Remembering 29 Years Since Oklahoma’s Monumental Tragic Event

29 years ago today, Oklahoma City experienced one of the worst events in our history that took 168 innocent lives. However, out of the devastation came inspiration and strength from the survivors and family members of those being remembered.

The Event

On Wednesday, April 19, 1995, 27 year-old "Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City," recounted by fbi.gov. Within minutes of leaving the vehicle, Timothy set off the first timed explosion and made his way to his getaway car, a yellow Mercury Marquis.

The explosion destroyed one-third of the building while incinerating multiple close-range vehicles, damaging and demolishing over 300 buildings nearby. As the FBI recalls, "many floors" were "flattened like pancakes" and 168 people killed with "several hundred more injured." Among the 168 souls lost, 19 of them were children.

Timothy McVeigh had intentionally destroyed the government building on the exact second anniversary of the Waco incident in Texas. He had grown increasingly skeptical of the United States government after his honorable discharge from the military; he decided leaving was best since he was not "physically ready," according to his letter to his superiors. With the help of his veteran friends Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier, the McVeigh took out his rage on the Oklahoma City community as "retribution for the lives lost in Waco and Ruby Ridge."

The Impact on the Community

Since the event, Oklahoma City built a Memorial and Museum in honor of the innocent people lost in the bombing. Although families impacted were heartbroken because of the loss, many are able to continue to remember their loved ones because of the memorial.

The remnants of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building became the starting grounds of the memorial. Since then, beautiful things have come from the tragedy, such as a Run to Remember.

Run to Remember

Each year, the Memorial hosts its largest fundraiser of the year in honor of the bombing victims. According to oklahomacitymarathon.com, "the Memorial Marathon is a unifying experience for the state of Oklahoma, as well as one of the most anticipated races in the country." This year, a Run to Remember is happening April 26 - 28 and is open to any and all runners.