Where were you 11 years ago today?

BBC ^ | 4/19/95 | Unknown

[ops33]

I was in my kitchen having a cup of coffee and could hear the explosion. Actually, 2 explosions, one followed almost simultaneously by another. I later read the second sound I heard was the echo of the first explosion after it bounced off nearby buildings. My wife was in her office about a mile and a half from the Murray building.

[Sunshine Sister]

My brother lived in OKC at the time. He heard the explosion.

[shekkian]

I was in college. I had a 1 hour break between classes and went into the college lounge where there was a TV. I just saw a huge rescue operation and didn't know what was going on for the first few minutes, and I was the only person watching.

[yellowdoghunter]

You are still in my prayers as are all of those who lost loved ones that day.

May God continue to bless you and yours.

[ops33]

Timothy McVeigh waived all rights to appeal and his sentance went carried out.

[Joe 6-pack]

I was attending the Military Police Officer Advanced Course, which was at Ft. McClellan, AL at the time. Our class had just reported a week or two prior, and as the junior officer in the class I got the honors of being the mail officer. I was attending the Unit Mail Officer's class so that I would be certified to pick up the mail for the whole class an deliver it for the five months of the course. When the instructor got to the section on, 'suspicious packages,' she mentioned that she had heard something on the radio, that, 'there had been a mail bomb or something in Oklahoma that day.'

Everyone in the class was under the impression it had been a relatively small package device until we broke for lunch and everybody else was talking about the enormity of the blast.

[Dawgreg]

Doing the same thing I was on 911.........watching FoxNews Channel. 2 of the most horrible days of my life. I must admit, Muslims never came to mind......just who in the world would do something like this.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

I was in the fire academy and had to watch as the Search & Rescue Team postponed our S&R training so they could go help out at OK. When they got back we heard first hand stories and saw hundreds of pictures of the incident from their perspective.

[Shelayne]

Remember? We were bombarded with that non-stop on the news once news of Timothy McVeigh was out. This was done in retribution to Waco blah, blahtty blah...

Suddenly, the search for Middle Easterners disappeared, and it was all the fault of right wing militias and people like Rush Limbaugh who breeded hate.

And, back then, I was one sucker that believed that, though I couldn't figure out where John Doe #2 went....

[Hoodlum91]

"When they got back we heard first hand stories and saw hundreds of pictures of the incident from their perspective."

It was amazing what stories DIDN't come out, wasn't it? My uncle was on the FBI team investigating (his team also got the call for the WTC on 9/11 since they had "experience"). His pictures and stories were heartbreaking - of both sites.

[Rummyfan]

I was at my compound in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and watching this all on CNN.

The conduct of the investigation and execution of Timothy McVeigh stinks in retrospect. The Clinton Justice Department couldn't execute him fast enough. What were they afraid he would reveal? The average wait between sentencing and execution is what, eleven years? Yet McVeigh was fast-tracked to assure he wouldn't talk. I'm convinced there was a foreign (Iraqi?) connection that the Clinton Admin covered up.

[johnny7]

I DO recall that... were there any 'vigils' prior to his execution that you remember?

[VanDeKoik]

I stayed home from school, pretending to be sick. I was going to bike to the library, because I was a total nerd, when I saw the news flash.

I didnt want to risk going into the city after seeing that.

[massgopguy]

Working on a customer system . Just like I am now.

[RepoGirl]

Oh yeesh--it's been 11 years already!?

I had just moved to Boston, and was working as a technical writer in Cambridge.

The "dumb" secretary from the neighboring department came over and announced that an explosion had taken place. Since she was famous for making even the most insignificant things monumental, or for getting things wrong, my bosses and I dismissed her, thinking it was just another one of her drama moments.

Then, the engineers started coming in to main office (our evil right-wing talk radio listening techs) and confirmed the news and clued us in to the gravity of the situation.

My liberal boss immediately suspected "Right Wing Militia Extremists". I didn't know what to think. We hooked up a tv in the office and started to see the photos of the carnage. I remember walking out on the street that evening, and feeling something evil and dark in the air. I felt that same feeling six years later in September...

[Gamecock]

A hotel in the Austrian Alps.

[acad1228]

I was in Sapulpa Ok. driving in late to work in Tulsa. My Classic Rock radio station had interrupted their music format and was talking about a large gas explosion in downtown OKC. I had know idea then I'd still be remembering that morning today.

[rabidralph]

I was a Navy JO2(AW), assigned to the Naval Academy, and the staff and I were eating an early lunch at an Eastport restaurant. There was a TV on the porch and we looked up at the set and saw the destruction. The restaurant turned up the sound so we could hear what was going on.

[Coop]

When she didn't answer, I turned on the TV and saw that it was her building and knew immediately in my spirit that she was gone. It's hard to believe she has been gone for 11 years now. The hardest part has always been my kids growing up without their "Grammy" and the change it caused in my dad. Unfortunately, he looked to "stuff" (riches, houses, travel, etc...) to fill the hole left in his heart, instead of God and his family.

As if this tragedy isn't heartwrenching enough, to read a personalized account just breaks my heart that much more. God bless you, your children and your father.

[sandbar]

I was coming home from the hospital where I went to after a car wreck and found out I was pregnant (after 6 years of infertility). It was a let down after such exhilirating news.