Oklahoma City

On the morning of the third, we packed up and continued on our journey to Oklahoma City.  It was cool and rainy all day.  We got to the memorial around 11 AM.  We thought we'd only be there for about an hour and ended up staying for four!

 

This is part of the memorial, which is in the building across the street from where the actual bombing occurred.  They sectioned off part of the building and left it the same way it was on the morning of April 19, 1995.  This part was the mens' bathroom. 

It's crazy to think this wasn't even the actual building being targeted. 

So the building behind this tree is the building that the memorial is in today.  Right about where we are standing to take this picture is where the road was that the U-Haul truck was on.  The 4,800 pound bomb damaged buildings within a 16 block radius.  Amazingly enough, this tree remained standing and it was right across the street from the bomb.  Cars were thrown up against this tree and the trunk was burnt.

There is an arborist who comes out every year, to this day, to check on this tree because the people didn't want to cut it down after the bombing.  Every year, they take a sapling from this tree and give it to cities to plant.  So major cities like NYC, have a sapling of this tree growing there.  So cool!

This is a panoramic view of where the bombing happened.  It's actually straight but my phone doesn't take the picture that way for some reason.  The water is the road that the truck was parked on. 

Here is a closer picture of the water.  Across, where you see the chairs, is where the building once stood.  The foundation of the original building is still there for you to see.  The chairs are there for each of the 168 victims who lost their lives that day.  Each chair is individually cast so that no two chairs are alike.  The backs of the chairs are made from marble, while the seats of the chairs are made of glass. They made smaller chairs for the 19 children who died that day.  It is such an incredible site to see.

It is so emotional going through the building and grounds.  I admit, I cried a little.  So many innocent lives were taken that day. 

A closer view of the chairs

One of the stories that I found amazing was about a woman who was in the Social Security building across the street (where the memorial is now) from where the bombing occurred.  She was there with her mother, her newborn baby, and her older son.  They were at the Social Security building to get a card for her new son.  When the bomb exploded, a wall fell on the woman's right leg below the knee.  When they found her about 12 hours after the bomb exploded, she was still alive.  An architect came in and said the wall that was on her leg was structural and if it was moved, they had seconds to escape.  Telling the woman she had two options, either to have her leg amputated below the knee, or be left there, she opted for the former.  The doctor who was there had a rope and a scalpel.  They had no drugs except for a mild anesthesia.  They used the rope to tie a tourniquet above her knee and started the surgery.  A fireman took off his gloves and held the wall.  He was told to scream if the wall moved, so they could all run.  Could you imagine being the woman trapped under the wall?  At any rate, the doctor had to cut threw her kneecap.  Don't ask me how with a scalpel, I do not know.  When he was finished, they tried pulling her out a few times, but each time there was still a part of her leg still attached.  Finally, after dulling the blade of the scalpel to the point where it was useless, the doctor used the only thing he had left.  A pocketknife from his back pocket was used to finish the job.  The tourniquet worked.  They pulled her out and took her to the hospital.  She lived.  Her two sons and mother were killed in the explosion.

Another amazing story from that day was about a woman, Florence Rogers, who was holding a meeting in her office with 7 other women.  They were sitting at the table and she was sitting at her desk.  The next thing she knew, her coworkers were gone.  The floor beneath them had fallen and taken them with it.  All she had was a hand-length tear in her dress.  Can you imagine watching your coworkers disappear right before your eyes?

At the memorial they have an incredible shrine for each individual who lost their life that day.  There was a glass box for each individual person with a picture of him/her in it.  Each family could put small trinkets in the box of things that reminded them of their loved ones.  Some put small toys in, others a Bible or cross, still others put in things that were hobbies of their loved ones. 

I just cannot even fathom the pain and grief these families went through that day, losing husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, friends.  What a tragedy.