the rangers of the National Parks Service who perform guided tours for groups as this site is now on the National Registry of Historic Places.
If you live here or are traveling through Oklahoma City, it is well worth the time to see this Memorial commemorating the tragedy that happened here on a spring morning in April.
*Some information in this blog post gathered from Wikipedia and Saint Joseph Old Cathedral.