Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial - Field of Empty Chairs

The Oklahoma City National Memorial is the largest memorial of its kind in the United States. It honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The memorial is located in downtown Oklahoma City on the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was destroyed in the 1995 bombing.

The National Memorial was established on October 9, 1997 through the signing of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Act of 1997, by President Bill Clinton, and, as with all National Park Service historic areas, was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day. The memorial is administered by Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation, with the National Park Service maintaining a presence at the memorial for interpretation purposes.

The National Memorial Museum and the Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism are the two components which are housed in the old Journal Record Building on the north side of the memorial grounds. The Memorial Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Sunday, 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tickets are sold until 5:00 p.m. The Memorial Museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's days.

The memorial was formally dedicated on April 19, 2000 - the fifth anniversary of the bombing; the museum was dedicated the following year on February 19.

Memorial features
The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial consists of the following segments on 3.3 acres (13,000 m²), and can be visited 24 hours a day, 362 days a year.

The Gates of Time: Monumental twin bronze gates frame the moment of destruction - 9:02 - and mark the formal entrances to the Outdoor Memorial. 9:01, found on the eastern gate, represents the last moments of peace, while its opposite on the western gate, 9:03, represents the first moments of recovery. Both time stamps are inscribed on the interior of the monument, facing each other and the Reflecting Pool.

The outside of each gate bears this inscription:
We come here to remember those who were killed,

Those who survived and those changed forever.

May all who leave here know the impact of violence.

May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.

Reflecting Pool:

A thin layer of water flowing over polished black granite, the Reflecting Pool runs east to west down the center of the Memorial (also see reflecting pool) on what was once Fifth Street. Visitors who see their reflection in the reflecting pool are supposed to see "a face of a person changed by domestic terrorism."

Field of Empty Chairs: 168 empty chairs hand-crafted from glass, bronze, and stone represent those who lost their lives in the tragedy. A bombing victim's name is etched in the glass base of each chair. The chairs represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victim's family. The chairs are arranged in nine rows symbolizing the nine floors of the building, and each person's chair is on the row (or the floor) on which the person worked or was visiting when the bomb went off. The chairs are also grouped according to the blast pattern, with the most chairs nearest the most heavily damaged portion of the building. The westernmost column of five chairs represents the five people who died but were not in the Murrah Building when the bomb went off (two in the Water Resources Board building, one in the Athenian Building, one outside near the building, and one rescuer). The 19 smaller chairs represent the children killed in the bombing. Three unborn children died along with their mothers, and they are listed on their mothers' chairs beneath their mothers' names.

Survivors' Chapel: The only remaining original portions of the Murrah Building are the southeast corner, known as the Survivors' Chapel, and a portion of the south wall. The Survivors' Chapel includes several panels of granite salvaged from the Murrah Building itself, inscribed with the names of more than 800 survivors from the building and the surrounding area, many of whom were injured in the blast.

The Survivor Tree: An American elm on the north side of the Memorial, this tree was the only shade tree in the parking lot across the street from the Murrah Building, and commuters came in to work early to get one of the shady parking spots provided by its branches. Photos of Oklahoma City taken around the time of statehood (1907) show this tree, meaning it is currently at least 100 years old. Despite its age, the tree was neglected and taken for granted prior to the blast. Heavily damaged by the bomb, the Tree ultimately survived after nearly being chopped down during the initial investigation, in order to recover evidence hanging in its branches and embedded in its bark.

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[jaycebelle11]

jesus wept is the shortest bible verse

[Tubeusercomm]

Shortly after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building Rush Limbaugh read a White House memo on the air during his broadcast which named William Cooper, "...the most dangerous radio host in America".

[Tubeusercomm]

Timothy McVeigh was inspired by the WWCR shortwave radio broadcasts of William Cooper.

McVeigh was a regular listener in the months before the Oklahoma City bombing.

James Nichols, brother of Oklahoma bombing co-defendant Terry Nichols, testified about Cooper's broadcasts in 1996 during a pretrial hearing in Oklahoma City.

McVeigh even paid a personal visit to Cooper, a couple of months before the bombing in early 1995.

[Tubeusercomm]

Outpost of Freedom

August 14, 1995

An Interview with Michael Fortier

OPF: What led to the bombing?

Michael Fortier: Well, I can't say a whole lot, but what I've said I guess I can say. We heard lots of tapes and saw videos and read things. There is this guy with a radio station in Arizona, Bill Cooper. He keeps calling people "sheeple" and says that they ain't doing anything to change things. Well, we got to thinking that things need to change.

[Tubeusercomm]

The Arizona Republic/November 7, 2001

William Milton Cooper, 58, whose apocalyptic, constitutionalist shortwave radio programs were a major influence on Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, was shot to death after Cooper shot and critically wounded an Apache County sheriff's deputy who had tried to arrest him, officers said.

Apache County Sheriff Brian Hounshell said Marinez, a former Marine and Persian Gulf War veteran, was shot twice in the head

[bestkeptsecretout]

@allyshae405 my space tina maries original songs See Tribute Video Here Also Of The Song "Who Could Have The Heart?" And Interviews Of Me Talking About The Tragedy Also It's On you-tube under "Tribute To Lakesha Levy" See Video Below And Hear My Song "Who Could Have The Heart?"

[bestkeptsecretout]

@beerbellyfrogs my space tina maries original songs See Tribute Video Here Also Of The Song "Who Could Have The Heart?" And Interviews Of Me Talking About The Tragedy Also It's On you-tube under "Tribute To Lakesha Levy" See Video Below And Hear My Song "Who Could Have The Heart?"

[bestkeptsecretout]

my space tina maries original songs See Tribute Video Here Also Of The Song "Who Could Have The Heart?" And Interviews Of Me Talking About The Tragedy Also It's On you-tube under "Tribute To Lakesha Levy" See Video Below And Hear My Song "Who Could Have The Heart?"

[allyshae405]

Oklahomasucks1-Fuck you, you worthless piece of shit.I hope you rot in hell you sick bitch!God bless all lost in this tragedy.

[swfreak15]

ok did you create a seperate account just to get on here and be a fucking dick? burn in hell...(have to say it was a funny attempt though...)