04/19/2026
Today we honor and remember the 168 lives that were lost in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
On the morning of April 19th, 1995 Timothy McVeigh parked his car in front of the Alfred P Murrah Federal building. In his car he built a bomb he made and at 9:02 the bomb went off. 300 nearby buildings were damaged in the blast. 168 lives taken, 19 of them children, with several hundred injured.
The Survivor Tree: An American Elm tree located in the heart of downtown OKC survived the blast. Before the bombing it was special because it was the only source of shade in the area of awhile. Before people would go into their jobs they would congregate around the tree seeking shade, fellowship and just the beauty of it. It now stands as a symbol of hope and to honor the loved ones who were lost.
I truly love OKC and our history but my favorite thing is the way okies show up for one another.