On a busy Wednesday morning 20 years ago, Timothy McVeigh parked a rented moving truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, the truck exploded.
The bomb killed 168 people, injured 650 more and destroyed or damaged 300 surrounding buildings.
Now, a reflection pond and museum occupy an expansive lawn where the nine-story building once stood. Also on the lawn: 168 sculpted bronze chairs, one for each of the victims.
On a recent day in March, 7-year-old Geoffrey Banks was visiting the memorial for the first time and couldn't stop talking about the chair sculptures. Nineteen of the bombing victims were children younger than him.
"The little kids have the little chairs for them, and the grown-ups have the bigger chairs," Geoffrey said. "Over there, right behind me, was where the building blew up. And like, about 168 people were killed. And that's a lot."
Geoffrey was so overwhelmed by photos of victims and videos from the day of the bombing that he had to leave the museum before he got through all the exhibits.
"If you were in there, you'd probably start to feel sick, too," the boy said. "I mean, it's really sad, 168 people killed in one day is a lot."
Photos and personal items from each of the victims line a room inside the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Other rooms in the two-story museum are filled with partially destroyed items found in the rubble. Interactive exhibits also outline the investigation and eventual capture of those responsible.
In 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed in a federal penitentiary for setting off the bomb. He was caught after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop. The car he was driving when arrested is in the museum. McVeigh's co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, was also convicted and is serving a life term in prison.
Twenty years later, their crimes have changed how one museum visitor, Oklahoma native Tony White, looks at his family every day.
"Just innocent people going about their everyday lives, and then it can turn in an instant," White said. "So you've got to remember: tell everybody you love them when you leave for the day. You never know."
White, his wife, and daughters visited the memorial during spring break, looking at mementos tied to a fence along one side of the park. Photos of the victims, notes to lost loved ones, thank yous to firefighters, toys, ribbons, shirts, hats and signs filled almost every chain link on the fence. Nearby, an American Elm that survived the blast is surrounded by words like "Courage" and "Hope."
A bucket of sidewalk chalk sits out by a large square of cement where people can scribble thoughts and notes.
"I urge everybody to come see it. It's a very touching sight," White said. "It's very hard to control your emotions when you watch the videos and see the pictures and read the stories of the events that happened on that fateful day."
Ceremonies and 20th anniversary events will take place in Oklahoma City all next week. On April 26, Banks will be running a 5K race. He will join 25,000 runners who will fill the streets for a memorial race that raises money for the National Memorial & Museum.
