MILES PARKS, HOST:
Thirty years ago today, just as people were getting ready for their workday in downtown Oklahoma City, bombs planted inside a rental truck outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building exploded, killing 168 people, including 19 children. Hundreds more were injured, and it remains the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. Anna Pope with member station KOSU was at the annual remembrance ceremony this morning, and she joins us now. Hi, Anna.
ANNA POPE, BYLINE: Hello.
PARKS: So take us back 30 years ago. Tell us about that morning in 1995.
POPE: Well, on April 19, 1995, it was a beautiful morning. Children were attending day care in the building center. Hundreds of people were just going about their day. A third of the building was blown to bits, and more than 300 nearby buildings were damaged or destroyed. Within minutes, the community came together and responded to the bombing. Timothy McVeigh, who parked the truck, and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, were responsible for the attack and radicalized by antigovernment ideology. Where the building once stood is the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and beside it is the museum. It's a place of remembrance of the people who were killed, those who survived and many more affected. It's also a place for people to understand the impact of political violence.
PARKS: Yeah, I've heard that memorial is very powerful. Can you tell us who came out this morning?
POPE: Our day began at the first church near the memorial. It can seat about 1,200 people in the sanctuary, and it was packed with family members, survivors and community members. Then we took 168 seconds as a moment of silence for all those who were killed, along with the reading each name of those lost. I met Kent Harville at the memorial. He was sergeant in the Oklahoma City Police Department and crime scene investigator who responded to the attack. He says today was touching and says people who go to the city need to visit the memorial.
KENT HARVILLE: It's just a real meaningful place. A lot of lives were lost here. A lot of lives were affected. It's just something people need to see, something they need to remember.
POPE: Thirty years ago, he helped in the recovery efforts, and today, he was once again here to remember.
PARKS: I know former President Bill Clinton was also at the ceremony, Anna. Can you tell us what he said?
POPE: Yeah, there's a remembrance ceremony every year, and this year, there was music, speeches from public officials, including former President Bill Clinton, who was in office at the time. He says those who carried out the bombing believed it would cause a nationwide upheaval against the American government. But instead, people came together working in service, honor and kindness and rebuilt. This is what's called the Oklahoma standard.
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BILL CLINTON: You made a different decision. So my advice to America today is that we were there for you when you needed us. America needs you, and America needs the Oklahoma standard. And if we all live by it, we'd be a lot better off.
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POPE: He talked about how the country became more polarized in recent years and how this was the center of polarization 30 years ago. Other speakers, like Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, also talked about the impact of political violence when we dehumanize each other, and he warned about the dangers of extremism.
PARKS: That's Anna Pope with KOSU in Oklahoma City. Thank you.
POPE: Thank you, Miles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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