We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever.
May all who leave here know the impact of violence.
May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.
-Mission Statement of the Oklahoma City Memorial Foundation

We remember Oklahoma City

This week marks the ninth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, including 19 children, and devastated countless others. The Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by a massive truck bomb planted by Timothy McVeigh at 9:02 a.m., April 19,1995. Eight hundred and 50 people were injured, many permanently disabled. In a city of roughly a half million people, nearly 20 percent of the population attended at least one funeral.

Many parallels have been drawn between the Oklahoma bombing and the events of Sept. 11. “We have a shared experience and it is real," said Robert Bender, head of the American Red Cross of Greater New York, at last year’s memorial service. "The only difference between New York and here is the scale. The events were exactly alike." Several survivors and relatives of the Oklahoma bombing participated in the recovery effort in New York, as counselors to families and displaced residents.

Today, on the site of Murrah Federal Building beside a reflecting pool, sits an array of 168 bronze chairs, each inscribed with a victim's name. The ninth anniversary ceremony will be held in Oklahoma City at the First United Methodist Church Sanctuary on April 19, 2004, at 8:55 a.m. The program will include the observance of 168 seconds of silence and the reading of the names of those who were killed. Also, on April 17, the memorial will unveil a new public program in the Memorial Museum. First Person –Stories of Hope will take place each Saturday afternoon through Labor Day, as a family member, survivor or a rescue worker will tell their story of how horror has been transformed to hope since 1995.

The memorial and museum continue to develop education and outreach programs to teach tolerance and hope across the country. For more information about the memorial, and for biographies of the victims, please visit www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org