Oklahoma City community gathers to honor victims of 1995 bombing
By Meghan Mosley
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Survivors, families and community members gathered Sunday morning for the 31st annual remembrance ceremony to honor the 168 lives lost in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
“We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever,” said Laura Piatt, an Oklahoma City bombing survivor.
The ceremony featured prayer, reflection and a message from Chris Fleming of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
“May this ceremony and what these chairs represent continue guiding us toward a future defined not by the violence of that day, but rather the service, honor and kindness that grows in its aftermath,” Fleming said.
Richeal Thatcher attended the ceremony to honor her sister, who died in the bombing while seven months pregnant.
“She was just a beautiful soul,” Thatcher said. “Everybody loved her. She was in the credit union. She had been a longtime credit union employee. So, lost a lot of friends there, too.”
Others, like Arlene Blanchard, came to pay respects to coworkers lost inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
“The memories come back quickly, and it’s unbelievable to me that three decades have passed and that day is so vivid in my mind, it’s etched there,” said Blanchard, a survivor of the bombing.
Blanchard reflected on the bond she shared with her coworkers.
“The people that I worked with, it was, as I read, it’s family and friends,” she said.
The ceremony honored the 168 victims, each represented by an empty chair at the memorial.
“While we cannot change what happened, we can choose how we move forward,” Fleming said.
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