I was a kid April 19, 1995 when The Oklahoma Bombing happened and remember it well. Tom Brokaw on the NBC Nightly news showing footage, and reporting of te tragici evil events. I remember the children, the famous photos of fire fighters with babies, I remembered it well. The memorial is a place I’ve always wanted to visit and pay my respects, that being said I didn’t know if the subject and memorial would be too dark to take young kids ages 8, 7, and 4, but also a learning opprotunity so basically there’s no way we were going to drive through OKC and not acknowlege what happened there.
Immediately you could feel the reverence, symbolsm, and detail of this memorial. It was beautiful, it was deep, and it was powerful. Everything a memorial should be in all its beauty and grace able to tell the truth of evil and beauty of hope.
Two twin gates mark the entrances on either side.On the East gate it is marked 9:01- the final minute of peace. Then you enter in to the memorial representing 9:02 the minute of the blast. A reflection pool in the center. To the south side where the Murrah building once stood is the field of empty chairs. 168 chairs, one for each victim including 19 tiny chairs for the children. The gate to the West marked 9:03 the first minute of recovery. The space was made to change you, to change you for the better by learning and never forgetting the hurt one persin can cause and hurt they felt. We left this memorial changed for the better.
This chain link fence is some of the original fence put around the area during the investigation. It because the site of the first memorial wheres mourner came to grieve. Today it is a place where mourning and remembering happens through leaving behind notes key chains and flowers.
Survivors tree, a tree that goes back in photos to the 1920’s once stood as the only shade tree in the parking lot. Most of branches were blown off in the blast with glass and debris emmbedded in its trunk and badly burned from cars parked beneath it. One year after the blast they noticed it started to bloom. The tree stayed, and stands a testament of whethering the storm and surviving. “The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.”
The Childrens Area-just outside of the museum is a children area with tiles of drawings sent to the victims. Large chalk board areas allow for visiting kiddos the memorial to draw and express what they feel. While we were reading the sign near the 9:01 gate a nurse who worked a nearby hospital was standing with us. She told her first hand account of the day. How they felt the blast and ran toward the building to help but there were few numbers to transport to the hospital in those first few minutes many were trapped un able to get to help. It was a blessing to be able to speak with her and not just read the plaques, or articles of the account but o hear it from her. I also knew there were details I probably wasn’t going to tell my kids that they probably overheard. This place to draw and unwind to reflect and to talk over what they heard and what happened was a welcomed way to end our stop.
We had driven 1,000 miles in a day with 3 kids and 9 month old baby. tey had been troopers. Oklahoma City was our stopping point for the night. We were exhausted but not so exhausted as to not stay up a few more hours in a dark hotel room with a baby sleeping, reloading over and over The Golden State Warriors score on my phone and oddly enough against OKC though they were playing in Oakland. We silently cheered with each basket and eventually their win. Goodnight OKC, thanks for letting us visit.
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