Silence Recalls Oklahoma City Victims
1 hour, 45 minutes ago U.S. National - AP
By KELLY KURT, Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY - With 168 moments of silence and the message that goodness can overcome evil, victims of the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history were remembered Tuesday at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Some 1,600 people inside the First United Methodist Church fell silent at 9:02 a.m., the moment the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed exactly 10 years earlier.
Some brought teddy bears and flowers to be placed at the memorial.
"All of us respect you for the way you've borne tragedy over the last decade and for your great devotion to the memory of those who died here," Vice President Cheney told survivors and loved ones.
"That spring morning 10 years is still deeply etched in our memories," he said.
"Goodness overcame evil that day," he said.
There was heavy security in the First United Methodist Church, adjacent to the memorial, where the speeches were presented. Former President Clinton also was scheduled to speak.
One bus brought 53 people to the ceremony, all wearing T-shirts with LaKesha Levy's photo on the front and the words "a shared experience."
Levy's aunt, Gail Batiste, said friends and family came from all over the country to remember the outgoing 21-year-old, who had gone to the building the morning of April 19, 1995, to get a Social Security card.
"It's good that Oklahoma remembers," Batiste said.
Juanita Espinosa, wiped away tears as she stood in front of the chair of her cousin, Zackary Chavez, 2 1/2.
"They found his head one week, and his body another week," she said. "It's still too much to think about."
The bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was convicted of federal conspiracy and murder charges and executed on June 11, 2001. Conspirator Terry Nichols is serving multiple life sentences on federal and state charges.
Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who was in office during the bombing, said the anniversary was bittersweet.
"It's bitter because it never should have occurred and sweet because the people of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City showed the country how to respond to a tragedy," he said.
Jenny Parsley, who seldom visits the memorial on the grounds of the destroyed building, planned to attend Tuesday's ceremony. She had been spared because she decided to got into work late that morning, after a doctor's appointment.
"I knew most of the people killed," Parsley, 57, said. "I lost a lot of good friends, too many."
Larry Whicher, 44, of Russellville, Ark., said the passage of time had tempered his grief and his anger. The bombing killed his brother, Alan Whicher, who worked in the Secret Service office.
"You learn to accept it. You can't change it, so why carry that bitterness for your entire life?"
― kingfish, Tuesday, 19 April 2005 15:23 (nineteen years ago) link