April 19th, 1995. 9:02 AM. Like most Oklahomans this is a day that I will never forget. I was in the 8th grade, in my first period class, when it was announced that the Federal Building in Oklahoma City had been attacked. At the time no one was sure what exactly was going on but everyone knew that this was bad, very bad. We were all asking ourselves the same question. How could something so bad happen here in Oklahoma? But something bad did happen. And that day 168 innocent people lost their lives. April 19th will be a day that none of us will ever forget.
The 20th Anniversary of the OKC Bombing
This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. It’s hard to believe that so much time has passed. But even so, the pain of that day still lingers on. Especially here in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City National and Memorial was built to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers and all those who were affected by that tragic day on April 19th. This is a place where millions have come over the years to pay tribute. And even in the wake of this horrible tragedy, the memorial shows how Oklahomans came together in one of the most desperate times in American history.
Inside the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
We visited the Oklahoma City national memorial museum this past week during our time in OKC. My kids are a little on the younger side (7 and 10) and even though they are aware of the OKC bombing, I was a little worried about how they would react to seeing the memorial. However the OKC Memorial and Museum is really done in a very tasteful way, and made to be child friendly. They have interactive exhibits and not only show the bad side of this day, but they also show good things like the heroes and community that came together.
The museum features a time line of events that happened that day. It starts out showing you normal events that were happening on April 19th, 1995 and then walks you through minute by minute after the bombing.
I’d be lying to you, if I told you that this museum is not sad. 168 people lost their lives including 19 children. It’s a very emotional place and seeing actual artifacts from this day is heart wrenching. But seeing these things allows us to never forget and keeps these victims memory in our minds. They at least deserve that.
OKC Bomber Timothy McVeigh
One of the most interesting parts about the Oklahoma City national memorial and museum is the timeline of how they apprehended Timothy McVeigh so quickly. Did you know that he was pulled over for a traffic violation and that’s the reason he was initially taken into custody?
This car below was the vehicle he was driving when he got pulled over only 80 miles outside of OKC. He was pulled over for not having a license plate.
At the end of the museum tour is a room that pays tribute to those 168 people who lost their lives that day. This is an incredibly emotional room as it shows the faces and stories of each individual person. Each of these individual tribute boxes also contains a personal artifact such as a child’s favorite toy. As sad as this room is, I think it is incredibly important to show these individuals as real people, who died that day. This is a way that we can and won’t ever forget them.
On the outside of the museum is the memorial where you can walk the grounds. These grounds contain symbolic chairs that represent each of the lives lost that day. The larger one’s represent the adults and the small ones, the children.
That day, April 19th, 1995, was one of the worst days in our nations history. Let’s never forget that day.
John 11:35: Jesus wept.
