Oklahoma City National Memorial

This was one of my "must sees" for the trip, and it did not disappoint. The woman at the desk said to allow an hour to an hour and a half for the whole thing. I took 2 hours, and could have spent more time - much more. Inside the museum, you are not allowed to take photos, but photos could not have captured it anyway. I've posted some photos of the outside memorial (more on Facebook too.) You begin by learning about the neighborhood & its history, the history of terrorism in this country, and the people getting ready for just an ordinary day. It is divided into "chapters" and the first 3 chapters are those I've mentioned....lots of pictures and charts and dioramas of the neighborhood before 9:01 on April 19, 1995. Then you enter a room set up like a hearing in a building across the street from the Murrah Federal Building.

That's when the quiet is shattered, as it was on that day. You listen to the actual recording of a hearing that began just a few minutes before 9:00 that morning. And suddenly there is the blast of the bomb. The door opens to the next room, and you move into the chaos and confusion that followed. That room could have taken a few hours alone. There are videos of survivors telling their stories of what they went through - those waiting to be rescued, the rescuers, and parents of children who went in search of their little ones. It was even more confusing for them, because not only was there a daycare center in the Murrah Building, but also in the YMCA kitty-corner from that building.

In addition to the videos, there are countless displays of ruins and remains, personal items recovered in the rubble, recordings from the rescue agencies, and timelines. There are also some small rooms with computers that display the stories of all the survivors who have written their accounts...hundreds of them if you choose to read through them all. This was by far the most moving part of the whole memorial - I saw many people wiping their eyes, as I did too.

From there you move to more chapters: the recovery efforts, the media coverage, the response of the nation and the world, the investigation. Finally you go through a display of photos of all the victims with mementos chosen by their families to display, to try to convey who these people were beyond names and faces. These were just ordinary people going about an ordinary day that became tragically extraordinary.

After you finish with the museum, you can go out to the actual memorial (or you can skip the museum and just do the memorial - that would be a huge mistake!) There is something eerie, yet peaceful about that memorial. On the grounds of the former Murrah Building is a reflecting pool, with bookend walls marking 9:01 when the bomb went off and 9:03 as the building fell. Lining the grass beside the pool there are 168 chairs - one for each victim, each cast separately to make each one individual. They are on clear bases with the name of each victim engraved on a chair. At night the chairs are illuminated (I didn't get to see this, and had to settle for photos.) The chairs are arranged in 9 rows - to represent the 9 floors of the Murrah Building. Each victim's chair is located in the row representing the floor they were on. Needless to say, the most touching is row 2 - the daycare floor. Those chairs are all smaller... and way too many of them.

There is also a fence with remaining personal memorials placed by loved ones, and by visitors. But nothing can compare to the view of the pool and those rows of chairs. If you are ever anywhere near OK City, you absolutely must go see this.