OKC NATIONAL MEMORIAL & MUSEUM

The memorial is both a place of reflection and a site to honor the victims and rescuers of the April 19, 1995, vehicle bombing that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building here, killing 168 people and injuring nearly 700 others. This was the deadliest act of terrorism in U.S. history before September 11, 2001. One of the perpetrators, Timothy McVeigh, a 27-year-old right-wing activist, was sentenced to death and executed in 2001. His partner, Terry Nichols, is serving a life sentence in a Colorado prison. Spread over 13,000^{square meters}, the site includes several distinct zones, including Gates of Time, which symbolizes the pre- and post-attack periods; Reflecting Pool, a pool that occupies what used to be^5th Street, designed to reflect the visitor's own image and make him or her aware that "everyone is forever changed by what happened here"; Field of Empty Chairs, a large space where 168 chairs are distributed for as many deceased victims; Survivors' Wall, fragments of the building on which were engraved the names of nearly 700 people who survived the tragedy and The Survivor Tree, the only tree that resisted the attack in the perimeter of the explosion. The museum offers an interactive tour to help visitors understand why and how the bombing occurred, and the impact it had on the city and its residents.