Oklahoma bomb victims remembered

WITH 168 moments of silence and the message that goodness can overcome evil, victims of the worst act of domestic terrorism in US history were remembered yesterday at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

Some 1,600 people inside the First United Methodist Church fell silent at 9.02am local time, the moment the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building was destroyed exactly 10 years earlier.

Some brought teddy bears and flowers to be placed at the memorial, which includes 168 empty chairs symbolising the human cost. “All of us respect you for the way you’ve borne tragedy over the last decade and for your great devotion to the memory of those who died here,” Vice President Dick Cheney told survivors and loved ones.

“Goodness overcame evil that day,” he said.

“All humanity can see you experienced bottomless cruelty and responded with heroism,” he told the crowd. “Your strength was challenged and you held firm. Your faith was tested and it has not wavered.”

Former president Bill Clinton, who was in office at the time of the bombing, reminded mourners that “by the grace of God, time takes its toll not only on youth and beauty, but also on tragedy. The tomorrows come almost against our will. And they bring healing and hope, new responsibilities and new possibilities.”

There was heavy security in the First United Methodist Church, adjacent to the memorial, where the speeches were given.

One bus brought 53 people to the ceremony, all wearing T-shirts with LaKesha Levy’s photo on the front and the words “a shared experience”.

Ms Levy’s aunt, Gail Batiste, said friends and family came from all over the country to remember the outgoing 21-year-old, who had gone to the building the morning of April 19, 1995, to get a Social Security card. “It’s good that Oklahoma remembers,” Ms Batiste said.

Juanita Espinosa, wiped away tears as she stood in front of the chair of her cousin, Zackary Chavez, aged two-and-a-half.

“They found his head one week, and his body another week,” she said. “It's still too much to think about.”

The bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was convicted of federal conspiracy and murder charges and executed on June 11, 2001. Conspirator Terry Nichols is serving multiple life sentences on federal and state charges.

Jenny Parsley missed work that day with a doctor’s appointment. “I knew most of the people killed,” Ms Parsley, 57, said. “I lost a lot of good friends, too many.”