9:02: A New anniversary, A New Generation

It is hard to believe that another five years have passed. Five years ago I wrote about the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.  Today we mark the 20th year since that horrible day. As we get further and further away from that fateful day in history, I am reminded of the importance of telling the story to the next generation so they don't forget. Tell them about where you were. Tell them about the people you knew that were lost. Tell them everything you know

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

We were talking about this at the office the other day as most Oklahoman's do around April of each year. My assistant was with us and I commented that she wasn't even born yet when the bombing happened. Even though that statement was true, she reminded me that even her history is tied to this fateful day. You see, her mother went into labor with her on April 19, 1995.

A great resource for history and information about the bombing is the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum website. Make sure that anyone you know under 20 years old goes to the website or, better yet, visit the Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City at the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Building

A portion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Mission Statement reads:

Learning - The Memorial Complex should include an information center that records important facts and observations about the bombing and teaches visitors never to forget the event or the people it touched. Educational information should include, among other elements, personal stories about those who died and those who survived; “before and after” information about the Murrah Building and surrounding areas; and the immediate aftermath of the blast. The educational area should tell visitors about the loss of a sense of innocence and security that can follow a terrorist attack. Such a learning center should be participatory and should instill an understanding of the senselessness of violence, especially as a means of effecting government change. It should convey the imperative to reject violence

I would also like to remember three of our friends that were killed that day Luther and LaRue Treanor and their granddaughter, Ashley Eckles, 4,