Former Oklahoma governor recalls community strength in wake of 1995 bombing

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OKLAHOMA CITY — If former Gov. Frank Keating wasn’t previously aware of the Oklahoma standard before April 19, 1995, he would learn that day.

For Keating, leading the state through its darkest day was far and away the biggest challenge he could have been tasked with, especially just three months into the job.

Coincidentally, he started that April morning with Mayor Ron Norick’s prayer breakfast not far from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on northwest 5th Street before returning to the Capitol.

Just after 9 a.m., the bulletproof glass in the governor’s office began to shake, and a startling percussive sound signaled to Keating that an explosion had occurred nearby. He knew it was too strong for a natural gas explosion. A few moments later, Keating received a call from President Bill Clinton, his friend from college.

“He asked me, ‘What in the world happened in Oklahoma City?’ And I said, ‘I don’t have a clue. They say it could be a natural gas explosion, but it seems to me, as a layman, there’s far more destruction than that,” Keating recalled with The Journal Record Monday. “He said, ‘Well, I hope it’s not a Middle East terrorist event.’”

Perhaps still on the top of Clinton’s memory was the events of February 26, 1993, when a bomb detonated under the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. Ramzi Yousef, a Pakistani terrorist, was the mastermind behind the truck bombing.

Keating rushed downtown with Cathy, his wife, arriving at a chaotic and nightmarish scene. All the cars in the immediate proximity of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building were on fire, and the north side of the nine-story, 322,000-square-foot structure was completely exposed.

During a survey of the site, he noticed what appeared to be parts of a truck.

“I told the people I was with, ‘there’s VIN numbers on there, and that might let us find out who did this,’” Keating said.

Clinton was partially correct. It was an act of terrorism, but the man behind it was a U.S. citizen. He was a veteran, in fact. Timothy McVeigh, a U.S. Army Gulf War veteran, motivated by disdain for the federal government, parked a Ryder truck with a 4,800-pound ammonium nitrate-fuel oil bomb near the north side of the Murrah Building in downtown Oklahoma City. That bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m., turning the downtown area into a scene of widespread devastation.

It was the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history. A total of 168 people were killed, 19 of those were children, and more than 500 others were injured. Keating said 302 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the area.

The community’s reaction to the senseless act in the hours and weeks following would serve as a light during the city’s darkest days.

“What was amazing to me was there were banks in the area. Money drawers were open, but there was no looting. Not one cent was touched,” Keating said.

Keating describes the community’s willingness to come together in the wake of the tragedy as a “remarkable story of compassion, goodwill, service and sacrifice.”

More than 12,000 volunteer and professional rescue personnel from all across the country were involved in the recovery and rescue operation, according to the FBI. Area residents brought investigators and emergency personnel food and supplies during the day and all through the night for weeks. Some even brought food and treats for the dogs working the scene. Mental health professionals provided comfort to the families of those affected and the men and women working the scene, many of whom experienced second-hand trauma.

“I just can’t believe the selflessness of people willing to help others they didn’t even know, and that’s what the Oklahoma Standard was,” Keating said.

Last Friday, Keating visited the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum for an event marking the 30th anniversary of the bombing. James Lee Witt, who was the FEMA director under Clinton, told Keating just how impressed he was with Oklahoma’s response to the tragedy.

“He said, ‘We’ve let Oklahoma City and Oklahoma handle the worst domestic terrorist event in the nation’s history, because you guys were so competent,’” Keating said. “‘We have never done that since.’ And I said, ‘That really makes me feel good, because Oklahoma City deserves that.’ We proved a medium-sized city in the middle of the country can have competent leadership – Norick and the fire and police chiefs, they were all incredible.”

Keating vowed to ensure those who lost children in the bombing would receive counseling and support. He also saw to it that more than 150 children affected by the bombing received money for college.

“I met a guy the other evening who’s a dentist. And he said, ‘I was one of those who went through college and dental school.’ I met nurses, and I met doctors, and we’ll see them on Saturday exactly the same, where they have devoted their lives to serving others, and that is the incredible Oklahoma standard.”