U.S.

'Such Sacred Ground'

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 19, 2000 / 3:39 PM EDT / CBS

Five years to the minute after that murderous morning, the people of Oklahoma City gathered Wednesday to remember again the 168 people killed in the 1995 bombing with a day book-ended by solemn ceremonies.

At a public ceremony late in the day, President Clinton promised the people of Oklahoma City that America would not forget what happened there.

"There are places in our national landscape so scarred by freedom's sacrifice that they shape forever the soul of America. This place is such sacred ground," Mr. Clinton said.

"I know there are still days when anger wells up inside you, when tears fill your eyes, when you feel your heart will break," the president said. "On those days, I hope you can find solace here in the memory of your loved ones."

Attorney General Janet Reno praised the community's spirit.

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"This memorial, like this community, will always stand for justice. Justice is that deep and abiding peace that comes when wrong is righted and when hurt begins to heal," Reno said. "In a face of evil that staggers the soul, you've demonstrated the triumph of the human spirit."

As the names of the dead were read at a ceremony Wednesday morning, their families stepped across the green lawn where the building once stood and placed flowers and other items on one of the 168 stone chairs representing the victims of the April 19, 1995 bombing.

Some of the chairs are smaller than the rest, honoring the 19 children killed in the blast.

Church bells tolled at 9:02 a.m., the exact moment when the blast of a fuel and fertilizer bomb planted in a truck destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in the worst act of terrorism on American soil.

CBS News Correspondent Terisa Estacio reports the crowd observed 168 seconds of silence—one second for each victim.

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An honor guard made up of rescuers raised a U.S. flag over the site. It fluttered in a stiff breeze over the dark pool. Bagpipes sadly wailed "Amazing Grace" as people lingered at the chairs. Speakers addressed the sacrifice of the dead, as well as the courage of the living.

"You could have chosen to grieve very privately but instead you chose to take a stand against terrorism, and to raise a lasting tribute to those who perished, for the survivors who have suffered the horror of the last five years and to all the courageous who came from near and far to our aid," said Johnson.

While the memorials focused on an event that occurred five years ago, there were reminders that the tragedy is still reverberating.

"We bring with us our broken hearts and shattered dreams. We know our hearts would have no rainbows if our eyes had no tears," said Oklahoma City Police Chaplain Jack Poe. "Do not allow us to lose ourselves from the horror of this terrorist attack on our government."

After 25 surgeries, Susan Walton's every step is a reminder of that horrible day. It took years of therapy for her to walk again, and she said the lone tree that survived the bombing was an inspiration.

Thinking of her life and the tree’s, Walton said she feels, "We both survived and we're a little beaten up but we're strong and we're gonna make it."

CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara reports 300,000 people are expected to visit the new Oklahoma City National Memorial each year.

The solemn open-air plaza includes a quiet reflecting pool that stretches along what once was the bomb crater. There are two pillars, called gates of time—one marked "9:01" for the minute before the deadly blast, "9:03" for the minute after.