We visited the
Oklahoma City memorial during the summer of 2005. When you see
images of this memorial on T.V. it just isn't the same. You have
to see the memorial up close and visit the museum. One very
stirring part of the memorial is when you walk in and get to listen to
the hearing that was recorded at the Oklahoma City Water Board.
You can hear the proceedings taking place, then the sound of the
explosion is recorded. As you look at the pictures below, you will
notice one monolith that has "9:01" and another that has "9:03"
displayed. The blast occurred at 9:02am. The 9:01 represents
the last time that the federal building was intact and there were no
thoughts of a terrorist attack. 9:03 represents the time at which
the United States was changed forever by a terrorist attack.
There is one
chair for each of the victims. The chairs are arranged according
to the floor in the building on which each of the victim was that day. The
reflecting pool in the picture below is the former 5th Street in front of
the Federal Building. The spray painted message on the building
across the street is just as it was on that day. In fact the whole
side of that building, which was across the street from the bombed
building, was covered with preservative and has not been changed or
repaired since the blast.
The reason that
there are no pictures of the inside museum displays is because no
photography is allowed inside.
Here is the sound
file of the recording of part of the recording of the hearing at the
Water Board. It isn't the best quality, but it conveys the
message.
Click Here for Explosion Sound
Recording
