I will never forget the Oklahoma City bombing

updated April 18, 2025

On April 19, 1995 I was seeing patients in my family practice office in Tulsa Oklahoma when my medical assistant told me a bomb had exploded in Oklahoma City, 90 miles away.

We didn’t have computers or cell phones so I turned on a radio. The words I heard shocked and saddened me.

It was true. A massive bomb had exploded at the Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City, something I thought only happened overseas.

Who would bomb a building in Oklahoma?

at the entrance to the memorial museum, artwork done by local schoolchildren is displayed on a brick wall

That day in Oklahoma City showed some of the best in our state and our country as people, some with no training, risked their lives to help rescue people who were injured and trapped inside.

Firefighters and police came from all over the United States to help. People donated food and first aid supplies. I was proud to be an Oklahoman then and now, and still grieve for the loss we sustained that day.

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Today a beautiful memorial and museum stands at the site of the rubble where 168 people died-employees, visitors, children. When you visit Oklahoma, don’t miss seeing this moving tribute to their memory. You will never feel the same.

window at the Oklahoma City bombing museum — Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

gold memorial chairs by reflecting pool — At the reflecting pool stand 168 gold chairs, honoring the dead

Cover Image

I took the cover image of the Survivor Tree.

“Before the bombing, the tree was important because it provided the only shade in the downtown parking lot. People would arrive early to work just to be able to park under the shade of the tree’s branches.

On April 19, 1995, the tree was almost chopped down in order to recover pieces of evidence that hung from its branches after a 4,000 pound bomb that killed 168 and injured hundreds exploded just yards away.”

Continue reading the tree’s history at this link.

In this post, I wrote more about the event.

Remembering the Oklahoma City bombing April 19, 1995

April 19 is the anniversary of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which remains the deadliest domestic “homegrown” terrorist incident in the United States. I lived there in the 1970s while in medical school and residency at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center and visit frequently. These are…

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April 18, 2016May 3, 2023

sharing the HEART of health

Thank you for remembering the Oklahoma City bombing with me on the 30th anniversary. I took the photos in this post during one of my visits to the site.

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Dr. Aletha

Author: Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.

As a family physician, I explore the HEART of HEALTH in my work, recreation, community, and through writing. My blog, Watercress Words, informs and inspires us to live in health. I believe we can turn our health challenges into healthy opportunities. When we do, we can share the HEART of health with our families, communities, and the world. Come explore and share with me. View all posts by Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.