We planned to spend 2 nights at the RV Park on Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, but because of a big storm and high wind warnings we decided to stay put and let the storm pass. So we ended up spending 4 nights. On Friday the weather was beautiful so we went into Oklahoma City. We went to the Oklahoma National Memorial & Museum. It is the site of the bombing on the morning of April 19, 1995. Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck with explosives in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people. On May 23, 1995 the surviving structure was demolished and the site subsequently became the home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, a place to honor the victims, survivors and rescue workers. What a wonderful memorial and tribute to the life's lost on that day. We must never forget.
"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."
These are photos of the entrance into the Memorial. There
are twin gates called Gates of Time and they mark the formal entrances to the
Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01
am on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the
moment things changed forever.
The Field of Empty Chairs
The 168 chairs represent the lives taken on April
19, 1995. 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. The field is located on the footprint of the
Murrah Building.
The Reflecting Pool was once NW 5th street
Looking across the Reflecting Pool at the Field of Empyt Chairs
The 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
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.
In the aftermath of the blast, children from
around the country and the world sent in their own expressions of encouragement
and love. Thousands of ceramic tiles were sent to Oklahoma in 1995. A sampling of the tiles are a permanent part
of the Memorial. 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 --
The south wall of the Journal Record Building
directly faced the blast’s impact and was heavily damaged by the bombing. Structural repairs were made to the building
and a new roof installed. The south face with its broken bricks and mangled fire escape was left as it looked following
the bombing. The black brick window
openings and dark glass windows help leave the sense of void crated by the
blown-out glass. The wall was not
repainted. They made structural repairs
and then applied a protective sealant to help retain the look of the wall
following the 1995.
The Memorial Museum takes you on a
chronological, self-guided tour through the horror of the April 19, 1995
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building. The experience starts on the
morning of April 19th with a look at the normalcy that was underway in Oklahoma
City prior to the explosion. You enter a recreated hearing room from the
Water Resources Board near the Federal Building where the only known recording
of the bombing was accidentally recorded during the hearing. You hear the
explosion rock the room and then when the doors open, you enter the chaos of
the moments after the explosion in downtown Oklahoma City. There are
actual news footage and you wander through artifacts found among the rubble.
There are video accounts of the bombing, those lost and the heroes who
risked their life to help the injured. Other exhibits include a display
of photos and personal effects of the168 lost in the bombing and excerpts of
some of the funerals and memorial services. Seeing the photos of the children
is especially sad. The detective process that solved the case, the trial
and the healing of Oklahoma City is also shown. There is a penny path
that leads to a children's room.
The penny path represents
the millions of pennies raised by school children. The story of the pennies begins in 1995 just
after the bombing when Oklahoma principal, Nancy Krodel, asks her students at
Coronado Heights Elementary to bring 19 pennies – a penny for each child killed
in the bombing- as a contribution to the Memorial. Word spreads and Krodel’s campaign raises
more than $50,000-five million pennies.
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.
