Where were you on April 19,1995 ? This is not a debate thread. View with Caution

[jbrown84]

Reading this thread gives me chills.

I was in fifth grade at Northern Hills Elementary in Edmond and we were all on the playground about to go inside to begin school. The fifth grade class was to go on a field trip to the see the Philharmonic at the Civic Center. Several classmates felt the jolt, but I did not. Soon after going to our classroom our teacher, Mrs. West came in and told us that we would not be going on the field trip--that there had been an explosion downtown at the courthouse. She told us that we were the only class that had been enformed about the explosion. We weren't allowed to watch it on TV, but I remember sitting in front of the TV for hours when I got home. There were also rumors that our school had recieved a bomb threat, but we were never evacuated.

[luke911]

I was attending high school at Pioneer High School just outside of Waukomis, OK. We were in OKC attending a TSA conference and some of us were still asleep at our hotel which was close to both downtown and the fairgrounds. Our teacher and some students were at the fairgrounds attending a competition. I remember waking up after a picture frame fell on my head. Everyone ran outside, I turned the TV on to see what was going on. I had my police scanner in my luggage so i got it out and started digging through my stuff for news station frequencies. What i heard on that radio gives me chills to this day. It's been 11 years and i can still hear the news reporters and emergency workers voices.

[wolf2006]

I was in school at Rollingwood Elementary near Warr Acres when the bomb detonated. I remember that I heard a loud bang, but at the time I just thought it had been one of the portable lunch tables falling over because the janitor had a habit of doing that. A few minutes later the principal interrupted morning announcements, which were being read at the time of the blast, and she simply called for anybody who had family members in the federal building downtown to come to the office.

It wasn't until later that day that I found-out what really happened. My mom worked in the Leadership Square offices (the big almost completely glass building downtown). She said that her entire building shook. She also had to find a ride home because the parking garage where her car was parked had been closed to allow the police to search the vehicles. I can still hear that explosion in my head, even though it's been so long.

[Faith]

My 8th grade class was in the library watching news programs for a report. All of a sudden the emergency news coverage of the bombing was on all the t.v's. At first all the students and teachers were in shock and our first thought was that the media was talking about a bomb that had went off in New York City or somewhere. When we realized it was OK then we all just stood there and watched in horror. I remember sitting with other students who were crying and didn't know what to do because their parents worked in the Murrah Building and they didn't know when they would know if their mom or dad was okay or even alive. Several students lost their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. I can remember the emotions I was feeling at that time as well. The same with 9/11.

[goddessnna]

Gosh this forum was really hard to read... on April 19, 1995 I was nowhere near Oklahoma City yet.. I just moved here a month ago and at the time I was in New Jersey just about to graduate from high school, looking forward to the future and getting ready for college...

Reading everyones posts in this forum brings back a lot of memories for me, from 9/11, from what not only New Yorkers but also a lot of people from New Jersey were feeling... its eerily similiar to what a lot of people from Oklahoma were feeling... watching the buildings go down, knowing my father was in one of them and one of my best friends was in the building next door... reading everyones stories about the sounds they heard, the smells, the feelings, the fears, their chests feeling so heavy because their hearts were being ripped out hurting for one another, and the elation that some felt finding out their loved ones were safe and okay... its.. I don't know how to say but... I feel proud to be in this state, hearing the stories of how people came together, helped one another, donated without thinking, volunteered, loved, its a sense that only people who've been in such an experience can truly understand.

Unfortunately there is another side to this whole experience, and that is the negative aspect of fear, when people begin accusing people and fearing people because of the color of their skin or their garb or their religion. This is a side that I felt on a personal level, because of who I am and what I believe. Hopefully, everyone will remember the spirit of coming together, of rising up from our lowest point, and doing it as one, with no hatred, with only love, and will remember this positive spirit in their lives everyday.

My heart goes out to everyone who was affected. Thank you for sharing your stories.

[SOONER8693]

I am a teacher at Westmoore High and have been for 18 years, since it opened. I was too at that assembly and it was a very eery and scary feeling when Mr. Canaday spoke. It was a beautiful spring day for all the students and faculty until we heard the news.

[Lauri101]

I am a Federal worker in downtown OKC. In 1992, our office moved from the Federal Courthouse at 4th and Robinson to 55 N. Robinson, just north of the Colcord.

On April 19, 1995, 8:45 AM - the day was beautiful. A fresh spring breeze wafted through the trees and the sky was a cloudless blue. Sitting at my desk on the 9th floor, I impatiently glanced at my watch as I longed for a smoke break and the feeling of sunshine on my face. I told my manager I was going to leave for break so I could walk the few blocks to the Federal Employees Credit Union (at the Murrah Building) to deposit a check. She motioned for me to go ahead, but, just as I was ready to sneak out early, the phone rang. I picked it up instinctively, then groaned to myself as I heard the voice of a CPA who always talked for too long.

I finally finished my conversation about 9 AM and grabbed my cigarette case, cell phone and check. Several of us waited for the elevator, which took almost a minute to get there. As the elevator dropped towards freedom, suddenly, the whole elevator jerked to the side and stalled. It resumed immediately and we all laughed about how they don't build 'em like they used to.

As we stepped out the west entrance of our building, a huge plume of smoke mixed with debris filled the northern sky - very close! A co-worker came running up from the north - "something just exploded! I think it was a gas leak at the Murrah" he screamed. Blood was streaming down his arm and glass shards were on his clothing.

I instantly thought of my mother, who lived at the Regency Tower. I tried to call her, but got no ringback, nothing. I took off, running north on Hudson towards her apartment building. My friend and co-worker, Susan, ran with me.

As we neared 4th Street, the damage to buildings became worse - like a scene from a war movie. Sirens from all types of emergency vehicles were already wailing. Smoke was thick, people were running, screaming, crying. The plaza across from the Courthouse was filled with people.

By then, approximately 9:15 AM - crowds were gathering in the streets - a mix of people - some covered with blood, some sitting on the curb. As I pushed my way across 5th street to the Regency, a burning ball rolled across the street. In horror, I recognized facial features and hair and realized what I was seeing.

A friend of mine who worked at the Murrah Building walked up to me. She had no shoes on, her clothes were covered in debris, but she seemed fine. "It blew my f**king shoes off" she cried. By then, we all knew a bomb had exploded.

In front of the Regency Tower, a large piece of a transmission and other truck parts covered the sidewalk and street. Cars on the street and in the parking lot were in flames or had no glass. I looked up to my mother's balcony on the eighth floor and saw emptiness where her glass door should have been.

To be continued...next post...

[Lauri101]

Second part:

I finally made it across the street and to the door of the Regency. A policeman already blocked the entrance to the lobby. "My mom is in there" I pleaded. He shook his head, kindly but firmly. "Sorry, no admittance to anyone." "Sir, it's my mama - you can shoot me, but you can't stop me" I cried.

"Go get your mama, baby girl" as he let me in to the lobby area, admonishing me to "hurry and get out".

As the mostly elderly residents filled the small lobby, I had a hard time finding mom at first. At last, I spotted her, sitting on the couch, with her cane and a bag of her medicines clutched in her gnarled hands. "Get me out of here, Lauri" she begged. I told her to come with me and we would get outside where my friend waited.

By this time, there was no way a car could have been driven within 3 blocks of the carnage. I knew that with mom's arthritis, she could not walk even a block. My friend Susan agreed she would go to the parking lot near the office and bring my car back to an alley not far away. My job would be to get mom to the alley.

We made our way through the rubble and crowds of people. Just west of the Murrah building was a parking lot filled with trucks from the gas and electric company. As we walked to that area to wait for Susan, an employee from Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. offered us his truck for mom to sit in.

Shaken, bruised and bleeding slightly from the shards of glass which had swept her apartment, mom sat in the truck and gratefully sipped the water provided to her by the Gas man. All of a sudden, a huge roar of voices swept by the parking lot! Another bomb had been found! Rescuers, firemen, police officers and medical personnel raced frantically away from the building! All of the utility people gathered in the lot also started to run.

John, the man who had loaned us his front seat to sit in, took in the situation at a glance. He then proceeded to pick my mother up on his back and run two blocks away from the area.

Just at that time, Susan appeared with the car. John carried mother to the car and helped her into the back seat.

There were countless heroes that day, both sung and unsung. But John, the utility man, was my hero that dismal April morning!

After over 11 years - I still remember that day. I can smell the acridness of burning rubber, feel the heat of the fires and recall the images of death and destruction. Five of my close friends were injured severely; two died. One of my co-workers lost her two precious boys while one had two children who survived.

Worst of all - I was on the Federal Employees Council that started the daycare at the Alfred E. Murrah Building.

[Kerry]

I was working for a defense contractor in St Petersburg, Florida but was doing field research in Arkansas on April 19. We had just moved from Dayton Beach to St Pete 2 days earlier. I didn't know it had happened until around 2PM.

Many of my co-workers knew I was from Oklahoma so they were a little suspecious when they saw that my desk calendar said "Saturday - pickup Rider truck: Monday go to Arkansas."

[mopic]

I was working as a news photographer at a television station in Fort myers Florida. I lived in Oklahoma city from 1979 to 1992. Graduated Del City High 1987.
UCO 1992.
I remember being in the newsroom and suddenly all the network monitors went to an aerial shot of the building. Myself and one of the anchors was immediately flown to OKC. They sent me because I knew the city. We were there for two days. It was surreal. Seeing the destruction while running into people I knew in tv from Oklahoma City. I will never forget driving into downtown from the airport. I will never forget the reactions of the people, especially the other journalists.

[Karried]

I just can't read all of this without tears streaming down my face... it was such a horrible day.

I have never been so proud though, of how people of OK responded.

[tinkerbouy]

I was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, and was at work when this happened. Did not know about it until I got home. My wife had known for a while as she was in college at the time.

[stlokc]

I was a junior at the University of Missouri and I was walking through campus when one of my fraternity brothers approached me from the other direction. He stopped me and asked if I had heard about it. I had not. I went back to the house and about 30 guys were sitting around the TV. They all asked me if I knew aybody who would have been in the building. I didn't think so, and that turned about to be correct, but I was still glued to the TV for days. I knew a couple of reporters at the NBC station in Columbia (it is owned by the univ and I was a Jouraism student). The station sent a reporter to the fraternity house and interviewed me and I was on the news that night as a "MU student from Oklahoma City" It took me all day to get a hold of my family, and when I went home for the summer they took me to the site the first day I was home. So so sad.

That weekend I was in a bar in Columbia and ran into a girl from Casady that was at school at Stephens College. She said that her Dad was supposed to be in the building but was running late for an appointment.

My brother was in high school at Casady and the force was so strong that all the car alarms went off at Britton and Penn. My Mom was at her office at Waterford and they all thought Bellini's Restaurant had blown up.

To this day it practically chokes me up to remember that day, but I was, and continue to be so proud of my hometown in the way we rallied around each other.

[Doug Loudenback]

1st thing, thanks, Jay, for staring this deserving and important thread.

2nd ... as for me ...

I was in the Oklahoma County Courthouse. More paticularly, I was in Clinton Dennis' courtroom for his 9 o'clock "motion docket" in the Ok County Couthouse, 1st floo with the north side facing the alley (aka Couch Drive). I was sitting in the "jury box" (where jurors sit), next to the alley, Couch Drive. The location is 3 blocks south of the Murrah Building.

At 9:03, everyone present in my sight heard the loudest, most horrific and putrifiyig, sound than any of us had ever had heard. Windows on the north side of the courtroom blew out, immediately to my back where I was sitting. Everyone in the courtroom fell to the floor, certainly including me.

After a moment or two, people in the courtroom started standing ... I looked out at the windows on the north where I was sitting (looking to Couch Dr., the alley between the county buildings) and could see very little ... the Oklahoama County Courthouse is immediatly south of the County Office Building. "Couch Drive" (pretty much an an alley at that point) separates the two buildings east/west. I thought it may have been a natural gas blowing, as did many. All we knew at that moment was that the sound was more giagntic than any of us had ever heard and that we needed to take cover.

After a moment or so, people started getting off of the floor ... I looked out of a shattered window immediately to my back (north) side on Couch Drive ... I saw nothing significant. A moment or two later, the judge, Clinton Dennis, said, "Well, lets get on with the docket."

Judge Dennis had a bad leg and he didn't leave his stable position without a very good reason to do so. He didn't see a reason in this instance (and who would have?). When the sheriff deputy came into the courtroom an instant later saying that the courthouse was being immediately evacuated, Judge Dennis was not a happy camper (no disrespect intended ... he was a good judge, now retired)!

After the sheriff's deputies cleared the premises, most of us exited on the east side of the courthouse, Harvey side. No clues were observable as to what had happened , except that as one looked north on Harvey broken glass was everywhere on the street.

After the county courthouse was evacuated, many of us walked north on Harvey to see what had happened. On that short walk, glass shards were everywhere and most walked in the street. At Harvey and SW 4, one could go no furher ... that would be the south side of the Murrah Building.

Smoke was pouring out of the north side of the Murrah building ... at that vantage point, one could not not see the source ... but one could see several bodies on the south side of the building in very much of harm's way. Police and ambulance sirens were amptly running.

I think I'll stop with this desciption here. It remains hard for me to tell this story, but the rest of my remembrances are largrely only amplifications of what has already been said, above. On edit, I see that many others have 1st hand accounts of/on that black day in Okc's history.

I never go to the Murrah Memorial unless I'm entertaining guests who want to see it ... it's a nicely done venue, but I'm not good to go there unless I must. It remains hard to see including the drawings by grade schoolers on the fences on the west side of the premises ... I'll stop here ...

[davido]

I was at home in Norman, I never get up early, but something woke me up at the time of the bombing, I turned on the TV and saw the news, I thought it was a natural gas explosion, I worked at Baptist hospital in the surgery dpt at the time and we had every bit of supplys out just in case.

[Bryan156]

I was in fifth grade at Prarie Queen on the southside, windows shook real bad and I remember the math teacher running in the room and going crazy and freaking out.