Friday, December 7, 2007

Oklahoma City National Memorial






I was fortunate enough to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It is comprised of an Outdoor Symbolic Memorial, museum and Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. The gates of time frame the moment of destruction-9:02 and serve as an entrance to the Memorial. The East gate represents 9:01-right before the bombing occurred. The West Gate represents 9:03, the moment the city was changed forever. The field of 168 chairs is a tragic reminder of the lives lost on April 19, 1995. The chairs are placed in rows, representing the 9 floors of the building. Smaller chairs were used to represent the 19 innocent children killed in the explosion. A 90 year-old American Elm tree stands as The Survivor Tree, a symbol of human resilience. The message surrounding the tree reads: "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us." For more information on the memorial you can visit: www.oklahomacitynationalmuseum.org

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is very interesting. I had forgotten about the Oklahoma disaster.I heard over the radio today that parts of OK.ae having an ice stormand 1/2 million people are without power.what time is the ice-skating on Sat. We will probably come up in the morning as Watertown is only 3hrs from Jackson.we get up early all the time any way.

jen said...

The ice skating expo is at 11:00. I will call you later in the week.