Oklahoma: the day homegrown terror hit America

When war veteran Timothy McVeigh bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 1! "eo"le, the
#$ wa% %tunned& Why did American% like him hate their country' And, a% the rightwing militia% ri%e again,
what le%%on% doe% that fateful day hold'
(d Vulliamy
$unday A"ril 11 )*1*
The Ob%erver
htt":++www&guardian&co&uk+world+)*1*+a"r+11+oklahoma,bombing,1-,year%,on
.e/t $unday, 1! A"ril, will be 0aylee Almon1% 1th birthday& There will be a "arty and cake%, and her
younger half,%i%ter 0ella and half,brother 0rook% will be there& A "lace will be %et for 0aylee, but %he will
attend in %"irit only, not in body& The day after her fir%t birthday, on 12 A"ril 122-, %i/ year% before 11
$e"tember )**1, 0aylee wa% one of 1! "eo"le ' including 12 children and babie% ' who died in a bomb
attack on American %oil&
The Alfred 3 Murrah building in Oklahoma City wa% bombed at 2&*1 in the morning, a% a normal working
day on the 4reat 3lain% wa% getting under way ' not by 5%lamic fundamentali%t% "lotting in Afghan cave%,
but by a "aramilitary unit of American% who called them%elve% 6"atriot%6, led by a former %erviceman and
1221 4ulf war veteran, Timothy McVeigh& McVeigh wa% e/ecuted in )**1, and hi% "rinci"al accom"lice,
Terry .ichol%, i% %erving life&
6McVeigh wa% one of u%,6 %ay% 0aylee1% mother, Aren Almon,7ok, now remarried to a military veteran of
8utch de%cent who wa% wounded in that %ame 4ulf war& 6McVeigh wa% an American, like me and
0aylee,6 %he %ay%, 6and he walked into the building and %aw the daycare centre where the children "layed
' he knew they were there& Why did he do it' What wa% the "oint' There i% no an%wer, and 51ve alway%
%aid that the rea%on 5 wanted to %ee him die wa% nothing to do with clo%ure, becau%e there ain1t no
clo%ure& 5t wa% %o 51d never have to hear him e/"lain him%elf, and 9u%tify what he1d done&6
The fact that the 1! death% at Oklahoma were the re%ult of American% killing American% in the name of
America ha% made the incident in %ome way% harder for the nation to "roce%% than 2+11 and the le%%
com"licated enemy, al,:aida& 65t made a terrible difference that thi% wa% homegrown terrori%m,6 %ay%
Almon,7ok& 65t left you with nothing to tru%t or believe in, a"art from my faith that thi% city did everything it
could in the aftermath, and that we have a legal %y%tem which, for the mo%t "art, work%& 0ut that doe%n1t
an%wer why fellow American% wanted to come killing our kid%&6
3erha"% thi% i% why the Oklahoma bomb i% not a% centre %tage in America1% collective memory a% it
%hould be& When Al 4ore wa% interviewed about the e/treme right by ;arry 7ing recently, there wa% no
mention of Oklahoma& Coverage of la%t month1% arre%t% of militant% belonging to an off%hoot of the %ame
Michigan militia that McVeigh belonged to omitted to mention the bomb, day% away from it% 1-th
anniver%ary& There i% e/treme awkwardne%% around thi% enemy within, but al%o current concern about
reverberation% of McVeigh1% cau%e: war again%t the American government&
6What %care% me,6 %ay% 7ari Watkin%, e/ecutive director of the Oklahoma .ational Memorial and
mu%eum, 6i% that %ociety now i% configured much a% it wa% in 122-& The militia% are back, there1% a
language of e/tremi%m out there, of hatred again%t the government, threat% of violence&6 Monday 12 A"ril
will mark the 1-th anniver%ary of the bomb, but it i% al%o the date cho%en by the Tea 3arty, a right,wing
activi%t organi%ation, for national "rote%t, in all %tate ca"ital%, again%t the current admini%tration& 5n
Oklahoma the Tea 3arty ha% bowed to the %olemnity of the date, %o that two event% will occur on different
day%: one on 1- A"ril, howling abu%e at the government, and another on 12 A"ril %olemnly honouring the
lo%t and the %urvivor%& .everthele%%, there i% local outrage& 65 don1t know how they dare,6 %ay% 7eith
$imond%, a "olice officer at the core of the re%cue o"eration in 122-, 6%"ewing their hatred on a day of
remembrance&6 .o one i% %aying that the Tea 3artie% or their "rote%t are com"arable to McVeigh, 6but all
it take% i% a few dangerou% e/tremi%t% out there to hear thing% the wrong way,6 %ay% Watkin%&
The 4reat 3lain% of America1% heartland are no %tranger% to di%a%ter: tornado%, drought, "rairie fire% and
of cour%e the red "lain% turning to du%t bowl in 12<!, cau%ing the 6Okie6 e/odu% we%t, regi%tered into e"ic
hi%tory by =ohn $teinbeck1% The 4ra"e% of Wrath and the %ong% of Oklahoma1% greate%t %on, Woody
4uthrie&
0ut by 122-, Oklahoma City had become a rea%onably but not o%tentatiou%ly "ro%"erou% %tate ca"ital
with an economy ba%ed on natural energy, in which the large%t em"loyer% were the %tate and federal
government%& $o there wa% nothing in the univer%e to "re"are Almon,7ok, the day after 0aylee1% fir%t
birthday "arty, for what followed& .or 7athleen Treanor, who lo%t her four,year,old daughter, A%hley
(ckle%, and both her "arent%, ;uther and ;e>ue& >e"orting on the bombing for thi% new%"a"er, 5 met
Treanor wandering be%ide the rubble on the night of the e/"lo%ion, holding a "icture of little A%hley, in vain
ho"e& There wa% nothing to alarm Claude Medeari%, a cu%tom% officer, a% he "o""ed by the office to
make a "hone call ' which he would never make ' on hi% way to an a""ointment el%ewhere& .othing to
indicate that ?lorence >oger%1 meeting with her %taff at the ?ederal (m"loyee% Credit #nion %aving% co,
o"erative would be di%turbed and 1! of her em"loyee% killed& The %ky wa% dee" blue above the "rairie,
until contaminated by a "lume of black %moke at 2&*1am&
$omething had been fe%tering in the American undergrowth& Calling them%elve% a militia, gathering% of
e/tremely right,wing men @and %ome womenA were crawling around the backwood% in camouflage
fatigue% "laying war game% again%t a loo%ely termed 6federal government6& Ab%urd, certainly, but the
movement had a %eriou%ly dangerou% core& 0ack then 5 e/"lored thi% grou" and %ome of it% more
@"re"o%terou%A "ro"o%ition%: there %hould be an u"ri%ing again%t 6The .ew World Order6, of which the #$
government wa% a "u""etB there wa% a %ite in .evada where the militia% believed a cra%hed #?O had
been taken, the government "lotting with alien%& The movement1% leader%hi" in 5ndiana were a""arently
"re"aring for armed in%urrection, and a training com"ound in AriCona wa% headed by a man Timothy
McVeigh knew, William Coo"er, who threatened me when 5 tried to vi%it& 5n Coo"er1% 1221 book, 0ehold a
3ale Dor%e, he in%i%ted that the "ri%on tran%fer centre in Oklahoma City wa% a 6concentration cam"6 for
tho%e re%i%ting the .ew World Order of the Antichri%t& 5n .ovember 122E, on hi% radio %tation, Coo"er
i%%ued a call to arm%: the militia% %hould be ready, he %aid, to 6fight a war6 within %i/ month%& Clo%er to
hand, at another com"ound called (louhim City ' vi%ited by McVeigh ' the leader of the Oklahoma militia,
>obert Millar, urged hi% follower% to 6take whatever action nece%%ary again%t the #$ government6& A few
week% later, McVeigh and .ichol% "arked a rented >yder truck "acked with )&1- tonne% of ammonium
nitrate and fuel oil out%ide the Murrah 0uilding, lit a fu%e and walked away&
0aylee Almon had a %mile like a %"ring dai%y, and before %he and the 1F other% were killed by the
en%uing e/"lo%ion, thi% city of the "lain wa% wra""ed in gloriou% "ear blo%%om, a% it i% thi% (a%tertide, time
of >e%urrection in thi% dee"ly religiou% city, and of birth on the land beyond& 5n 122-, 12 A"ril followed
(a%ter $unday by three day%& 0ut that %miling infant wa% not the child the world came to know ' it wa% the
baby cradled in a fireman1% arm%, lifele%%, in what emerged a% the enduring image of the attack& 6That
"hoto took on it% own life,6 %ay% Almon,7ok in her official video,recording at the memorial, 6which wa%
horrible for me, becau%e after a while 5 couldn1t ever remember 0aylee being alive&6 .ow, %ay% Almon,
7ok, 6we tried to get a handle on it in the court%, get it off of T,%hirt% and thing%, but we were turned down
becau%e the 9udge %aid 0aylee wa% not a "ublic figure before the attack6 ' thereby not "rotected by
"rivacy law%& 65f %he1d been Michael =ordan, we1d have been O7,6 %ay% her hu%band, $tan 7ok& 6That i%
not my child, in the "icture,6 in%i%t% Almon,7ok& 6My child wa% a beautiful little girl who loved to "lay&6
0ut the "icture wa% not the only ob%tacle on Almon,7ok1% road of reckoning& 63eo"le ke"t %aying: 1$he1% in
"aradi%e, a better "lace1, and 5 %aid 1.O, %he %hould be here with me1& Other% a%ked: 1Why were you a
%ingle mother' Who1% the father'16 There wa% even 6a weirdo in California who became ob%e%%ed with
0aylee, %ent letter% to her grave and moved to Oklahoma to be 1near her1& De knew where we lived6& The
family took a court in9unction to ban the grave,%talker from the %tate of Oklahoma& Aren Almon wa% lucky
to meet a fine man in $tan 7ok, who %ay% of the%e %u""lementary tribulation%: 651ve got to the "oint when
nothing %ur"ri%e% me any more, and that1% a %ad world, when nothing %ur"ri%e% you&6
0ut of all the endurance%, %ay% Almon,7ok, none %truck harder than 6"eo"le a%king me why 5 left my child
in a nur%ery in a federal building& 5 %aid 5 e/"ected my daughter to be %afe in a federal building&6 And it
wa% thi% which took Mr% Almon,7ok on a remarkable cru%ade: to en%ure the in%tallation of reinforced,
%hatter"roof gla%% in all federal nur%erie% and eventually all federal building%&
5n $e"tember )***, 3re%ident 0ill Clinton %igned into law congre%%ional bill number D> E1-2, better
known a% 0aylee1% ;aw, which en%ured gla%% "rotection that might have %aved an incalculable number of
live% on 12 A"ril& 65 %u""o%e 5 believe that bad thing% ha""en for a rea%on,6 %ay% Almon,7ok, 6and that my
lo%% could %ave other live%&6 $o that 6when 2+11 ha""ened, 5 watched tho%e "eo"le carrying their "icture%
of their loved one%, looking, and thought: 151ve %o been there&16 0ut it wa% only later, vi%iting .ew Gork and
Wa%hington, that %taff from the 3entagon came to thank Almon,7ok for their live%: 6Their %ection of the
3entagon, near where the "lane came in, wa% the only %ection where the new gla%% had been in%talled&6
0ut Almon,7ok1% grief i% now more "rivate, at home near Choctaw, on o"en "rairie& 6Thing% had to change
for me and the children& 0ella wa% u%ed to being with me on the road cam"aigning ' eating at )am meant
nothing to her& $he grew u" climbing all over furniture in the White Dou%e& 0ut 0rook% wanted to be in bed
at ! o1clock, and that calmed thing% down for all of u%& $ome "eo"le ke"t what ha""ened from their
children, but 5 wanted them to know& They feel her "re%ence: 0rook% had a "ro9ect at %chool called 5 Dave
a 8ream, and he wrote: 1My wi%h i% that 0aylee didn1t have to die&16
0y 122-, )<,year,old Catherine AlaniC had tried her level be%t to recover from her hu%band1% death in the
1221 4ulf War& When Andy AlaniC wa% killed by 6friendly fire6 on the day of the cea%efire in 5raH @which the
3entagon initially deniedA, Catherine, aged only 12, had been %i/ month% "regnant with her daughter,
whom %he called Andee& 5nevitably, her mother $haron and father Claude, a #$ cu%tom% agent, had been
bedrock% of %trength for the young widow&
On the morning of 12 A"ril Catherine took a call: 68id you feel that'6 There had been an 6e/"lo%ion
downtown6: the caller mentioned the federal courthou%e& 6My dad worked downtown,6 Catherine recall%
thinking, with a %hudder& 65 called hi% office number, but it wa% %witched through to Dou%ton, like ha""en%
at night, even though it wa% after 2am&6 Catherine ru%hed to her "arent%1 hou%e, to find 6my mom %itting
on the floor, rocking back and forth with the "hone in her hand, waiting for my dad to call& 5 %at down ne/t
to her, wra""ed my arm% around her and 5 told her, 18ad i% going to be O7& 4od wouldn1t do thi% to both of
u%&16
5t took %everal day% for both women to learn that another hu%band and father, aged only E1, had now
been lo%t& 6(vidence had to be collected,6 %ay% Catherine& 6Then a woman in ho%"ital who1d %urvived, her
name wa% 3ri%cilla, told u% dad had gone by the office to make a call& That he1d been there at the time of
the bomb& $o we knew, but not officially& .e/t day, we went to the funeral of the other cu%tom% officer
killed, 3aul 5ce, and the "a%tor %aid, 1Do"e for the be%t1, but we already knew, and ne/t day it wa%
confirmed&6
651ve thought thi% through,6 %ay% Catherine, 6and 51ve decided that the only rea%on 4od would take my
hu%band would be %o 5 could hel" when Mom lo%t her%& Mom wanted to get involved immediately, in the
committee%, and the trial, to %e"arate her%elf, emotionally&6
The trial of Timothy McVeigh in 8enver, and the long road to hi% e/ecution wa% a Calvary for the victim%
and %urvivor%& At one "oint, the 9udge ruled that victim% could not ob%erve the "roceeding% if they wanted
to make im"act %tatement% in the event of a guilty verdict& A% McVeigh neared hi% e/ecution, media
develo"ed a grote%Hue fa%cination with him& 4ore Vidal corre%"onded with the ma%% murderer, and a
book came to be gho%t,written in which McVeigh dubbed the dead children 6collateral damage6 and tho%e
he had bereaved 6the woe,i%,me crowd6&
?or Catherine AlaniC, the trial wa% at time% too much: 6McVeigh %itting there, %mirking at u%, and we not
being allowed to cry, %how emotion or wear button% and ribbon%6, in guidance from the 9udge& 6$ometime%
5 had to leave the courtroom& 0ut 5 %tayed on in 8enver with Mom and got involved in a local Catholic
church, making hundred% of ham and chee%e %andwiche% for the homele%%& And they had a "rogramme
vi%iting "eo"le dying of Aid%, and 5 met a man, a Di%"anic man, who wa% dying and 5 hugged him and he
%aid he hadn1t been hugged for year% ' it turned out he wa% from Oklahoma City&6 Of cour%e, there wa%
al%o downtime for the bereaved familie% to talk: with each other, with %urvivor% and with tho%e who had
re%cued them&
3olice officer 7eith $imond% wa% among them, an/iou% to give hi% im"act %tatement after the verdict&
Officer $imond% of the Oklahoma $wat team had clocked on for duty at Fam on 12 A"ril 122- and wa%
an%wering a call north of the city when he heard the e/"lo%ion, %aw the "lume of %moke and row% of hi%
colleague%1 car% "arked near the federal building& De took a radio call 6from the ea%t %ide of the building:
1We1ve got wounded here,1 it %aid& 151m in the ba%ement& Gou need to %hut off the water, it1% flooding down
here&16 After failing to "er%uade a fireman to accom"any him or give u" a fla%hlight, $imond% de%cended
into the water: 65t wa% a wreckage, the whole thing had come down, and we were crawling over debri% to
our victim, a lady called $haron ;ittle9ohn, tra""ed& Tyre% were e/"loding, the water ri%ing, and 5 %aid to
my colleague, you take the leg%, 51ll take the u""er tor%o& The water had been ankle,dee", now it wa%
knee,dee"& A% we reached the %urface 5 told her, 1Can you %ee the light, ma1am' 5t1% going to be O71, and
her arm %uddenly hit me ' 51d been holding onto e/"o%ed bone&6
Officer $imond%1 re%cue of M% ;ittle9ohn became another iconic "hoto,image of that day& 6I0utJ 5 had to
kee" working, 5 had to kee" going,6 %ay% $imond%, unaware then that the "icture had been taken& 65 wa%
walking through the children1% "layground, that1d become a morgue ' it wa% real hard that where the
children "layed wa% where they were now laid out dead, in that biddy "layground&6 8uring hi% incur%ion%
into the building, he %aid, 65 %aw an officer carrying a girl with a white dre%% with ro%e% on it& 5 thought
1that1% a good omen1, and that %he wa% alive& ;ater, 5 reali%ed it wa% a white dre%% with blood on it, and %he
wa% dead&6
Officer $imond% wa% told by "ro%ecutor% in the McVeigh trial that he %hould not give hi% im"act te%timony:
6The 9udge and 9ury had heard %o much, it might have backfired, they told me& A% a "olice officer, 5
under%tood& A% a man, 5 wa% "i%%ed& $o 5 really wanted to give my %tatement in the .ichol% trial&6
>eady to do %o, and on the "lane back to 8enver for the .ichol% trial, a young lady two row% ahead of
$imond% wa% trying to get volunteer% for a Chri%tma% "arty for the homele%% being organi%ed by a church
near the courthou%e& 65 thought %he1d never %to",6 recall% $imond%& 6What about %ome of you officer%
hel"ing out'6 %ugge%ted the young woman& 6.e/t day,6 recall% the "olice officer, we went to a teahou%e,
and the %ame lady told me, 1We1ll make %ure you get to do your te%timony1, and 5 did&6 There wa%
%omething about her, thought Officer $imond%, and the feeling wa% mutual& Der name wa% Catherine
AlaniC, now $imond%: the re%cue co" had met the woman he would before long make hi% wife&
Dome for the $imond%e% and their merged familie% i% now a hou%e in the Oklahoma %uburb of .oble ' a
hou%ehold of chattering teenage girl% and vi%iting older brother%, grace before dinner, gaCebo in the
garden running down to a creek and a cabinet in the %itting room in tribute to the lo%t men in Catherine1%
life, and the officer1% bravery that day& 6We live in thi% world of Huick fi/e%,6 %ay% Catherine, 6but there1% no
%uch thing& Gou can1t "lan when the lo%% will get you& There1% no rea%on why the 1-th anniver%ary %hould
be any ea%ier or harder than the -th, or the 1Eth&6
7eith $imond%, when he i% not on the beat, "rotecting dignitarie% or riding hi% Darley,8avid%on, give%
cla%%e% to children on the im"act ' and avoidance ' of violence& 65 tell them my %tory and tell them to
re"ort violence: 5 tell them if the third man in the "lot, name of ?ourrier, had told the "olice what McVeigh
and .ichol% were u" to, 5 wouldn1t be here today& 5 tell 1em to watch for gang%, to do %"ort% or club% or
cheerleading in%teadB 5 tell even the badde%t of them: it1% O7 to have feeling%&6 6The thing 5 cannot e/"lain
to my%elf,6 %ay% Catherine, 6i% that it wa% an American who did thi%, who had walked by the children he
killed& Gou lo%e your fal%e ho"e that it cannot ha""en here& Thi% wa%n1t %omeone from the Middle (a%t '
an American did thi% to u%, and it can ha""en again&6
There wa% %omething uniHue about Oklahoma City1% re%"on%e to the bombing, which one %en%ed
immediately at the time& The Okie% love where they live with good rea%on: their% i% "robably the lea%t
"retentiou% city in the world& They have down,to,earth decency, a rugged decorum, ea%y,going diligence&
The%e characteri%tic% came into "lay in the hour of horror, lo%% and need& Ted Wil%on, cha"lain to the fire
de"artment, recall% the rota of fa%t food chain% and local "iCCa 9oint% "roviding endle%% free meal% for
re%cue worker% and the vigil% of tho%e who ho"ed for new% of loved one%, often in vain& De remember%
round table% of local bu%ine%% donating ca%h for all rea%on%& 65f word went out that they needed batterie%
at the %ite,6 he %ay%, 6a truckload of batterie% would arrive&6 >e%cue worker% from out of town would return
to their cam" bed% to find their clothe% anonymou%ly wa%hed and ironed& 3eo"le literally gave the %hoe%
off their feetB local TV became an emergency need% %wa",%ho", often having to a""eal to citiCen% to hold
back a% blood donation bank% became %aturated&
The aftermath% of outrage% %uch a% 2+11, 0e%lan or $rebrenica are characteri%ed by grating and grated
nerve% ' friction, even ' between the differently traumati%ed bereaved, %urvivor% and re%cue worker%& The
different wound% cut %o dee", and %o unforgivingly to the individual% affected, that often the%e
con%tituencie%, though bonded by the %ame horror, are a% divided a% they are united by raw emotion and
grievou% lo%%& 65t wa%n1t ea%y at fir%t,6 %ay% Catherine $imond%, 63eo"le would %ay to me, 1Well, 5 lo%t a
child1, and 51d think, 1Well, my dad wa% my grandma1% baby&16 Almo%t uniHuely, Oklahoma ha% %uceeded in
bringing the%e "eo"le together into what >a%hell Dammon%, the mother of children who %urvived ' faced
by tho%e who%e children did not ' call% 6an e/tended family6& Thi% i% a far more formidable and %ingular
achievement than it will a""ear when the bereaved, %urvivor% and re%cue worker% gather together
tomorrow week, and it did not ha""en by accident&
The anniver%ary commemoration% are held at the Oklahoma .ational Memorial, a "lace mo%t of the
bereaved and %urvivor% %ay they love, and in which they feel at home, hel"ed, comforted if not healed& 65
love it,6 %ay% Catherine $imond%, 6it i% very, very beautiful&6 5n a time %uch a% our% of much thought and
debate over what memorial% and monument% %hould re"re%ent and achieve, thi% %ite %et% a gold
%tandard& 5t i% unrivalled anywhere& The Oklahoma memorial i% in "art %et on the ga"ing %"ace left by the
Murrah building, but include% %ome of it% 9agged, incinerated wall%& There are 1! em"ty bronCe chair%
%et on a lawn, each engraved with a name, their ba%e% illuminated during darkne%%, %o that the chair% of
the dead float on beacon% of light& At either end are huge 64ate% of Time6 marking 2&*1, the la%t moment
of the city1% innocence, and 2&*<, 6the moment we were changed forever6, %ay% the guidebook& Thi% "lace
i% alway% o"en, and the bereaved come often, a% do %urvivor% ' there i% alway% %omeone to tell their
%tory to a vi%itor& 3a%%ing teenager% in%tinctively %witch off their boom bo/e%B the )E,hour toilet% are
alway% clean& 65t1% not a cemetery, where "eo"le come to mourn, it i% a "lace to remember and to learn,6
%ay% director 7ari Watkin%& 6A memorial %hould be beautiful, it %hould be a "lace that1% alway% o"en, )E
hour%, at it% be%t for anyone who lo%t a family member, or even 9u%t tho%e "a%%ing on 5,E* who come by to
look&6 The %"ace i% Huite a le%%on to "o%t,2+11 .ew Gork, who%e memorial committee% have %erially
vi%ited&
5n%ide, the Oklahoma mu%eum i% a 9ourney from the moment of normality at 2&*1am, through the
e/"lo%ion, chao%, clau%tro"hobia of entra"ment, the re%cue o"eration, arre%t% and aftermath ' all narrated
by the videota"ed te%timony of living bereaved and %urvivor%, and ending with redem"tive light and a
window overlooking the chair% of the lo%t&
The driving force% behind the memorial, Watkin% and her vi%itor%1 %ervice% director =oanne >iley @who
%"end% a% much of her time coordinating the %urvivor% and bereavedA, decided that their "ro9ect would in
it%elf become "art of the "roce%% that brought tho%e "eo"le together& A% a re%ult, o""o%ite the chair%
acro%% a reflecting "ool, the 6$urvivor%1 Tree6, an American elm that miraculou%ly %urvived the bombing,
remain%, %urrounded by the 6>e%cuer% Orchard6, %maller tree% literally ru%hing toward% it&
5nvolved from the beginning wa% ?lorence >oger%, chief e/ecutive officer at the ?ederal (m"loyee% Credit
#nion, a co,o"erative banking %y%tem& That morning, in "re"aration for an audit of her bank, %he called a
meeting for !&<* in her office on the third floor& 65 remember to thi% very day a girl called Claudette Meek
%aying: 1;ook at all the "rimary colour% we1re wearing today, we look like a ba%ket of (a%ter egg%&1 $o 5
remembered what they were wearing, and had no idea how im"ortant that would be when it came to
indentifying the bodie%&6 One of which wa% that of Claudette Meek& At 2&*1, %ay% >oger%, 65 had 9u%t read
an item off the li%t and turned ' and bang ' 5 could %ee clearly through the far wall& The floor had gone
clean away, down into what we called the "it, leaving me alone on 1!in of floor that had held& 5 know it
%ound% %tu"id, but 5 thought 1Oh my 4od, thi% i% like a bad movie, and when it1% all over, 5 get out of here&16
>oger% wa% re%cued, through a window, but that wa% the beginning of her grief& 6They would bring me the
"ur%e%, a girl called >obin Duff1% ' it contained ultra%ound "hotogra"h% of the baby %he wa% going to
have& Der little hu%band wa% %o %ad to %ee themB he wa% a man who had grown u" with my boy%, %ince
cub %cout%& 5 had << em"loyee% and 5 lo%t 1! of them& They were my girl%, my family& (very Chri%tma%,
they would come here for a "arty ' cham"agne and "re%ent%& That1% when 5 mi%% them all, but 5 can1t
grieve for 1! "eo"le at once ' each of them ha% their day& $omething will ha""en, like one day 5 found a
$anta1% %leigh u" there on the %helf, and that wa% Claudette1% day& One day 5 %aw a girl 9u%t like $onia,
eating a donut like %he did, and that wa% $onia1% day&6
Al%o u" on the third floor that morning, 6where my bank wa%6, wa% Ted Wil%on, "a%tor at 4rand 0oulevard
0a"ti%t church and "art,time cha"lain to the Oklahoma ?ire 8e"artment, now mini%tering full,time to fire
officer% who, he %ay%, 6are %till coming, after 1- year%, %uddenly traumati%ed, their brain% finally
"roce%%ing thi% information, after all thi% time6& Wil%on i% al%o a Hualified intermediate "aramedic, and
ob9ected to 6the bodie% of the children being laid out in their "layground ' a bad omen for later& They %aid
they had to be clo%e by the building, but we did move 1em to a "arking lot&6 0efore long, Wil%on had
6gotten in through a %kylight to be working to relea%e a tra""ed woman, %till alive, on the third floor where
my bank wa%& 5 wa% working with a tall %tate troo"er, and the %care came for a %econd bomb and for u% to
evacuate the building& The troo"er %aid he wa%n1t leaving the lady, and 5 %aid, 1Well, if you1re not going, 5
ain1t either&1 $o we kind of had the "lace to our%elve% ' and 5 located the lady1% "ur%e on to" of the de%k&
.ow there1% two thing% a lady need% to be accounting for, her hair and her "ur%e& Well, her hair wa% "retty
me%%ed u", but 5 %aid: 6Ma1am, you needn1t worry 1bout your "ur%e, and you needn1t worry about your%elf
either&1 We became friend% after %he wa% relea%ed from ho%"ital, .ancy 5ngram% by name ' %he "a%%ed
away 9u%t la%t year&6
Wil%on1% 9ob Huickly changed to that of coun%elor and cha"lain, and ha% not changed %ince& 651m treating
guy% now, 1- year% on, who1ve been treading water all that time and it %uddenly hit%& They were working
for eight hour% through rubble to reach a victim who ha% died& And if you do that, you "er%onali%e them on
the way& Gou find their crucifi/, their "ur%e, "icture% of their children, "er%onal item%& Gou are %"ending
time with that dead "er%on& Gou1re %aying: 15 mu%t re%cue the kid%, but "lea%e don1t let me be the one to
find them&1 Gou1re finding body "art%, and what we are %aying i% you have to think of it a% recon%titution of
a "er%on, you1re %cra"ing body matter, but you1re not a ditch digger& We tell them they have done the be%t
they can to re%tore a% much of that "er%on back to their family a% wa% "o%%ible&6
On Monday week, 12 A"ril, the national Tea 3arty "rote%t% will be held acro%% America, venting anger at
the ?ederal government& 5n Oklahoma City, however, their "rote%t will be held four day% earlier, %o a% not
to coincide with the memorial at what wa% the %ite of the federal government building ' almo%t an
admi%%ion by the Tea 3arty that they are "laying with fire& 6They1ll %ay they1re coming here to "rote%t
Obama1% health care "rogramme,6 %ay% 7eith $imond%, 6but that1% not what it i%& They1re here to %"ew
their hatred, vomiting their "olitical agenda& Dow dare they come here'6
6One "ur"o%e of thi% memorial,6 %ay% 7ari Watkin%, 6i% to teach the im"act of violence& On (a%ter Monday,
our bigge%t effort thi% year become% law, again%t con%iderable o""o%ition: that the %tory of the bomb be
entered into the %chool curriculum for the %tate of Oklahoma& We need to teach thi% %tory, e%"ecially right
now, when in America there are a lot of the %ame movement% that were around in 122-, there1% a %imilar
mood, a "olari%ation& ;ook, no one want% the government on their back% ' who doe%' , but all thi% alarm%
me, and we mu%t work again%t it by teaching the con%eHuence% of violence again%t the language of
violence&6
The day of Watkin%1 interview, nine "eo"le a""eared in court in 8etroit, member% of an off%hoot of
McVeigh1% Michigan militia called Dutaree, charged with 6%editiou% con%"iracy6 to kill a "olice officer and
then bomb the funeral cortege, in order to %"ark in%urrection akin to that %ought by McVeigh& The "reviou%
week, congre%%woman ;oui%e $laughter, who voted for 3re%ident 0arack Obama1% health care reform,
received one of many threat% of violence to elected re"re%entative%, thi% one "ledging that %ni"er% would
6kill the children of the member% who voted for health care reform6& $uch language make% the blood run
cold in OklahomaB and the fact that mo%t "eo"le in Oklahoma are dee"ly con%ervative make% the irony of
both the bomb and their di%gu%t at thi% language all the more cogent&
A warm evening breeCe %troke% the garden of em"ty chair%, while a late %un illuminate% their ba%e%
again%t the o"acity of oncoming du%k& A% twilight fall%, %o doe% a haunted %erenity, and %ilence ' but for
evening bird%ong and the hoot and rattle of a freight train "a%%ing through town and out acro%% the "lain%&
The memorial1% light% come u" in "ha%e%, %o that fir%t the great 4ate% of Time %hine out, reflected in the
%hallow "ool between them, then the chair% of each "er%on killed a""ear to hover on lam"light&
5n the %econd row of chair%, indicating the building1% %econd floor, 1- chair% are %maller than the other%,
commemorating the children& At the end, %lightly a"art, i% that in%cribed 6Mi%% 0aylee Almon6, who%e
mother Aren1% lovely face neverthele%% wear% the %car% of grief until di%"elled by a %mile, at a 9oke by
0ella or 0rook%, or a memory of 0aylee alive& >ecently, 0ella choked on %ome beef 9erky and Aren wa%
worried %he1d been alone, but 0ella %aid: 65t1% O7, Mom, 0aylee wa% here&6 On Monday week, 0ella will,
for the %econd time, read out the name% of the children killed in 122-, in rever%e al"habetical order, %o
that the %i%ter %he never met, but who%e birthday %he will have celebrated the "reviou% day, will come
la%t&
And there, %tanding at a di%tance from the other%, i% the chair in honour of cu%tom% agent Claude Arthur
Medeari%, for who%e daughter the bomb wa% a very different kind of fire from that which killed her fir%t
hu%band ' though al%o from an American military man& 6My hu%band had driven a 0radley military vehicle
in the 4ulf war,6 %ay% Catherine $imond%& 6Timothy McVeigh al%o drove a 0radley vehicle in the 4ulf war&
My hu%band died, but McVeigh lived& Then he came to Oklahoma City four year% later and killed my dad&
What am 5 %u""o%ed to think about that'6