March 11 - Oklahoma City Memorial

Today was a very sobering day. First, as we were nearing downtown Oklahoma City, the traffic slowed to a crawl. After nearly 30 minutes, covering a half mile, we came upon a terrible traffic accident involving a semi truck and a motorcycle. We were thinking how fortunate for us that we had stopped for gas. We had no problems finding our way to the memorial located downtown. Parking was easily available nearby with just a short walk across the street to the memorial. We began by going through the museum before we explored the park outside where the Federal building once stood. The museum was on two floors and the first floor was for the entrance and gift shop. We took an elevator to the third floor where you arrived to follow a timeline beginning at 6:30 am on April 19, 1995. As we read accounts of when people began arriving for work, dropping children off at daycare you had the feeling that it was just another day in the life of these citizens of Oklahoma City. We then entered a room with a desk at the front and we soon realized that we were in a courtroom listening to a petition about water rights. The recording we were listening to was an actual tape of the court proceedings that had begun at 9 o'clock. At 9:02 we heard the actual blast and the screams and chaos that ensued. The doors then opened at the far end of the room and you walked out listening to the local news reports from that morning the room was filled with photos of and the actual debris from the blast. There were many screens that played interviews and first hand reports of what happened immediately following the blast. The most heartbreaking were the parents who were looking for their children who attended the daycare. The memorial is a wonderful tribute to those who lost their lives that day and to the first responders. I was near tears most of the time. The second floor honored those who lost their lives that day. A room filled with a photo of each victim displayed with mementos was one of the most difficult rooms to view. Next to this room was a chapel showing photos on a screen while hymns were being played in the background. There were also some exhibits referring to the trial but by this time I was emotionally spent.

An unclaimed stuffed animal from the daycare. 17 children were killed that day.

The blast occurred at 9:02, notice the clock.

The Memorial room

The last room had gold foil origami cranes hanging from the ceiling.

Outside in the memorial park, it was less intense and more serene. Today was a perfect day and the reflecting pool was beautiful. As I watched the other visitors I wondered how many were from out of state. I also wondered if some were there to grieve the loss of a loved one. It seemed to me that the city had provided a peaceful setting where the healing could perhaps begin.

The Reflecting pool had two identical ends with the exception that one read 9:01 & and the other 9:03.

 Each chair represents a person that died that day, small chairs indicated the children. The chairs were in 9 rows that told how many died on each of the 9 floors of the federal building that day. A name was engraved on each chair.

 This is called the Survivor Tree. It was the only tree that survived the blast that day. Today the tree is surrounded by a circular bench that overlooks the Memorial park.

This statue was titled, And Jesus Wept