Clinton Says Nation Can Learn From Oklahoma City's Response

Thirty years after the deadliest homegrown attack in US history, former President Bill Clinton returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday to remember the people who were killed and comfort those affected by the bombing. Clinton was president on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, destroying a nine-story federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He delivered the keynote address at a remembrance ceremony near the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. Clinton, now 78, was widely praised for how he helped the city grapple with its grief after the bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. He says it was a day that he will never forget.

"I still remember as if it were 30 minutes ago, coming here with Hillary to that memorial service and saying: 'You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost America, and we will be with you for as many tomorrows as it takes,'" Clinton said, recalling his first visit days after the bombing, when he spoke at a memorial service. "I do think we've kept that commitment." Clinton has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum numerous times since the bombing and delivered speeches on major anniversaries. On Saturday, he cautioned about the polarizing nature of modern-day politics and how such divisiveness can lead to violence.

He said there is much the nation can learn from the "Oklahoma Standard," a term coined to reference the city's response to the bombing by uniting in service, honor, and kindness. "Today, Oklahoma City, America needs you," he said. "I wish to goodness every American could just see life unfold here, hearing these stories." Family members read the 168 names of those killed in the attack. A procession of bagpipe players from the Oklahoma City Fire Department led attendees across the street to the outdoor memorial built on the grounds where the federal building once stood. The memorial includes a museum, a reflecting pool, and 168 empty chairs of glass, bronze, and stone etched with the names of those killed. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller than the others. (Raymond Washburn, who was blind, helped rescue five people from the rubble.)