Oklahoma City National Memorial

We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial on our recent trip. This horror is tattooed in our memories. The memorial focuses on the lives lost. On the original site of the Murrah building, 168 chairs each representing one of those killed, are placed in the approximate place they would have been when the nine story buildingcame down . There were so many children. We saw this at sunset with the light streaming through the base of each chair. Let their light shine on. The images on the news at the time showed mementos friends and loved ones left on the fence around the building. The original batch of these are preserved inside the adjoining memorial museum. New ones take their place on a section of fence on the perimeter. A corner of the original foundation stands and one lone tree that survived the explosion testifies to the resiliency of the American spirit to stand and go on. Moving site. They have closed off what was a street in front of the building and a reflecting pond stands bookended by two stone gates. On the top of one wall is enscribed 9:01 representing life before the bomb exploded. 9:03 is enscribed on the other gate representing life of recovery post the 9:02 disaster. Visitors still slowly walk these grounds and exhibit in near silence and remember.