Tonight at 7, KERA 90.1 FM will air a special program about the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.
The program is called “That April Morning: The Oklahoma City Bombing.” It’s a collaboration between KOSU and KGOU, Oklahoma public radio stations:
Twenty years ago on April 19, a bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and changing the community forever. When Timothy McVeigh's bomb destroyed the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, the explosion changed lives and reshaped the city. This documentary, a collaboration between Oklahoma public radio stations KOSU and KGOU, tells the story of that day in April through the voices of survivors, first responders and journalists who lived through the tragedy. It uses sound clips, archived tape and personal stories to describe the deadliest domestic terrorist act in U.S. history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdvNWOkzdy4
The scene from Oklahoma City in 1995
Here's part of an Associated Press story from the scene of the bombing 20 years ago:
OKLAHOMA CITY — A car bomb ripped deep into America's heartland Wednesday, killing at least 33 people and leaving 200 missing in a blast that gouged a nine-story hole in a federal office building.
The dead included at least 12 youngsters, some of whom had just been dropped off by their parents at a day-care center.
The government had received calls from six people saying they were from different Muslim groups, asserting they were responsible for the deadliest U.S. bombing in 75 years.
"But there is no way to know if the calls are genuine," said a Justice Department official, who declined to be identified by name. "They could be hoaxes."
At least 200 people were injured — 58 critically, according to Fire Chief Gary Marrs. Scores were feared trapped in the rubble of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
"I was in Japan for the Kobe earthquake and saw the devastation," said James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "The area impacted here is just as bad, if not worse."
Three people were pulled from the rubble Wednesday night but two died a short time later, said Assistant Fire Chief Jon Hansen. He said a 15-year-old girl was taken from the building in critical condition. He also said a woman trapped in the basement said there were two others with her. She didn't know if they were dead or alive.
The death toll was certain to rise.
"Our firefighters are having to crawl over corpses in areas to get to people that are still alive," said Hansen.
Oklahoma City's resurgence
StateImpact Oklahoma explores how the city has changed over 20 years:
As Oklahoma City prepares to look back on the bombing, one thing is clear — downtown OKC is a far different, and much better place than it was in April 1995. And it’s hard to deny the role the bombing played in the area’s resurgence.
Downtown Oklahoma City, April, 2015: The Thunder is in the arena fighting for a birth in the NBA playoffs. Bars and restaurants in Bricktown are packed along the scenic canal that feeds into the Oklahoma River, where the U.S. Olympic rowing team trains. 20 years ago, before the Oklahoma City bombing, downtown was nothing like this. There was no pro-basketball team, Bricktown was in decay, and the Oklahoma River was nothing more than muddy ditch.
“When I first moved to Oklahoma City, if people wanted to have lunch they drove out of downtown to go have lunch,” Russell Claus, who served as Oklahoma City’s planning director from just after the bombing until moving back to his native Australia earlier this year, says. “I’m probably one of the few people, unfortunately, who can say, “I owe my career to Timothy McVeigh,” in a very black way.”
More stories
- From StoryCorps: Anniversary Of Oklahoma City Bombing Reopens Wounds For Survivors
- From Here & Now: Oklahoma City Bombing Juror Looks Back
- From StateImpact Oklahoma: The Murrah Bombing’s Role In Oklahoma City’s Downtown Renaissance