I was sitting in my office getting ready for the events of the day.  Noonday was always special.  We were bringing what had been a really good semester to a close.  It was a beautiful Wednesday morning.  John Jones stuck his head inside my office to say hi.  That was something he did almost every morning.   It was about 9:00am.

He said hi and then our BSU Center shook.  The shake stopped our conversation and we looked at each other and said at the same time, “What was that?”  I told him I thought we had just had a little earthquake.  He thought perhaps they were blasting on our campus.  UCO was under construction and some kind of blast would have been a possibility.  We went out the front of the BSU Center and looked across at the campus.  All seemed normal.  We discounted the event as a small quake.

Within minutes students were streaming to our center.  They were asking if we had heard about the blast in downtown OKC.  We turned on the TV to get the news.  I started thinking of people who worked downtown.  I didn’t think I knew anyone.

Suddenly on the news we saw the view of the blast side of the building.  Silence filled the room.  Maybe a few tears.  Could anyone have survived?  How many people would have been in that building?  I had never taken notice of this building before.  Soon we found out that it had housed a daycare.  More silence.

As we watched CNN I notice a face behind the commentator.  It was a friend, Larque Piatt.  There seemed to be a drip of blood on her forehead.  She was mouthing the words, “I’m all right.”  We saw footage taken just minutes after the blast.  Another friend, Robert Dennis, had been standing at the elevator when the blast went off.  He walked out of the building covered with dust and only minor injuries. 

We had students volunteering to gather water, gloves, flashlights, snacks for workers, etc.  Our center became a collection center.  Jeremy Sparks and Amy Brown were among the UCO funeral science majors to volunteer their time.  Their memories will be forever impacted by what they experienced.  In the horrible aftermath of this tragedy stories of love, giving, and sacrifice were born.

One of those stories was about a pre-dental student named Sherman Mencer.  Sherman was involved in the BSU ministry and was downtown when the blast occurred.  He ran toward the blast to see if he could help.  He saw hurt people everywhere.  He knelt down beside a lady trapped by the debris.   He held her hand and told her help was on the way.  About that time workers yelled for everyone to clear the area.  Another bomb had been found.  Sherman instinctively got up to run.  The lady pleaded with him not to leave her.  He took a few steps then went back to hold the ladies hand.  He told her, “Don’t worry I’m not leaving you.”  Later the threat of a second bomb turned out to be false.  What courage.

One of our students, Chuck Porter, was downtown as well.  He had his camera and took the picture of baby Almond that was carried by media around the world.  Baby Almond’s lifeless body was being carried by a soot covered fireman.  Chuck received the Pulitzer Prize for his photo.

The worst of times bring out the best of people.  It is a time I will never forget.  April 19, 1995 will stick in my memory.  As I remember the tragedy, I remember the heroes.  Many of those heroes were UCO students who showed their courage and their heart.