30 years after the Oklahoma City bombing: Learn more about the 168 people who were killed (2025)

Mhm Nothing gentles down from *** mild heaven here. We are always braced against the wild wind. We were ever hand in hand as far as the eye can see. Cataclysms are the story. Our cities sprang up overnight, are flattened at *** tongue lashing by clouds and bushwhackers. Bonnie and Clydes struck fast and hit against the land, stretched and pegged flat to the four corners of the earth. We do not cower at disaster. We join hands, sing hymns, we share tears and bend our backs, raising *** neighbor's barn. Do not think your abrupt terror will destroy us. Wide horizons stretch our vision. We do not believe in limits. We shift with the red dust, dance golden like the wheat fields. We believe. We move on. We bend and dance on the tall grass. The prairie sings our pain. The land shouts our praise. The wind calls us together. Braced against the wind by Carol Hamilton. It's the toughest test *** city, state, or country could ever face. But in the years that followed, that's where our community has really stood out. Thank you for joining us tonight. Good evening to you. I'm Abigail Ogle. You are watching our special report, chronicled 30 Years of resilience Remembering the Oklahoma City bombing. It was the day that changed our state and the nation forever. April 19, 1995, now marked by this memorial. In the heart of Oklahoma City, the twin gates we all recognize. 901 symbolizing the innocence before that bomb tore through the Alfred P. Murrah building. It's hard to think about and see the scenes that unfolded at 9:02. I'll tell you the video is disturbing. It's hard for any of us to watch, especially those of you close to it, but we believe it's important to show you how chaotic that day was, the raw emotion and the fear before the healing could begin. The destruction as you've probably seen is unbelievable down there. Looked like, uh, looked like *** war zone looked like something out of Bosnia. It's just like an atomic bomb went off. The ceiling went in and all the windows came in and there's *** deafening roar and then there's just dust and everything. You can see on the upper floors in one of those offices there are some people trapped up there. You can see the firefighter there climbing up *** ladder trying to get, uh, as close as possible to those people, but he was shy about two floors. It's not. Jack, we're moving back as fast as we can. We've been ordered to move back. People are running back from the scene right now. Charles, we'll just show them, ah. If they believe that ATF or or or someone in the building found something that that uh they believe to be that may be another explosive device. Those were cars parked across the street in the parking lot from the federal building. They are literally inside the building right now doing an amputation, working with the victim, trying to get them out of the rubble. We've got *** couple of buildings where all the floors are pancakes, so we have victims crap that's where we have the triage area and the basically the field hospital. At this point it's, it's just *** very slow painstaking thing. I have *** tremendous need for tents because as you can see it's raining here and it's gonna be *** long night. I talked to *** guy that was coming in looked like there was *** truckload of generators. He told me, yes, generators and body bags. This is *** live picture you're seeing of some of the cranes doing work down there. Now we bring you to 903. All of the heart wrenching but also hopeful minutes that followed. At the end of the day on April 19th, 199. people were still searching for loved ones. Others still trapped. Rescuers were desperately searching against the clock, and investigators working to figure out what exactly had happened. In an instant, the streets here at Northwest 6th and Robinson turned into *** makeshift triage center. KOCO's Kylie Thomas tells us the stories of the health care heroes of April 19th. And I Felt the ground move and so I was scared it was an earthquake so I went up on our 10th floor roof and I looked downtown and I seen smoke just barely. I've just never seen anything like that in my whole life. 30 years ago, Glen Young stood in this very spot on top of Integra Southwest Medical Center and witness history and downtown there's people in buildings. That's all I knew. It was Glen who warned the hospital and said, Hey, something's happened downtown. We're getting ready to get *** ton of patients. Everybody on the periphery of the hospital felt it at OU Health, less than 2 miles away from the blast, Doctor David Teague was in the operating room just 8 months into his career. But any work anywhere else in the hospital was stopped, and we immediately began to set up. Various triage centers anticipating the arrival of *** bunch of casualties. We had actually *** triage center outside of the emergency room. We set up our cafeteria which has *** lot of tables so those tables could become gurneys. Area hospitals were ready. They had set up triages for hundreds of the most critical patients, but hundreds never showed. That's one of the still saddest parts of our experience is, you know, we were told several times we're gonna bring you *** bus load of casualties we just know we're gonna bring you all these people that are hurt bad but what we learned through the day. was that people that were in the collapse zone of the building could not have survived. Once the last survivor was rescued, the solemn work began. Identifying the 168 souls lost, but I was very proud of the work that we did. This was my crew. They were on my X-ray crew at the hospital. Steve Lovelace, an X-ray tech at the time, volunteered his team to help in any way they could. It would become *** battle he continues to fight today. Later we got *** call that said show up at the medical examiner's office, which we did at 7 a.m. And that's when we were tasked with X-raying the victims that they were pulling out of the rubble because I had pediatric experience. I was tasked with X-raying the babies um that they pulled out of the rubble of the the nursery. And it was so tough. This is the first time in years Steve's gone through his keepsakes from those grueling 3 weeks as he prepares to honor the victims. This is the one that I wore through my time at the medical examiner's office. This was from the very last day we were able to take *** scrub in and get signatures of all the people that we worked with. *** pair of triathlon athlete, Steve is training for the memorial's quarter marathon. *** decade before the bombing, he was temporarily paralyzed in *** tree cutting accident. Still living with the effects, he is walking to remember those lost step by step. It was. An unfortunate honor to be able to do that and I I say that with all due respect. We are all tied together in in those days and that memory and uh I am very fortunate to have gotten to be part of that story. we all hate the story, but we also all know. But from that story, the Oklahoma standard sprang. The victims who died here missed graduations, proms, weddings, and births. One victim would have just celebrated the birth of his 9th grandchild. KOO's Alejandro Briones spoke to his son about how he is keeping his legacy alive in this newest generation. The simple joy of *** father and son sharing *** moment. Ivan Martinez cherishing every second of fatherhood. The rainbow fish was the most beautiful fish in the sea. Being there for his son in *** way his dad couldn't be there for him. I don't have any pictures with him. It kind of sad. Tragedy struck before Ivan could know his father. He was just 10 days old. When his dad died at the Murrah Federal Building, Reverend Gilbert XXavier Martinez was inside the Social Security office on the first floor there to help someone else with an issue. The stories I've heard is that he was *** leader first, uh, outgoing helper of the community. 30 years later, Ivan is sharing his family's story of resilience and hope, choosing love over hate. We've managed to Stronger out of it and uh yeah that void is never never filled but we're we're stronger together. Everything Ivan knows about his dad comes from stories. Gilbert was *** pastor at *** local church with *** predominantly Hispanic congregation. He was *** teacher at OCPS and an army veteran. But the the main story I've heard of him is how much he loved uh the people of his congregation. Um, so we still keeping tabs with *** lot of people at our church. I know as *** dad, he always put like his kids first. At 35 years old, Gilbert left behind *** wife and 5 young children. Ivan was too young to have any memories of him. Did you ever feel like it was unfair? Um, what was that grief like for you? I don't get jealous of my siblings. Um, I think it's harder for them because they actually knew him. Um, it's hard for me in *** different sense. Growing up, he had stepdads and brothers-in-law as father figures, but his real dad's absence is deeply felt during big milestones like his wedding. I haven't I don't really speak about it, but the, the most grievance I felt was probably, uh, my wedding day, the day before my wedding day, uh, and sorry I get get emotional but uh yeah I mean. Uh, I've never felt his, uh, his absence ever, um, until that day. I I was just looking for *** dad um pep talk and uh I didn't get that. Then his son's birth. Just not him being able to meet his grandpa is really uh hard. Antonio XXavier shares the same middle name as his grandpa. He just turned one. He's got big bright eyes and *** contagious laugh. Ivan looks forward to sharing stories with him about Grandpa Gilbert and carrying on traditions. I do plan to visit the Memorial Museum with him every year as well as going to the remembrance ceremony. Um, so those are two traditions that I think this family will maintain. Not everyone lives in OKC anymore, but on April 19th, the family prioritizes being together. There hasn't been uh one ceremony I think I've missed since I mean since I was one. Did you and your family ever have. That moment and that that thought of if he had just not been there that day. I put myself in my dad's shoes I would have helped *** friend too. Ivan's mom says they were meant to be there that day too, but he was being fussy, so plans changed. I think about that *** lot, um, but as far as my dad, what if? Um, it's, it's crazy to say this, but, uh, you know, the blessings that came out of that disaster, it's, it's just, I don't know, it's, it's hard to explain. Blessings like the Survivors Education Fund scholarship, this allowed the kids to pursue their dreams. Ivan has *** master's degree. He spent some time working for Boeing and is now at Lockheed Martin. I don't think I would be here with. Without it our education lineage and our family is generations above of what my dad ever dreamed of. Antonio Xavier will grow up hearing the same heartfelt stories that Ivan did and more importantly, he'll have his dad by his side. I also tell him, you know, stories, uh, as he grows older, you know, uh like the day before my wedding where I got really emotional, I I'm gonna be there for him. It's become one of the most recognizable symbols in the aftermath of the bombing, but how did this fence come to be and what happens to the millions of mementos and items that have been left here over the past 3 decades? Chronicle 30 years of resilience. Remembering the Oklahoma City bombing continues. For 30 years, millions of mementos have been collected here at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, some from victims' family members, others from strangers all across the world. KOCO's Elise Jones shows us how these memories are saved and preserved forever. Out of the rubble came heartbreak. And under the debris things people brought to work that day, books, mugs, clothes, photos, some of the last things victims and survivors alike would see before nearly everything was destroyed. In the days to come, *** fence was set up surrounding the scene, *** barrier blocking Ground Zero. Evidence they wanted to keep and maintain the evidence that would not be tarnished by people coming into the area. But one first responder saw the fence as an opportunity. *** picture was taken of *** fireman and his son. He was taking his son, and they were placing *** teddy bear. Near the rubble, it was the beginning of what would soon become *** way to honor the victims. It was packed. I mean thousands and thousands of things were left. Some of the same things found in the rubble tied to the fence, and other personal items were left in memory and in honor of the 168 lives lost. Brad Robison spent years. and helping as an assistant archivist, dating and saving millions of memories. While all of the items left are special, Robison says some are engraved in his memory. One day we were removing things from one section of the fence and we discovered *** woman putting *** wreath in this wreath was an 8 by 10 photograph of *** young lady. And there was always *** hat attached to the wreath and *** tube of lipstick. He says the fence was *** museum itself, an archive for victims' belongings, and *** way for families to move forward. She said, Well, my, my daughter was killed in the bombing, and I'm going through her room and getting rid of the hats and the lipstick because all her friends knew she wore these fancy hats and bright lipsticks. Those were very heartbreaking stories, uh, that's how she was dealing with uh her emotion and her, uh. Missing her daughter if the fence could talk, Robison says it talks to those who walk by, those who leave pictures and flowers and memories. It talks to the families who never got to say goodbye. Robison now spends his time giving lectures about it through his book If the Fence Could Talk, *** not for profit book that's been donated to every Oklahoma public school library. To keep the story alive as Robison walked the fence again 30 years later, he said since 1995, the fence has moved, the rubble's gone, and *** beautiful memorial stands, but the message I'm not sure it's changed. I think people that leave things on the fence have an identity with loss remains the same. We all grieve when something happens like that. People were wanting to express themselves. More than 600 people survived the Oklahoma City bombing, each name etched on this granite salvaged from the building on the memorial's survivor Wall, and each name has *** story. Many of these survivor stories are well known. They've been documented and publicized. The last 30 years, some are lesser known. This is Lawrence Martin. He was an Army captain and an elementary school teacher. His physical injuries from that day were visible. His internal scars were not. Tonight, 1/5 grader's journey to learn more about her beloved teacher and how April 19th changed his life forever. US Army recruiting. We were on the same floor as the snack bar. Vicky Hamm worked on the 4th floor of the Murrah building in the Army recruiting office alongside Captain Lawrence Martin. If you see him across the room and he smiles at you, then you smile great big because it's almost like. *** connection. That's the kind of person he was. Vicki happened to be at *** doctor's appointment the morning of April 19th, but she heard and felt the blast, and I looked back south, and that's when I saw the front of the Murrah Building and it was just blown away. Captain Martin survived but sustained life altering injuries. Glass tore through tendons in his arm and severely damaged his eye. He always had *** positive attitude even when he was hurt and he came to work and you know, he, he had scars and cuts and. I kind of thought he was in pain and years later, Vicky played *** role in Captain Martin testifying at the McVeigh trial. I had to speak up because Captain Martin was very well spoken. I said, I know *** good witness for you. Captain Martin did testify, bravely sharing his pain with the courtroom, the world, all while sitting in the same room as the man who tried to kill him. We wanted to know more about Captain Martin's specific testimony. So we went through the Oklahoman archives at the Oklahoma History Center. It was former US Army Captain Lawrence Martin's turn to tell them what the bomb destroyed. *** co-worker ripped off his necktie and wrapped it around Martin's bleeding wrist. He had severed 12 tendons, 2 nerves, and an artery. Virtually my army career is over. The article also details Captain Martin meeting with Sergeant Bill Titsworth, who was transferred to OC. He had stopped by the office April 19th, *** couple of weeks early, to introduce himself and his family, including his young daughter Kayla, who was killed. Captain Martin was discharged from the Army due to injuries sustained that day. He was *** former army officer at the point in time I met him. I interviewed him for *** teaching position I had to open here at Clegern Elementary School. Captain Martin became Mr. Martin in August of 1998 as Clegern principal Bill Powell hired him to be 1/5 grade teacher. He had taught previously before he went into the army. And so he did have *** background of uh understanding children and that came forth in his interview. Early on, Mr. Martin created chess Club for his 5th graders, including me. So this was chess club and here he is playing with. And then yeah There you are. That's me. And I remember vividly the first day of class, Mr. Martin telling us about the bombing, his lasting injuries, and even sharing photos from his personal collection. And these were his copies. Yes, so these are pictures of the building after the bombing and and literally almost immediately after the bombing, and I remember him. Did he show I think he showed these to me. Yes, he would have shown them to you. I remember he wanted us to know. Who he was and why he had the injuries that he did. Mr. Martin died just *** couple of days after the chess club photo was taken. The wreckage is almost unrecognizable. Our KOCO cameras on the scene of the crash near Memorial and MacArthur. The single engine Cessna plummeted propeller first into the ground. The impact tore the plane to pieces and killed its pilot instantly. As I'm talking with you, I'm getting *** sense that he, you kind of had *** soft spot for him. Oh well, I did. Maybe it's because he reminded me of. Investigators ruling the cause suicide. He seemed so happy with his life. And he seemed to have *** strong desire to live, you know, I never saw anything that made me think. That something like that might happen to him. Lawrence Martin, beloved fifth grade teacher, former US Army captain, and OC bombing survivor, died October 11th, 1998 at 41 years old. It's the hardest thing as *** principal I ever dealt with. Do you think the bombing played *** role in his death? Absolutely, because, uh, as much as he was *** successful teacher. His true love was serving in the army and he couldn't continue because he had medical disabilities because of that. I don't know in the late 1990s that the term PTSD would be something that would have been used as prevalent it is now. He was stressed by what had happened. In preparation for this story, I got out my 5th grade folder with items I haven't seen in 25 years. I got an ***, Abby, good story, Mr. Martin. Abby, you are learning to be *** real leader, Mr. Martin. And then week 9 is, is empty. I also reached out to my former 5th grade classmates. Josh described Mr. Martin as fun and supportive, and he feels lucky to have had him as *** teacher. Amy said Mister Martin quickly captured our hearts and described him as patriotic. He was *** gentleman and *** gentleman because he truly was polite and kind and um and deserving of respect for. Um, what he lived through. After his death, Vicky donated Captain Martin's uniforms and his boots to the National Memorial and Museum as *** reminder of those who survived that day but carried the scars forever. What did the world miss out on once he was no longer here? Well, they missed out on um. Knowing Such *** wonderful person that brought carried peace and happiness with him in his soul it radiated from him and that's what they missed out on is knowing the real Captain Martin. May we always remember those killed, those who survived, but were also changed forever. Rest in peace, Mister Martin. Here at the museum, they don't shy away from the man responsible, and KOCO 5 has covered this every step of the way the aftermath, the recovery, the trials, and the execution of mastermind Timothy McVeigh. His federal trial. Taking place about 2 years after the bombing in Denver, Colorado, and KOCO's Jessica Shambach spoke with some of the trial journalists who spent weeks, even months there. I was *** little scared, to be honest, to be going there to cover this, not only because I wanted to do *** good job for my city and but I also, it was just this incredible awful situation. That we covered the bombing we saw all the victims' pictures and we got to know all these families. Then we go to this big event. It was intimidating. I, I felt like, and I was very honored to be chosen to go cover it, but it was something like I've never experienced. How long would you say you all were there around about? Well, I think Terry was there for the longest. I was, I was there from the beginning of the trial till the end. I think we're there for like 2 weeks at *** time, different shifts, and then we switch out. And other people will come for 2 weeks. There were apartments. There were 2 OK yeah it was not far from the courthouse just outside the courthouse. What was the bullpen? It was the just kind of rounded concrete area that was kind of *** walkway area going into the federal courthouse and the media had set up in *** circle all the way around. We're gonna put some troughs down across the sidewalk here. How you doing? And with *** path that went through so the lawyers and anyone else going into the trial could go through, so OJ had just happened and they didn't want the circus and so they were really very conscious of. The media and how they, you know, acted in this federal trial. I, I felt this like competition of who could stand where and who had the better vantage point. I mean you could feel it between everybody honestly that was just part of the whole goal as the photographer that day was to make sure you had the best shot, so you're constantly. Jockeying for *** position and in the bullpen we had size of *** piece of plywood that was our spot for everybody and all of our equipment. What were the conditions like? We would get up in the morning, I guess we got there about 7, 7:30 and stayed until about 11 or 12 at night. Rains, sleet, snow, whatever the case may be. And you couldn't leave no. Because something might happen. Was it *** delicate balancing act because I'm sure it was highly sensitive in the way that you were covering this. Great responsibility. It's *** huge responsibility because not only do you want to get the facts straight, you want to be able to inform viewers of what's happening and inform the rest of Oklahoma what's happening in the world. But most of the time he just listened, took *** few notes. But you also want to be sensitive. Because there's there's so much to it, you couldn't just stand out there and report on 5 people went and testified you had to give contexts, and I think Terry was certainly *** master at that because she knew all these people. She's too kind. It's true, but having, having the opportunity to spend time allowed me to be able to. I think cover it better because remember not only did I meet the victims' families I met McVeigh right so I had *** different context going into it than almost any other reporter so I was very, very lucky in that sense, and tell me about that. Tell me about your relationship with McVeigh and the correspondences. I went out and met with McVeigh for half an hour at the Are Reno prison. Describe that what was he like and what was out of body experience you're sitting across from the. Worst mass murderer in US history. And it is completely disconcerting. He was polite. He was courteous. He was respectful. Soft spoken And I wanted to shake him and go, I need to see the real monster. I need to see the monster. I understood at that moment why anybody in downtown Oklahoma City that passed him. Walking by the federal building would not have got *** single thing. He looked like *** military guy who had gone into the office in the federal building and was walking out with the haircut. Was there ever any remorse or regret? No. Never apologized for what he'd done. Was there immense pressure to deliver the coverage in *** timely manner? You'd get run over. Oh bad. It was so competitive trying to get out the door and get to the camera first. So competitive. I mean running and people pushing and elbow. I mean it was. They're constantly watching the door, so when you see Terry running, you know you gotta get. Tell me about the moment that McVeigh's verdict came down. We were all rushing for the door, pushing each other out of the way, trying to get to the cameras, and you're running out the door doing this and uh screaming. Uh, if it was. The jury verdicts or anything like that you were yelling or I wrote up *** sign and held it up. Does it feel like it's been 30 years? Not sitting with these guys, no. They all look the same to me. No, not really, no it doesn't sort of, yeah. I mean there are always reminders of what happened here and I drive by the memorial every day on my way to work, so I see it, so I'm always reminded, but 30 years sort of kind of it feels that way. I mean. The city has made *** lot of progress. The city changed that day. It grew up. It decided it was important and it was relevant. I wish it hadn't taken that, but that day changed Oklahoma City. This is not the city of 30 years ago. It has Blossomed into *** major metropolitan area that I am so proud to be *** part of. Well, thank you guys. It's great to see you all. Thank you. Good to see you. Appreciate it. I'm only 34, so when this happened, I was 4. I don't have any memories of my mom. 168 innocent lives lost on what seemed to be *** normal April morning. Those victims' legacies now told through their loved ones, some too young to remember, like *** son, tasked with sharing his mom's story with his children when our chronicle 30 years of resilience, remembering the Oklahoma City bombing returns. Many Oklahomans will remember the story of PJ Allen. He was 18 months old when he was saved from the Murrah building. He and 5 others were rescued from that daycare and quickly became known as the Miracle Babies. PJ now works at Tinker Air Force Base as an airplane technician, his way of paying it forward. It's highly unlikely that I'll be able to do *** service job like be *** firefighter. Um, be *** soldier or Police officers is due to the physical restraint, so When working here, it allows me to give back. One of the most striking moments inside the National Memorial and Museum is the room that honors the 168 forever preserving their name and *** piece of their story. But of course the work to preserve their memories doesn't just happen inside of this building. KOCO's Kylie Walker shows us how the families of these people continue to keep their memories alive after they were taken too soon. It's up to me, you know, to, you know. Share as much as possible, you know, and, you know, and. You bring light to *** dark situation. You could say Nick Chafee is *** curator of sorts. Well, this one's directly to my dad from DEA. He preserves history and his Yukon home, some etched within old newspapers from the 90s. In that bin, I got more papers. The more. Precious artifacts, letters, many of them handwritten from government officials and local, state, and federal agencies to his family. This letter right here is, you know, to my dad and this from from the White House. Even one from then President Bill Clinton. These relics are personal, as Nick is now the conservator of his mother's story. Rona Lynn Canner Chafee was tapped by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, state and local task force after serving as *** dispatcher for the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. My dad was on the scene probably 20 minutes after the bombing, um, and I, I can't imagine what that would be like. Going down there and experiencing something that I don't think any of us will ever experience. His mom, one of 168 people killed in the blast. I'm only 34, so when this happened, I was 4. I don't have any memories of my mom. An unimaginable loss so young. This is, this is my favorite picture. My mom was funny. That's that's one thing I've been able to get. Nick's family in *** way were the keepers of his mom's history. So it's like one of those things like you know grew up knew this event had happened but never really talked about it much. His moment to actually reflect on what happened that day would come later when he decided to go to the OKC National Memorial and Museum. Just out of the blue and during summer break and just was like, let's go to the museum. Um, I don't know if that was *** good idea for me that was the first time I like fully grasped that that was where my mom's grave was. With time Nick's family grew and his grief subsided. I'm seeing my family, um, not experiencing *** loss, but you know, experiencing *** gain. And it's just been new to me because I've never experienced that growing up. He's now *** new father to *** 10 month old Brooks and husband of Abby. How would she be with with with my son? How would she be with my wife, um, how close would they be? You know, would they do things together. Those questions driving him to uncover more about his mom's past. I'm always constantly thinking how, how am I gonna teach him about this and what's his role gonna be you know in in my mom's story growing up and um. And kind of in those ways it's the story is the same, but the way you go about telling it probably is *** little bit different so it's it's constantly evolving in the hopes of passing her legacy on to his family's future. It's gonna be your story one day, buddy. Heroes emerged after April 19th, but then faced their own internal battles. Coming up, we will show you the response to the response that was used right here and is still used across the world today. Whether you were *** survivor, lost *** family member, maybe you helped in the aftermath or just watched it play out on television, dealing with that grief is *** process, but the way our state mobilized was truly remarkable, and it's actually *** model used by the world today. KOCO's Colby Terrell shares the success story of Project Heartland. It took *** really long time for me to get back to. Sense of normal every painstaking moment of April 19th was etched into the brains of the hundreds of survivors and thousands of first responders who rushed to the scene. I just couldn't process everything that was coming at me. And I literally had tunnel vision. Leaders in the community knew that people were going to get through the dark days years in the future, they'd need *** solution that could fix more than broken bones. So Project Heartland opened here at One Western Plaza on May 15, 1995. It was the Department of Mental Health's first of its kind response to bring together as many mental health resources as possible, private or public, with some funding help from FEMA. That was huge, um, because when people are going through trauma. Um, you know, they're not necessarily thinking about, OK, I need to, I need to find *** counselor. Survivors had access to therapy, support groups, and retreats like this one at Quartz Mountain. I gave them the chance to just get away. Being there, I knew I didn't have to explain myself. Uh, and I could talk about it if I wanted to, if I wanted to be quiet, I could. And one of the ways this project helps survivors and their families cope was with art like weaving this basket or painting masks that represent their emotions, but for some that art took other forms. I call this running through darkness. Some summer evenings when our mothers were generous we got to stay out well past sundown to play our special game. Why choose uh creative writing? I think of all the things that they offered I thought well maybe that was that was one avenue that might be most helpful to me and. I like I like to write, uh, but I guess I was tired of writing office memos, you know. And when Dennis Piifoy got the chance to look back on what he wrote on that retreat, he wrote one more thing down. Maybe it was *** part of my healing reclaiming the good in life. Even I'm sorry. Maybe the writing exercise was more than *** memory. Maybe it was part of my healing. Reclaiming the good in life, even sometimes the darkness. But survivors weren't the only ones going through it. First responders you see here on scene for hours long shifts saw some of the worst, and psychologist Kathy Thomas made them her mission. This was her job and you know you just suck it up and you do it and you don't talk about it and you don't um tell people that bothers you or you don't let those emotions out. One of the things that I think. Came out of the bombing was the stigma started changing so much so that departments from all over who responded started sending first responders to workshops to process what they'd been through. It was *** 3 day retreat for anybody impacted by the bombings. Survivors, uh, first responders, um, family members that had lost loved ones. And it was at those workshops that the experts realized how important *** relationship between first responders and survivors would become. When those families could see how much of their hearts those first responders were putting into this, um, and, and how personally they took it, um. And many times the the family members would say, you know. I know my loved one wasn't alone because somebody was looking for them. It's *** model that was copied in other cities facing disaster like Washington DC after 9/11 and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And then came this afternoon when the levee breached and it was, it was basically everyone get out. But the project didn't just help survivors and first responders recover. They gave doctors the first tools to bring to new tragedies and terror attacks that would happen around the country. Studies like these that looked into how long trauma stuck around went global. Therapists pioneered new techniques working with survivors that are part of the industry today, all part of *** new approach to mental health born out of *** first of its kind tragedy. It was the thing the Oklahoma City bombing was kind of new for everybody. We really encourage people to talk about your story, share your story, um, and it is extremely helpful for, for other people to learn from that. Dennis says getting rid of the stigma will take some more work. It's great to have friends. It's great to have family. It's great to have faith. But sometimes you need *** little bit of help. He tells me now, even 30 years later, the world can look to OKC's example of turning darkness into light. One thing that is very clear tonight throughout the stories we have been sharing with you, the profound impact that April 19th has had on thousands of lives. KOCO's Megan Mosley spoke with *** man. He was 25 years old at the time and can now easily measure his life in the before. And the after. She's *** single parent. Raising all those kids, she was *** Christian woman. Everybody loved her. She always smile and she was good people and all the people that worked with her, they loved her because she had *** good spirit. She was casting, Tim Hearn's mom, 25 at the time. Tim felt strong unease before the bombing, typical for *** college student missing home. I actually came from Albuquerque. And I was gonna go to school down there and um something told me to come home. Almost like *** whisper of warning, that feeling brought him back to Oklahoma. You had that feeling like It's like God put some something in your spirit like I need to come home I'm missing him and and I I just made an effort to get here and I'm glad I did because if I wanna listen to my instincts what God put in me, I wouldn't never been here when she passed I at least got *** chance to talk to her that morning. And you know, tell her I love her and all that and she went to work. She went to work on the 7th floor of the Murrah building, something she'd done for nearly two decades. She was set to retire in *** year but never made it out alive. I've seen on the news they showed the uh the uh mirror building. It was engulfed in smoke and I immediately called my mom couldn't never get to her. My aunt called her, couldn't get into her, couldn't get to her. Then I get my car and drove over here. And when I see all these people around here it was like it was *** madhouse. When you saw the rubble, did you think there was *** chance that she was alive? Somebody's pulling out and we was hoping that our mom's still in there, but we had hope over and over like, Lord, don't take my mom, you know. The hardest part, Hearn says, was telling his 5 other siblings they lost their mom. And when I told them that they, they just snapped they broke, they broke down it was hard. I had to be the one to tell him, but that difficulty is something he faced time and time again as he stepped up to raise his siblings, changing his path entirely. That day on the 19th changed everything and I ended up staying here because I I felt like we always been *** close knit family. And I just put everything on hold, but in the darkest light their family found *** beacon of hope through each other. All my siblings doing good because they had issues going up, growing up, but God always show his light, make sure he was OK. So, and we still here like I said, I had my trials too. You know, going through that and I had to be the strong one. Like so many others, the tragedy had *** profound impact, causing him to take *** different road in life. You told me you're never downtown. Do you avoid coming downtown? I try to go around it because *** lot of people that come visit. They don't know what we're going through. They see everything and they pay their respects because they, they can't, you know, believe how it happened but we, we went through it and when you go through something what we went through, it just don't wanna really be around. I still feel sad but I don't feel as bad because I know she's in *** better place. We've shared powerful stories and memories from doctors who performed surgery on the streets, therapists who have spent years with survivors working through trauma. What about those you might not necessarily think of as first responders? The unsung heroes, as you continue to watch our chronicle, 30 years of resilience, remembering the Oklahoma City bombing. In the aftermath of Oklahoma's worst day, there were helpers, and there were helpers of the helpers, people who never saw themselves as first responders before April 19th. KOCO's Evan Onstadt introduces us to the unsung heroes. We were just starting our second day of the convention. Uh, when the bomb happened, Deborah Bailey and the Oklahoma Restaurant Association found themselves in the perfect place to help at *** restaurant owner's convention with food and kitchen equipment 4.5 blocks away at the Myriad Convention Center. And so we immediately uh called together all the exhibitors from the floor and said, obviously we're not going on with the show. What do you want to do? And to *** man they all said let's take care of everybody and they love barbecue brisket and and the baked beans and corn. What happened over the next 10 days was nothing short of incredible. More than 100,000 meals served 24/7 to rescue workers, laborers, military, law enforcement. We've been able to offer about 5 different entrees. And we've been giving them *** lot of good variety and they're eating just about everything we put up. Everything looks so good. You guys done such *** tremendous job. I just wanna eat everything. Search and rescue teams that came in, they worked 12 hours on and 12 hours off so they spent *** lot of time and their off time at the Myriad just resting and and you know take care of their physical needs. Massage therapists work to restore tired bodies. And then we're just going to correct it like that. This chiropractor drove in from Tulsa. We had optometrists there because they came and they had contacts or they had glasses and they were working and they didn't think to bring as many supplies as they needed. The volunteers, Deborah says, kept coming from everywhere, over 1000 every morning at the Myriad. Most of them, she says they had to. away. They all wanted to do something they couldn't sit at home and watch it on TV any longer they needed to give back in some way. And it wasn't just people, it was things. We've got uh foot powder and Vicks and sunscreen and antihistamines, decongestants. We would call and say we have *** need for this and within an hour if we ask for 10 of something we got 100 of something people could not get. If you were hungry that you had *** pizza just show up right in front of you and pizzas were donated if you needed *** coke, water, gloves, shoes, pants, I mean whatever you could possibly need. Chris Cates and his mother Peggy saw the work of these unsung heroes firsthand, but they too fit that definition. At the time, Peggy and her husband Ben were the owners of Midwest Wrecking, *** local demolition company that stepped up to help. Everybody wanted to help. Whatever they could do. Chris is now one of the owners, but in 1995 he was *** college student who drove from Stillwater to Oklahoma City to be *** part of the bucket brigade, moving debris and clearing *** path for search crews by hand. Chris says the hardest part was seeing the family members of lost loved ones hoping for *** miracle in the rubble. I just remember walking out the gates and people asking, Hey, have you seen so and so? Have you seen? Over many months, Midwest Wrecking moved debris, cleared the floors, gathered important documents still in the building, and then eventually cleaned it all up after it was demolished. The entire time, Peggy says, treating the area like the sacred place it had become. They were people. They were Oklahoma people, and I, I think when Chris was talking about the generosity. That is Oklahoma and it's, you know, it became known as the Oklahoma standard, and that's not *** joke, that is the truth. Keeping the message of the Oklahoma standard alive is at its core the job of the OKC National Memorial Museum and its president and CEO Kerry Watkins. You look at and call it *** standard Oklahoma standard. I mean they've never seen. quite like it, right? It's not just *** clever phrase. It really is not *** clever phrase, and we got to work to make sure we maintain them. Watkins says the work we saw from so many people on and after April 19th allows us to focus not on the dark but on the light that followed. It really was remarkable that uh it went so well and that everyone worked together pulling the rope in the same direction. Thank you for watching our Chronicle. 30 years of resilience, remembering the Oklahoma City bombing. We will never forget.