This day 17 years ago....

bsdubois00

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No I wasn't there when it happened - I was just a kid in middle school in Louisiana - however, during my 3 year stay in OKC I visited the memorial a few times. There is no way to go here and not get chills. This was at the time the worst act of terror ever on US soil and still to this day has a place in each of our hearts. I just wanted to share a couple of photos I took while living in Oklahoma City. Feel free to post how this day has effected you or just to remember those that were lost on this day 17 years ago.

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Sitting in office building facing south near 63rd and Broadway. Loud boom and windows shook. Thought an electrical transformer had blown. Stepped outside looking straight downtown to see large plume of black smoke rising. Within minutes news announced what had happened. Pretty much shut down mentally the rest of the day. Attended memorial service held at Metro Church in following days. Didn't know anyone personally that was killed, but felt my home had been attacked. Can remember large groups of cars parked in neighborhoods and thinking that some living there was gone.
 
I was in the library at Coronado Elementary, off portland & nw expressway, learning about computers. I remember when the explosion went off and ceiling tiles fell. I remember seeing lots of dead crows during recess, somehow the shock-wave of the blast must have killed them.
 
I ended up running a missing aircraft search for the Air Force when all of thephone lines went down to get ahold of the alert MC in OKC. There were a lot of rumors regarding possible connections to the bombing. We later found the aircraft down on a small airport in southern KS that just didn't close his flight plan.
 
I was at work in Ponca when it happened. I was walking through the lunch room when the first pics came across the TV. Terrible sight to see that much damage.The day after the last rescue team pulled out, we took over the building where they were staging for a machine show. I can remember driving north on Harvey, seeing the windows on one side blown out, then the other side, and so on for a half mile. I then realized it was the shock wave bouncing back and forth down the street causing the blown windows.
Not only Oklahoma, but the entire nation has been changed since that date.
 
I was working as a computer tech at the OBA at 41st and Lincoln, about 2 feet from the solid Glass wall on the south side of the building. We felt the concusion and saw the glass bow inward about 8 or 10 inches.
This is the poem I wrote a week later.

The Bomb
Sitting at my desk typing along, loud noise, terrible shake,
thought lightening struck somewhere near,
or maybe a small earthquake.

Run outside, looking all over, up and down,
no signs of damage,
till you look downtown.

Smoke rising like a black tide,
radio says federal building exploded,
we stopped to pray for those caught inside.

Hour by hour, day by day,
news gets only worse,
children were killed where they play.

A dear friend worked on the fourth floor,
innocent victim wounded or missing,
every second I pray they will find one more.

The bomb cost us so dearly,
we'll never be the same,
the anger comes out so clearly.

They blame it on allah, islam or iran,
then terror hit home,
he was one of our own, an american.

We pray rescuers will find one more still living,
they ask for donations,
all Oklahoma lines up in the giving.

Fireman and dog, a friendly looking pair,
24 hours a day, all week long,
we can't count how many care.

The needs are for gloves, hardhats, and food,
time after time, people come through,
we've seen the bad, now, a chance to help the good.

Eight days later, my friend is still missing, I wonder why ?
I'm sure God has a reason, I try to understand,
but all I can do is PRAY..... and CRY.

This is dedicated to the rescue workers and heroes unknown of the OKC Federal building Bombing, In memory of Karen Gist Carr. They deserve more than we could ever hope to give.
jlt
 
I was in 7th grade at Highland East Jr. High in Moore.
I remember the halls being chaotic with kids crying and trying to get to a phone to see if their parents were ok. Thankfully I didn't know anyone that was close enough to the building to be hurt. Sad day for sure.
 
A beautiful couple that attended church with us went to the Social Security office to fill out their retirement paperwork. They took their 4 year-old granddaughter. None of them survived.

LaRue A. and Luther H. Treanor

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Ashley Megan Eckles

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Each and every person involved in that tragedy has a personal story. Even those that were [narrowly] not directly involved, like Tony's Dad, were affected.

Share yours
 
I moved to OKC because a friend of mine got my "at the time" girlfriend a job there. My x took the day off. Our friend was in the heart of it. I was in Pampa Texas on a blowout when I got the call.She was very lucky. I still have video of them pulling her out. I just talked to her this morning. She knows that God chose to save her that day. It is something I will never forget.
 
I was at work at Baker Hughes on South Sooner Road. I didn't hear the explosion because I was working in the shop that day instead of the engineering office. I heard the report on the radio and didn't think too much about it, I just thought one of the gas mains down there blew or something. A good friend, one of the CNC programmers, his wife worked in the Federal Courthouse building. He came out and said that it was bad and was a little shook up. He said he was leaving to go see his wife at the hospital. Now being that I knew exactly where she worked and that it was on 4th street and not 5th Street, it started to compute a little. So I went up to the front conference room, took off my boots and went in. Just as I go in, on the TV I see the first pass around the front of the building from the channel nine helo live shot. I had to sit down. Someone noticed that I was shaken a little and asked if I was okay, the whole thing is still surreal to this day, the timing of the TV visual when I walked in and the utter devastation of the building was a little much. I had always looked at that building and thought it was overbuilt. The amount of steel and concrete was mind boggling to a young guy that had worked building houses as a teenager. I replied to them that I had been going in that building ever since it was built, I had just been there at lunch the day before because I decided to go during my lunch that day instead of taking an hour off and going this morning. Then I explained that I was a member of the Federal Employees Credit Union and knew damn near everyone in there and that the lady that ran it was a family friend. Luckily she made it. She also had a very compelling story. She was having a meeting in her office and was sitting at her desk one instant and the next everyone was just gone and she was starring into the blue sky. Somehow she was able to get down and out of there with a bit of help. I distinctly remember an odd sense of calm when I left that day. I left through the South exit and walked through the courtyard on the South side of the building and circled around to my truck which was parked not 50 feet from where the bomb truck would be parked. I did this often because that courtyard was like a park. It was really pretty. The church bells in Brandon's 2nd pic were ringing at the old church next door. It was noon. It was an awesomely gorgeous spring day and it felt really peaceful and oddly quiet right in the middle of downtown OKC on a week day. I had not a clue that hell was coming the next morning.
 
I watched the whole story unfold from 800 miles away.

As bad as the NYC 9/11 event was... you folks in OKC set the standard for taking care of things. As one American, I was devastated at your loss...and inspired by your response.
 
Took me awhile to decide to post I this or not. I didn't work in the metro at the time, but was assigned to be here in the days after. I was assigned to guard a corner downtown, to keep people from coming into the area. I was close enough to I could see the site. I remember a fine misting of dust had covered everything. I felt guilty because I wasn't closer in there doing something.

My ex-wife was meeting her father in the Journal Record building when the bombing took place. The office they were in collapsed. He has some permanent hearing damage, but is no worse than that.

She didn't suffer any physical injury. But every year the anniversary rolls around, she can't sleep well. She gets real fidigty. And the night before the anniversary, I could count on getting my ass beat while she did sleep.

Lord keep those who have suffered loss in your grace.......
 
It is hard to believe that it has been 17 years. I have alot of live footage that I recorded the day of the bombing and days after. I have still never watched it back. I guess I need to get it out and watch it sometime.
 
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