Oklahoma City Bombing - April 19, 1995
As an Okie girl yesterday has special significance in my life. It was the first time I truly felt horror & panic in my world. Yesterday was the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. It was horrific. I'm beginning to cry just thinking about it. The bomb was left in a truck parked outside a government building & exploded at 9:02am. In the building there was the daycare full of children just settling in to circle time, the dad just getting to his desk, the mom making copies, the grandma about to retire in 3 days, the sister planning a b-day party....it's those images that strike my heart & soul.
I was teaching in Texas on that day.Our principal got word out & gave instructions to keep the info they told me minimal as I was from Oklahoma. It was surreal. I remember feeling so far from my family & friends. I immediately got on my cell phone & started calling. I couldn't get through to my dear friend. She worked a few miles from the bomb site. The calls did not go through all day. The news reports were sadistic. I had a young boy in my class, John Michael, whose father worked for the Department of Education. He was scheduled to be in a meeting in the building that morning. No one could reach him. It was shear terror. My friend & the father of my student were unharmed physically. Emotionally struck, but alive.
I went to bomb site a few months later. It was an emotional experience. I was there with two Texas friends & they were moved. There was a tall fence around the site perimeter with cards, flowers, signs, stuffed animals placed all in the fence. Buildings had not been fixed or torn down. It was like it was stuck in time- war time. The site was eerily quiet.
It was cathartic to see the site in that state on some level.
Now there is a serene memorial built on the site.
Unfortunately this terrorist act was not the last in our country. You can visit the memorial site on-line -
Oklahoma City National Memorial .This year marks the 16th Anniversary of the day the world began to look at terrorism differently. It's imperative that we discuss the importance of remembrance and using objects to teach history for the generations
I was teaching in Texas on that day.Our principal got word out & gave instructions to keep the info they told me minimal as I was from Oklahoma. It was surreal. I remember feeling so far from my family & friends. I immediately got on my cell phone & started calling. I couldn't get through to my dear friend. She worked a few miles from the bomb site. The calls did not go through all day. The news reports were sadistic. I had a young boy in my class, John Michael, whose father worked for the Department of Education. He was scheduled to be in a meeting in the building that morning. No one could reach him. It was shear terror. My friend & the father of my student were unharmed physically. Emotionally struck, but alive.
I went to bomb site a few months later. It was an emotional experience. I was there with two Texas friends & they were moved. There was a tall fence around the site perimeter with cards, flowers, signs, stuffed animals placed all in the fence. Buildings had not been fixed or torn down. It was like it was stuck in time- war time. The site was eerily quiet.
It was cathartic to see the site in that state on some level.
Now there is a serene memorial built on the site.
Unfortunately this terrorist act was not the last in our country. You can visit the memorial site on-line -
Oklahoma City National Memorial .This year marks the 16th Anniversary of the day the world began to look at terrorism differently. It's imperative that we discuss the importance of remembrance and using objects to teach history for the generations
"Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children and their children another generation." -Joel 1:3
Great post. I'm glad that such a great memorial was put in place. It is a sacred serene place.
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