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Oklahoma City Bombing Survivors Reflect on 30 Years of Trauma and Resilience

As the 30th anniversary approaches, survivors warn of the dangers of rising anti-government rhetoric while honoring the victims in a public remembrance ceremony.

Aren Almon poses for a portrait next to the memorial chair for her daughter, Baylee Almon, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)
FILE - Rescue workers dig through the rubble from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building explosion in downtown Oklahoma City on April 20, 1995. (AP Photo/J.Pat Carter, File)
FILE - This aerial view shows the destroyed north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after a massive bomb blast, April 19, 1995. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Aren Almon, center, whose daughter Baylee became a national symbol in an iconic photo of a firefighter holding her lifeless body following the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, is comforted by her father Tommy Almon and mother Debbie Almon, during a funeral service for Baylee at Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City, April 24, 1995. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

Overview

  • The 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people in 1995, will be marked on April 19 with a remembrance ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum.
  • Survivors and families continue to bear physical and emotional scars, voicing concerns about the resurgence of extremist anti-government rhetoric in modern politics.
  • The bombing, carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history and was motivated by anger over federal actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge.
  • The attack prompted significant security reforms, including permanent barriers around federal buildings and the passage of the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
  • Public discussion highlights the lessons learned, including the dangers of misinformation, as initial media reports wrongly attributed the bombing to Middle Eastern terrorists.