September 11th and my experience at a site of terrorism

10 years ago today, 4 planes were hijacked and crashed in this country. 2 planes hit the World Trade Centers. 1 more hit the Pentagon and 1 more crashed near Pittsburgh. No one knows where that one was heading, but one could guess somewhere near DC. It is hard to believe 10 years have gone by. It is a day I vividly remember, and a day I want to forget. Even though I was nowhere near the terrorist sites, as a 10 year boy, I was afraid to ever go near the city. There was no telling what they were going to do next. But that is not the story I am going to tell today. With numerous 9/11 memorials opening today, I am going to try to do my best to describe what I felt and what happened a few years ago when I was able to visit a different memorial for a different attack in a different part of the country.

4 years ago, on a service trip to Oklahoma, I was given the opportunity to visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. In 1995, two Americans bombed a government building in downtown Oklahoma City. 169 people died. It was the greatest attack on American soil until the September 11th attacks. One of the perpetrators was executed. It is an event I do not remember at all, being only 5 years old at the time. I had no ties to it at all. Yet, visiting this site was one that will always change me.

When you arrive at the OKC Memorial, you can either enter through the Gates of Time at 9:01 or 9:03, the minutes before and after the bombing. When we are arrived we were arrived at what is called the Survivor's wall. There you saw memorials to victims and survivors, as well as memorials to victims of other attacks, including 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. On the other side was something that sculpted my religious identity forever (and mind you, I was on a religious service trip). It was not officially part of the memorial. But it was there.



It is a statue of Jesus Christ. And it has a very simple Bible quote. "And Jesus Wept." At this point in my life, my faith had been in doubt. For whatever reason, from that day forward, my faith was shaken forever.

From there we entered one gates of time. From there in the center you see a magnetic pool. To the right of where we entered we saw this.



These chairs signify every death that occurred. What really strikes you are the small chairs. These represent the deaths that occurred at a day care center. It is a striking scene. It makes you realize that these terrorists, whether apart of al-Quida or not, they couldn't care less about who they kill and why they did it. To the left of the pool is a wall, that has been there since the day of the attack. Here is how it reads:

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After visiting the outside memorial, two other people and I went into the actual memorial. Not a lot of people went in because it cost 7 dollars. I am really grateful
however that I did spend that money.

When you enter the building, you take a seat in the office. There you listening to a recording taken from an office (I believe it was another federal office) moments before the attack and the immediate aftermath of it. It is a chilling and horrifying scene. From there you are moved around. I can't remember much of the memorial. One thing that striked me in particular was a weather report from the night of the bombing. There was a severe thunderstorm warning that was issued for Oklahoma City and there you saw the weather man break down, on live TV. From there most of the memorial was a blur. I remember there were tribute lives lost. There was rubble from the scene in a room. What I remember most vividly were the faces of the people I was with. Both of whom I knew really well. About halfway through it was utter silence. No one said anything at all. Tears were rolling down all of our faces. Where as other people went out and enjoyed the town, we were inside balling our eye out. The rest of the day was a blur. I remember me and the girl I went in with didn't say a word on the hour bus ride back. I don't remember the rest of the night. I just remember that I was grateful I went.

This isn't easy for me to write. I sit here watching history channel showing footage of 9/11. I am also thinking about my experience. I revised this before I posted it. I changed glad to grateful. Because I am not glad I went to the memorial. Between the 9/11 attacks and the OKC bombing, close to 3100 people died. Many children never saw their parents again and some parents never saw their children.

I end this saying two things. Thank you to those who helped rescued thousands that day, some of whom sacrificed their lives. And finally that all of those who lost their lives unsuspectingly on both days and the immediate days following rest in peace.