Decades later, Oklahoma City bombing continues to teach powerful lessons

This week marks 30 years since the Oklahoma City bombing. It remains the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in American history.

Decades later, those entrusted with honoring victims and survivors say the passage of time has only reinforced their mission.

Beneath the shadow of the bronze gates of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, you’ll find people pausing for quiet reflection.

It is here that people stop to remember the 168 people killed and those forever changed by the events of April 19, 1995.

“I don’t have to remember because I live with it every day. I remember every day that my mom’s not here,” said Ronnie Fields.

Fields was a student at the University of Oklahoma that April morning when someone in his fraternity house turned on the television and he saw his mother’s office building.

His mother, Carrol June “Chip” Fields, was a longtime office administrator with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

She was on the 9^th floor of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building when, at 9:02 a.m., a truck bomb exploded.

A third of the building collapsed and the blast ultimately claimed the lives of 168 people, including 19 children, and wounded more than 600 people.

The FBI determined ex-Army soldiers Timothy McVeigh and his accomplice Terry Nichols orchestrated the attack, fueled by their anger at the federal government over actions at Ruby Ridge and the siege on the Branch-Davidians in Waco two years prior.

Thirty years later, Fields, now a pastor, finds strength sharing his personal journey of grief – a difficult one that began with anger and ultimately ended with forgiveness.

“I think forgiveness is something we all struggle with on some level,” Fields said. “We struggle to hold these grudges and the real message is understanding that ultimately [the bombing] happened because of a grudge."

Fields has spent time speaking with high school students and sharing the lessons of April 19. He especially wants to highlight the resilience shown during the state’s darkest time – the acts of honor and service known as ‘The Oklahoma Standard.’

“We want to see the good things come out of this. We don’t want evil to win,” Fields said.

Later this year, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum will embark on a

Plans include more space for programming and a new civics lab to teach how government and the community work together in response to the bombing.

President and CEO Kari Watkins has guided the memorial and museum’s mission since its founding.

Watkins said the passage of time has only strengthened their resolve to engage younger generations about the impact of violence.

“To show them democracy is in place for a reason and how do we protect that? How do we preserve it? And what’s our part in that?” asked Watkins. “I think it’s very important people know that this is a safe space to have discussions – hard discussions.”