I had no plans to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. I already had so many things to do on my three-week cross-country road trip, and honestly, I didn’t think I could handle the emotion.
I remember when the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City took place on April 19, 1995. I had a three-year-old and an almost one-year-old at the time, and the thought of those 19 kids in the daycare who died brought me to my knees.
I did have an Oklahoma Route 66 passport, though, where you go to certain sites and get stamps that you had visited. Okay, it was a little bit of a cheat to get a stamp without seeing the museum, but we were nearby, so why not? Well, I walked in and immediately changed my mind. I was being pulled to see it.
After buying a ticket, you are taken to a hallway where you are shown that this day started out like any other before lives were destroyed. Isn’t it always that way? Scary.
Doors open, and you enter a conference room where there is just a tape recorder on a table. We are listening to a recording of an actual meeting taking place that dreaded day. In the middle of a sentence, we hear an explosion that rocks the building. Our lights in the conference room flicker, driving home the terrifying moments as best as possible. To be honest, it worked. My stomach sank, and my chest hurt. The recording was no longer about mundane legal issues but became screams and warnings not to touch the wires! I could hear sniffling in the room, myself included.
The rest of the museum was newscasts and newspapers about what happened next. There were exhibits of things they found on site and stories about the rescuers. The entire museum was extremely emotional. I saw many people wiping their eyes as they walked through and it was so quiet as people took in what they were reading and watching. As I walked through, I just felt sadder and sadder.
So why see it? Why remember? Because the victims and the heroes need to be remembered. We need to learn about things like this and why and how they happen. Remembering hopefully helps us to prevent other attacks. Remembering hopefully helps us to become angry enough that we work hard to protect our citizens and do our best to make sure this never happens again. Of course, we do know that it did happen again and on a grander scale in 2001, but we still need to remember so the victims didn’t die in vain.
In one room, there are cases with a picture of the victim and one or two items that meant something to that person or reflected who they were. It was so moving.
Outside, there is a memorial with the names of every victim that is worth the walk through. In front of the museum is a wall with letters from kids expressing their condolences.
The museum also hosts events, including conversations with survivors and experts in the investigation.
I am so glad that I decided to visit. As hard as it was, it was worth it.
Ticket prices are: Adults $15; Seniors (62+) $13; Military (With ID) $13; Students (6-17 or college student) $12; Children (5 and under) Free.
