I BELIEVE IT WAS JUST A REGULAR TYPICAL DAY. GOT UP, SHOWERED, DRESSED, GOT IN MY CAR, MADE THE TRIP TO THE OFFICE. WHEN I GOT TO THE OFFICE, MOST OF THE PEOPLE WERE THERE, OF COURSE. NO DIFFERENCE REALLY IN TERMS OF THE PEOPLE. I DID HAVE SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ON MY SCHEDULE THAT DAY. WE HAD EXCESSED SOME EQUIPMENT. THAT IS, EQUIPMENT THAT WE'RE NO LONGER USING WE WERE DONATING TO OUR LOCAL HISTORICAL BLACK COLLEGE UNIVERSITY, LANGSTON UNIVERSITY, WHICH IS THE HBCU THAT'S FURTHEST WEST IN THE COUNTRY, OKLAHOMA CITY. AND ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THEIR TEAM WAS COMING OVER TO INSPECT OUR EQUIPMENT TO SEE IF THEY WANTED TO RECEIVE THE DONATION. THE EQUIPMENT WE HAD AVAILABLE WERE TYPEWRITERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. MR. SMITH CAME FROM LANGSTON. WE HAD AN APPOINTMENT AT 9 O'CLOCK THAT MORNING, AND AT 9 O'CLOCK I PICKED HIM UP FROM THE RECEPTION AREA, AND WE MOVED BACK TOWARD THE BACK WHERE THE EQUIPMENT WAS LAID OUT. AS I BROUGHT HIM BACK TO THE BACK, THAT'S WHEN IT HAPPENED. THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED. AND THINGS CHANGED. AS SOON AS THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED, OUR ROOM OR OUR OFFICE WAS PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS. THE BUILDING JUST CAVED IN ON US ON THE FIRST FLOOR, AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT. I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS MAYBE A TRANSFORMER THAT HAD BLOWN OUT NEARBY. I HEARD THE LOUD PANG, CRACK, AND THEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT. SO OBVIOUSLY HAD TO BE AN ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCE. WE JUST LOST OUR POWER. SO WE HAD TO MAKE SOME ALLOWANCES AND FIND OUR WAY, BECAUSE WE COULDN'T SEE A THING. MR. SMITH WAS YELLING TO ME, HE SAYS, “HEY, ERIC, DON'T LEAVE ME.” AND I SAID, “OKAY, I'M RIGHT HERE.” MY MANAGER, LAVERNA WILLIAMS, WHO HAD MOVED FROM HEADQUARTERS HERE TO OKLAHOMA CITY, AND HER FIRST DAY WAS APRIL 17TH, THAT MONDAY. AND HER THIRD DAY ON THE JOB, THIS IS WHAT WAS PRESENTED TO HER. THAT'S A CHALLENGE, YOU KNOW. I HAD BEEN THERE FOR ALMOST A YEAR, SO I KNEW A BIT BETTER ABOUT THE LAYOUT AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO SHE WAS WITH ME. I COLLECTED HER AND OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AIDE, AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIND OUR WAY TO THE FRONT. WE COULDN'T GO THAT DIRECTION. IT WAS SOLID OBSTRUCTIONS. JUST COULD NOT MAKE IT OUT THAT DIRECTION. DIDN'T REALIZE UNTIL LATER THAT, OH, THERE'S A GOOD REASON. THERE'S MOUNDS AND MOUNDS OF DEBRIS IN THIS CRATER THAT'S IN FRONT OF OUR, RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR DOOR. SO WE TURNED AROUND WHEN WE SAW A LIGHT IN THE BACK OF THE BUILDING. AND THIS LIGHT, SUNLIGHT, WAS ENTERING IN FROM THE AREA OUTSIDE OF OUR BREAK ROOM. AND OUR BREAK ROOM HAD AN EXIT THAT WAS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING, FIRST FLOOR EAST SIDE. SAW THE LIGHT, SO WE REVERSED FIELD AND WALKED OVER DEBRIS, WORKSTATIONS, DESKS. HEARD NOISES AND PEOPLE, AND WE COLLECTED ONE OF THE SUPERVISORS WHO WAS IN HER CUBICAL, AND THE CUBICAL HAD COLLAPSED ON HER. AND I WAS ABLE TO HELP HER REMOVE THE BARRIERS TO HER BEING RESCUED, AND WE HELPED HER GET OUT OF THAT. YOU KNOW, JUST MOVED THE DESK AROUND AND PULLED IT UP, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT. SHE HAD SOME INJURIES, BUT THEY WERE NOT LIFE THREATENING. AND WE KEPT MOVING AND HEARING OTHERS AND KEPT GOING THROUGH THE BACK AND HELPING AS MANY AS WE COULD AS WE EXITED -- “THROUGH THE DOOR,” I SAY. THE DOORWAY USED TO BE THERE, BUT THERE WAS NO DOORWAY, NO DOOR. WE JUST WALKED OVER THE DEBRIS, FILE CABINETS, WORKSTATIONS, THE CUBICAL WALLS THAT HAD FALLEN DOWN. WATER WAS STREAMING INTO THE BUILDING. THE CHILLER PIPES ON OUR CEILING, THOSE HAD RUPTURED, AND THE WATER WAS COMING DOWN. THE GOOD THING IS THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY TO CONDUCT -- THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY TO THE BUILDING AT THAT POINT BECAUSE THE EXPLOSION HAD TAKEN IT ALL OUT. IT COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY, VERY DIFFERENT STORY. WHEN WE MOVED TO OKLAHOMA CITY, WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS ONE AND SHE TURNED TWO APRIL 1ST, AND SHE WAS A DROP-IN AT THE DAY CARE CENTER ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE MURRAH BUILDING. SO FREQUENTLY MY WIFE WOULD GET HER DRESSED, AND I'D PUT HER IN THE CAR SEAT AND TAKE HER WITH ME TO WORK. IT WAS KIND OF NEAT TO HAVE MY DAUGHTER JUST A FLOOR ABOVE ME, AND I COULD COME UP THERE AND VISIT WITH HER WHENEVER I GOT A BREAK. YOU KNOW, AND WE'D HAVE SOME TIME TOGETHER. IT WAS JUST A NEAT FORMAT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. KID, NEAR THERE, YOU GET MORE TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN. AND YOU CAN'T GET THAT BACK. YOU CAN NEVER GET BACK ANY OF THE TIME YOU LOSE. SO THIS WAS TERRIFIC. NOW SHE'S BEEN GOING WITH ME PRETTY REGULARLY. SHE GOT A BACTERIAL INFECTION, UPPER GI, IN THE WEEK BEFORE, AND MY WIFE KEPT HER AT HOME. SHE GOT BETTER. SO THE NEXT WEEK DURING, ON THE 19TH, SHE WAS READY, SHE COULD GO BACK TO SCHOOL IF SHE WANTED TO. MY WIFE DECIDED, HEY, I'M GOING TO KEEP HER BACK, KEEP HER HOME FOR ANOTHER DAY. AND THAT DECISION PROBABLY IS A BIGGER DECISION AS ANYTHING IN MY LIFE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MY BELIEF IS, KIND OF LIKE MOTHER TERESA, YOU KNOW, GOD DOESN'T PUT ANYTHING MORE ON YOU THAN YOU CAN BEAR. BUT SOMETIMES I WISH YOU DIDN'T TRUST ME SO MUCH. AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT I DON'T BELIEVE ME, NOR MY WIFE, COULD HAVE STOOD FOR, IS THE LOSS OF MY DAUGHTER. ME, NOT SO MUCH, BUT SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE DEPRIVED THE WORLD OF SOMEBODY SPECIAL, ESPECIALLY IN HER DADDY'S EYES. SO THAT ONE DECISION, MY WIFE KEEPING HER HOME, MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE. THE KIDS IN THE DAY CARE PROBABLY SUFFERED THE GREATEST LOSSES OF ANY OF THE COMPONENTS, ANY OF THE FLOORS. I THINK ONLY SIX CHILDREN THAT WERE THERE ON THE SECOND FLOOR SURVIVED THE EXPERIENCE. WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO US ON THE FIRST FLOOR, WE LOST 16 MEMBERS OUT OF 62. BUT IT WAS A FAR, FAR GREATER LOSSES FOR THOSE CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS, AS WELL. AFTER THE EXPLOSION, IT WAS KIND OF A CONCUSSIVE FEELING, OF COURSE. IT SHOOK ME AND I GUESS EVERYBODY IN THERE. THE SOUNDS WEREN'T AS CLEAR INITIALLY AFTER THE EXPLOSION. RINGING IN MY YEARS AND THINGS LIKE THAT DIDN'T GO AWAY UNTIL QUITE SOME TIME LATER, NOT EVEN THINKING LATER ON THAT EVENING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO THERE WAS THE RINGING THAT OCCURRED. NO REAL DAMAGE. I DIDN'T SUFFER ANY INJURIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. AND IT'S KIND OF AMAZING BECAUSE, AS WE WERE GETTING THROUGH THE RUBBLE OF THE BUILDING, FEELING OUR WAY THROUGH, SOME OF THE THINGS I FELT WERE KIND OF FOREIGN TO ME. YOU KNOW, I FEEL CONDUIT, AND THEN RIGHT BELOW THAT WILL BE THE LIGHT FIXTURES. YOU KNOW, THESE LIGHT FIXTURES ARE NORMALLY RIGHT IN THE CEILING, BUT TODAY, AFTER 9/02, THEY WERE RIGHT IN OUR PATHWAYS, SO WE WERE PUSHING THOSE ASIDE AS WELL. IT'S KIND OF UNNERVING WHEN YOU HAVE THAT TYPE OF THING. THIS DOESN'T BELONG HERE. WHAT IS THIS? AND THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING THAT'S DIFFICULT TO SHAKE. YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE THINGS OR EXPERIENCE THINGS THAT YOU'RE JUST NOT CERTAIN OF, A PERIOD OF UNCERTAINTY. I DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. ONLY THAT YOU HEARD AN EXPLOSION, YOU'RE PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS YOU FIND OUT WAS THAT IT WAS SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO BREATHE. THE AIR WAS NOT SOMETHING YOU TYPICALLY -- AIR IS CLEAR. THERE IS NOTHING TO IT, TYPICALLY. BUT THIS DAY, IT HAD SUBSTANCE. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BREATHE BECAUSE OF THE DEBRIS IN THE AIR. THE PARTICLES WERE BEING BREATHED IN BY ALL OF US. THE NOISES THAT I HEARD, GURGLING WATER, SOME NOISES FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE BUILDING AS WE WERE TRYING TO GET OURSELVES ACCLIMATED TO OUR NEW ENVIRONMENT. SO AS WE WERE TRAVELING THROUGH TOWARD THE LIGHT, WE EVENTUALLY GOT OUTSIDE. ALL OF US GOT OUTSIDE, AND I CAME BACK IN TO SEE IF I COULD HELP OTHERS. I LOOKED AROUND. OF COURSE, IT'S STILL DARK, SO IT'S MORE FEELING AROUND THAN LOOKING AROUND. AND I REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I WENT IN THERE STANDING UP ON WHAT I THINK MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE DESKTOPS AND YELLING OUT, “DOES ANYBODY NEED HELP, ANYBODY NEED HELP?” AND I DIDN'T HEAR A RESPONSE. I MADE AN ASSUMPTION THAT, HEY, EVERYBODY IS OUT, EVERYBODY IS GOOD. AND I LEFT AT THAT POINT. IT WASN'T UNTIL MUCH LATER THAT I SEE THE DEVASTATION AND UNDERSTOOD THEY DIDN'T RESPOND BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T. THE ALFRED P. MURRAH BUILDING WAS A NINE-STORY STRUCTURE, AND IT WAS A PRETTY TALL BUILDING FOR OKLAHOMA CITY STANDARDS. AND IT HAD KIND OF TWO WINGS; THE MIDDLE SECTION AND THEN THESE TWO ONE-STORY WINGS OFF TO THE SIDE, EAST AND WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING ATTACHED. AND OUR OFFICE WAS LOCATED -- IT STARTED UNDERNEATH THAT BIG NINE-STORY PORTION OF IT, BUT IT ALSO EKED OUT TO THAT ONE FLOOR SEGMENT, WHICH IS WHERE OUR BREAK ROOM WAS LOCATED AND PART OF OUR CUBICLES AND OFFICES. AND THERE WERE NO WINDOWS ON THAT PORTION OF IT. SO THAT AREA WAS A GOOD AREA TO BE IN ON THAT DAY. I THINK THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE SURVIVED THE EXPERIENCE. THOSE THAT WERE CLOSER TO THE RECEPTION AREA, THOSE THAT WERE NEAR THE WINDOWS WERE THE ONES THAT SUFFERED THE GREATEST LOSSES. THEY SUFFERED THERE. SO THE BUILDING STRUCTURE DID MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE, HAPPENED TO BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME, YOU KNOW. IT STILL AMAZES ME THAT MY LITTLE WORKSTATION -- IT'S A GOOD THING I WASN'T PRESENT THERE. THE WOMAN CATTY-CORNER FROM ME PASSED AWAY. SHE LOST HER LIFE JUST THAT CLOSE. THERE IS NO REAL DISTANCE BETWEEN WHERE I WAS SEATED AND WHERE SHE WAS SEATED. BUT BECAUSE I WAS AT THE BACK LOOKING AT SOME EQUIPMENT WITH ONE OF OUR VISITORS, I WASN'T WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. WELL, MAYBE I WAS EXACTLY WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. OUTSIDE WE HAD PEOPLE GATHERING IN THRONGS OF FOLKS WHO WERE TRYING TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. I REMEMBER COMING OUT AND TALKING TO THE GROUP OF PEOPLE I WAS WITH, AND THEN I NOTICED RICHARD DEAN, I THINK MAYBE DAN DUMAS, THAT THEY WERE HELPING ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES OUT OF THE BUILDING, AND CARRYING HER REALLY. AND THEY HAD LAID HER ON THE SIDEWALK. AND I COULDN'T RECOGNIZE WHO SHE WAS. SHE WAS BLOODIED AND TATTERED. AND SHE WAS ONE OF OUR SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES. HER NAME WAS SHARON LITTLEJOHN. JUST UNRECOGNIZABLE TO BE BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE SHE HAD SUFFERED. AND SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS, FORTUNATELY, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BEAR THE PAIN. BUT WHEN I SAW HER ON THE SIDEWALK, IT BECAME REAL AT THAT POINT. YOU KNOW, I HADN'T SEEN ANYONE WITH TRUE INJURIES. YOU KNOW, MAYBE BUMP ON THE HEADS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT ONCE I SAW SHARON, IT BECAME, THIS IS MUCH MORE SERIOUS THAN I THOUGHT. NOW, I TRIED TO GO FROM THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING -- WE WERE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING AS WE EXITED THE BUILDING -- AND I WANTED TO GO TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING TO SEE IF I COULD GAIN ENTRANCE THROUGH THE FRONT. AND, BEFORE I COULD GET TO THE CORNER OF THE BUILDING, I WAS REPULSED. THERE WERE CARS IN OUR PARKING LOTS, THE CUSTOMER PARKING ACROSS THE STREET FROM US, AND THOSE CARS WERE ON FIRE. THIS WAS A SCENE FROM MAYBE 70s, LATE 70s, EARLY 80s BEIRUT. ALL OF THESE CARS WERE ON FIRE, AND THE HEAT FROM THOSE CARS KEPT ME FROM GOING ANY FURTHER TOWARD THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING. SO I CAME BACK. I JUST COULDN'T TAKE THE HEAT. AND AT THAT POINT WE WERE STILL AROUND TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE, TRYING TO DETERMINE WHO HAS MADE IT OUT. AND THE ASSUMPTION WAS THAT MOST EVERYBODY HAD MADE IT OUT. THEY WERE MAYBE ON THE OTHER SIDE BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET OUT THE FRONT, THEY TRIED TO EXIT ANOTHER WAY, AND THAT WAS THE HOPE. IT WASN'T LATER WE WERE TRYING TO FIND OUT, TRYING TO COLLECT NAMES AND THINGS, WHO TRULY MADE IT OUT. THE COMMUNICATION ASPECT OF IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW. WELL, AS WE WERE BEING SENT AWAY FROM THE NEW PERIMETER AROUND THE BUILDING, WE WERE TRAVELING SOUTH, AND AS WE TRAVELED, WE EVENTUALLY HIT THIS RESTAURANT-BAR. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE NAME OF IT IS RIGHT NOW. OYSTER BAR, MAYBE. AND THE BARTENDER OPENED THE DOOR FOR US. HE LET US IN. AND WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY THEN TO USE THE RESTROOM AND CLEAN UP. AND I NOTICED ALL THE FIBERS ON MY FACE, HAIR AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IT WAS SCRUB UP A LITTLE BIT. AND AFTER DOING THAT, I GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE NEWS. NOW, REMEMBER, I COULDN'T MAKE IT TO THE FRONT BECAUSE OF THE BURNING CARS AND THE HEAT, SO I HADN'T SEEN THE DEVASTATION UNTIL THAT VERY MOMENT. WE WERE LOOKING AT -- IN THE BAR AND OVER HIS LEFT SHOULDER IS A TELEVISION UP NEAR THE CEILING. AND WE LOOK AT IT, AND IT'S ALMOST INDESCRIBABLE AND UNRECOGNIZABLE AS THE ALFRED P. MURRAH BUILDING. THE BUILDING HAD BEEN -- ABOUT A THIRD OF THE BUILDING JUST COLLAPSED. IT WAS JUST NOT THERE ANYMORE. AND THE FLOORS WERE OPEN AND YOU COULD SEE PEOPLE OR SEE THE DIFFERENT FLOORS WHERE THERE IS NOBODY REALLY IN THERE. YOU SAW SOME OF THE RESCUE EFFORTS AS WELL AS THEY CAPTURED SOME OF THE FOLKS COMING DOWN A LADDER, HOOK AND LADDER FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. BUT UNTIL THAT MOMENT, I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE DEVASTATION WAS SO GREAT. IT WAS AT THAT TIME I REALIZED, BOY, THIS IS A LOT BIGGER THAN WE THOUGHT, BECAUSE NONE OF US HAD SEEN THAT UNTIL THAT VERY MOMENT. AND IT MADE I GUESS OUR SURVIVAL A LITTLE BIT MORE -- YOU MADE IT OUT OF THAT? BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES, AND SO MANY PEOPLE WERE THOUGHT TO BE PERISHED IN THE WAKE OF THE BUILDING'S EXPLOSIONS. MY COMMUNICATIONS WERE, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WAS DIFFICULT. CELL PHONES WERE AVAILABLE. YOU KNOW, THIS WAS THE 90s, SO SOME CELL PHONES WERE AVAILABLE. BUT THE NUMBER OF CALLS IN AND AROUND THAT AREA WERE SO GREAT, IT OVERLOADED THE CIRCUITS. ONE OF MY FRIENDS, ONE OF OUR FELLOW EMPLOYEES, NANCY SHAW, HAD A CELL PHONE, AND SHE USED IT TO CALL HER GRANDMOTHER. SHE WAS ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER GRANDMOTHER. AND WE ALL ASKED THAT SHE TRY TO CONTACT OUR FAMILIES AND LET THEM KNOW THAT WE WERE OKAY. BECAUSE ONCE WE SAW THE BUILDING DEVASTATION, WE REALIZED, OKAY, PEOPLE ARE THINKING WE MAY NOT BE HERE, AND WE COULDN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH ANYBODY. SO NANCY'S GRANDMOTHER AGREED TO DO THAT, AND I THINK SHE GOT IN TOUCH WITH JUST ABOUT ALL OF US. AND THEN SHORTLY AFTER SHE HAD GOTTEN IN TOUCH, I WAS ABLE TO CALL MY WIFE. THE UNFORTUNATE THING IS, THE ASSUMPTION WAS MADE THAT VIRTUALLY EVERYBODY PERISHED AND THAT IT WASN'T COMMUNICATED UNTIL FAR LATER THAT THERE NOT ONLY WERE SURVIVORS, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW SURVIVORS. MY SON WAS AT SCHOOL AND HE WAS A FOURTH GRADER, I THINK, AT PIEDMONT ELEMENTARY. AND FIRST, THEY TOLD HIM, “HEY, SOMETHING HAPPENED AT THE MURRAH BUILDING,” AND HE KNEW I WORKED THERE. AND HE WAS TOLD THAT EVERYBODY DIED. SO, FOR HIM, THIS LITTLE KID, HE HAD NO IDEA THAT I WAS STILL ALIVE UNTIL HE GOT HOME. WE DIDN'T REALIZE THEY HAD SHARED THAT INFORMATION WITH THEM, AND THE INACCURATE INFORMATION MADE FOR A VERY DEVASTATING DAY FOR HIM. AND HE MENTIONS IT ON OCCASION EVEN TO THIS DAY, THAT HE DIDN'T -- HE THOUGHT I WAS DEAD. SO THAT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR US. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS I WASN'T AND I GOT A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH HIM, AND HE WAS OKAY AFTER THAT. AFTER THE BOMBING, IT WAS KIND OF -- OUR FAMILY KIND OF WENT INTO A SHELL. WE WERE KIND OF KEEPING TO OURSELVES, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON. FOR TWO WEEKS, THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED. THERE WAS NOBODY -- OF COURSE WE COULDN'T GO BACK TO THE MURRAH BUILDING, BUT THEY WERE WORKING ON A NEW SITE FOR US. AND WE MOVED OUR OFFICES FROM THE MURRAH BUILDING TO SHEPHERD MALL, WHICH IS THE OLDEST MALL IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. AND WE CAME BACK TO WORK, SOME OF US DID, NOT EVERYBODY GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK, BUT ALL THOSE WHO COULD CAME BACK TO WORK WHEN THE BUILDING REOPENED, THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE REOPENED. WE HAD LOTS OF HELP. WE HAD INDIVIDUALS FROM REGIONAL OFFICE. WE HAD DETAILEES FROM ALL ACROSS THE REGION WHO CAME TO HELP US PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO IT ANYMORE. WE JUST WEREN'T ENOUGH OF US TO DO THE JOB THAT WE NEEDED TO DO. SO WE HAD A LOT OF HELP. WE ALSO BENEFITED FROM SOMETHING ELSE. THE ATTENTION OF THE NATION WAS ON OKLAHOMA CITY AT THE TIME, AND WE WERE FORTUNATE TO BE THE BENEFACTOR, BENEFICIARIES OF SO MUCH OUTPOURING OF FAITH AND PRAYERS. I THINK IT STRENGTHENED US MORE THAN, I GUESS, ANYONE COULD EVER IMAGINE. THOSE THOUGHTS, THOSE WELL WISHES, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY AND THE RECOVERY OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY RESIDENTS AFTER THE BOMBING. IT WAS JUST A TREMENDOUS OUTPOURING. IF YOU RECALL THE TIMES WHERE YOU SEE PEOPLE COMING TO THE SITE, THE CHAIN LINK FENCE WAS AROUND THE SITE AS THEY WERE TRYING TO FIND PEOPLE, AND EVENTUALLY DEMOLISHED IT, BUT THE CHAIN LINK FENCE WITH ALL THE TEDDY BEARS, AND NOTES, AND THING LIKE THAT, PICTURES OF SOME OF THE FALLEN, SOME OF THE DECEASED INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE IN THAT BUILDING ON THAT DAY THAT NEVER GOT OUT. WELL, APRIL 19TH WAS SIGNIFICANT, NOT JUST FOR ME BUT FOR VIRTUALLY EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY. THIS ACT WAS SOMETHING THAT SEIZED THE HEARTLAND. IT MADE US FEEL UNSAFE. THAT IS, WE COULD -- SOMEBODY COULD COME IN, PLANT THIS BOMB, AND DESTROY THIS BUILDING ALONG WITH 168, 169 LIVES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF AMERICA. THE SAFETY ISSUE, THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE THAT LOST THEIR LIVES WERE DOING THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO. YOU KNOW, FOR US, WE WERE COMING TO WORK. WE WERE PUBLIC SERVANTS. WE WERE DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT. PEOPLE COMING IN FOR OUR SERVICES, FILING FOR RETIREMENT, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS, SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS, DOING WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. AND TO HAVE SOMEONE COME IN AND DESTROY THAT MADE US ALL CHANGE A LITTLE BIT. REALIZATION THAT LIFE CAN BE EXTREMELY SHORT, AND THAT THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE ARE -- YOU'RE NOT ALWAYS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE. THAT'S A TOUGH LESSON TO LEARN. YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE A MASTER OF YOUR OWN FATE, CAPTAIN OF YOUR OWN SHIP. BUT THE EVENTS OF THAT DAY TOLD ME THAT I'M NOT IN CONTROL. I DON'T HAVE ALL CONTROL. AND THAT'S A REALIZATION THAT STICKS WITH ME TILL THIS DAY. I TRY TO BE WHERE I NEED TO BE WHEN I NEED TO BE THERE, BECAUSE TIMING IS ALSO IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, IF I WERE A COUPLE MINUTES LATE FOR MY INTERVIEW AND I WALKED UP THERE, I MEAN, I MAY NOT BE SITTING HERE TODAY 20 YEARS LATER. SO IT MAKES YOU APPRECIATE CERTAIN THINGS. YOU GOT TO ACCEPT SOME THINGS AS WELL. ACCEPTANCE THAT I AM NOT ALL POWERFUL IS ONE OF THEM. WE FACED SOME THINGS AFTERWARDS, YOU KNOW, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS, SURVIVOR GUILT. BECAUSE YOU ASK YOURSELF, WHY ME AS OPPOSED TO THE PERSON NEXT TO ME? THEY WERE GOOD. WHY ME? AND THAT QUESTION LINGERS WITH YOU FOR A WHILE. AFTER THE BOMBING, THE EXPERIENCE THAT PROVIDED, I GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO RELIVE IT SEVERAL TIMES, ONCE AT TIMOTHY MCVEIGH'S TRIAL IN DENVER. I WAS THE AGENCY WITNESS. SECOND, AT THE TRIAL OF HIS CO-CONSPIRATOR, NICHOLS, AND THAT WAS A FEDERAL TRIAL. AND THEN LATER IN THE STATE TRIAL, MCALISTER, OKLAHOMA. SO I GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE PART OF THE STORY WITH THE PROSECUTORS, THE COURTS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT WHILE FACING THOSE TWO MEN WHO CHANGED THE LIVES OF SO MANY PEOPLE THAT DAY. [ MUSIC PLAYING ] THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT. BUT A GOOD THING, I HAVE, LIKE I MENTIONED, A TERRIFIC FAMILY, AND IT GOES BACK TO PARENTS, MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN. AND THEY PROVIDE ME THE SUPPORT I NEED FOR JUST ABOUT ANY CHALLENGE THAT I FACE, AND THEY'VE BEEN WITH ME THROUGHOUT. IT MAKES ME APPRECIATIVE. IT MAKES ME MORE THAN THAT, ACTUALLY. IT MAKES ME BLESSED. [ MUSIC PLAYING ]