Bob good morning. Thank you for joining us. I am bob ross, chairman of the Oklahoma City national foundation. I am grateful for this opportunity to come together as a community as we pause to remember. I would like to thank the memorials Conscience Community for their guidance. As you watch todays ceremony, we encourage you to take a photo of those joining you. Post your photo using the weremember. Lets all do our part to strengthen our community. For 25 years we have worked together to create something that has become world renowned as an educational institution. Over half a Million People visit the memorial and museum each year, coming to these hallowed grounds to show respect and learn about the power of the oklahoma spirit. Our Mission Statement remains our cornerstone in shaping the important work that continues today. Just as we do each time we meet or gather for a memorial event, we pause for the reading of the Mission Statement. Reading our Mission Statement today is bob johnson, founder of the Oklahoma CityMemorial Foundation who led the board of trustees through the building of the memorial and museum. Bob johnson we come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity. Please join me in 168 seconds of silence. [bell tolling] bob during the dark days following the bombing, we relied heavily on faith to rebuild our community. As we reflect back 25 years later, we have a constant reminder in the bells of first church, one of several churches heavily damaged in 1995. Jack poe, the chaplain of the Police Department in 1995, was part of the Spiritual Ministry in the rescue and recovery efforts. The entire site of our memorial became a holy place. We call on chaplain jack poe to offer a blessing on this sacred sunday morning. Chaplain let us pray. Heavenly father, creator and redeemer, who hears our prayers and understands the cries of our hearts, 25 years ago on a day like any other day, our city was knocked to its knees by an act of violence against innocent people who came to work to serve the needs of our community. The legacy of our city was at risk. Would we lay down and give up, or what we show up and Work Together to overcome this tragedy . Our choice was not to let this act of violence define who we were as a city or who we were as a people. The response was quick. Our First Responders, police, medical community, came immediately, and people stood in long lines to give blood. Our community asked, what can we do . People were placing others before themselves and gave birth to what is now known as the oklahoma standard. Today we remember those who died, those who survived, and those changed forever. A promise we have kept for 25 years. But once again, our nation is at a crisis and we are afraid. But we know who to turn to. The great i am, the one who promised we can cast our anxiety upon him because he has promised to never leave or forsake us. So help us not to allow the past to determine our future but to look forward to our Mission Statement of showing strength and unity in the face of violence. We pray in the name of our creator and redeemer, amen. Bob we thank chaplain poe as well as all members of the Fire Department and Oklahoma City police who remain an important part of our healing and recovery along with the many First Responders from around the world. These heroic efforts witnessed 25 years ago are truly inspirational. Our First Responders set the bar and now serve as an example or cities throughout the country and world. Their stories are probably told in this museum. Former president bill clinton and mayor and misses keating led us through our darkest hours. Now, 25 years later, we look back and realize how each decision they made was critical to how we were able to move forward and rebuild their lives. Never before had the federal, state, and city governments worked together so seamlessly. We fly the city, state, and United States flags on our site every day to honor that spirit of collaboration. They worked day and night to provide First Responders, rescue teams, and crime scene investigators from around the country all while trying heal the human side and protect the victims of this attack and their families. These leaders knew this historic moment demanded spiritual focus as they came together for a nationally televised Prayer Service. They each would have been with us today had we been able to gather together. We felt it would be an appropriate time to honor them for the clarity, decisiveness, courage, passion, and humility. Combined, their leadership remains unmatched. Bill clinton the most important thing to remember was that these were people who were right to who had a right to live their lives. Many of them were kids. If we ever lost that, we would lose the whole meaning of the thing. I remember that call. He did not call to ask me for anything. He just called to see how i was doing personally, and how the city was doing, and if there was anything he could do, just let him know that his phone was open. Bill clinton it was impossible to forget the people that were involved. Not only the people who died, but their survivors. I give a lot of credit to the governor, the mayor, all of the people in Oklahoma City. After that evil, good came. People saw they could come together and do well together. There was a strong sense that we will not be defeated. Everyone knew their place. Call it divine providence, call it the right team at the right time, it worked. Because the leadership was strong, the public responded tenfold. In time of crisis, i know of no other country, no other state, or no other city who takes care of its citizens like we do. [applause] bill clinton you have lost too much. But you have not lost everything. You have certainly not lost america. For we will stand with you. For as many tomorrows as it takes. [applause] bob the outdoor symbolic memorial captures and preserves forever the place and events that changed the world. We will always be looking back, but now is the time for us to be thinking forward. Our city has not just survived, we have thrived, grown, and strengthened. But we depend on all of you watching today to help us continue telling our story and stay relevant for all of the generations to come. We owe it to the survivors into the community who stood with us in our time of need. The Memorial Foundation is fortunate to have trustees like mayor david holt, who are dedicated to our mission. We appreciate our mayor for his leadership in unifying our city and for supporting our museum. Good morning. This is not how we expected to come together today, but this remembrance is no less real or important. The anniversary we marked today and what april 19, 1995 meant to our city and nation transcends the challenges of april 19, 2020. Inertheless, with change reflection is a phenomenon. In that sense covid19, 9 11, the bombing, these are all similarly shared experiences along this journey we call life. In the wake of such events, what matters is that we take lessons from them and emerge wiser and more prepared to face similar challenges ahead. As we have spent time the last few weeks considering what lessons we may learn from covid19, i have pondered what lessons we should take from april 19. This seems more important than ever, as the commemoration of the 25th anniversary is a reminder that this event is transitioning from experience to history. As it does so what cannot be lost is its lessons. , those lessons are timeless. Those lessons make this sacred place relevant for decades to come. This is what it means to look back and to simultaneously think forward. The bombing was ultimately an act of extreme violence. Extremist Political Violence made possible through dehumanization. The journey to such an act begins with thoughts. Those thoughts become words. Like a virus, those words are heard by others and they pull out of that listener thoughts and words that their better nature had previously rejected. Soon, one carrier becomes many, and an ecosystem is created where ideas that were once considered absurd are treated with credibility. Blowing up an Office Building full of civilians and children requires someone to walk down that dark path. It is a path humanity has walked down too many times before. It is a path of dehumanization. Even though it ends with an evil and horrific act, that path is largely lined with the simplest gesture we have words. If you are not hearing those echoes again in our current political discourse, i ask you to listen harder. Evil acts like the one behind me depend on the triumph of dehumanization, the idea first perpetuated through words that you are different than me that , your motivations are not pure, that you are my enemy, the enemy of my people, and that this struggle is so real that all tactics must be on the table. To accept such dehumanization and to reject all the things we share in common, the reality that we all love, we all have families, we are all seeking virtually the same outcome, requires a remarkable amount of delusion, but we as humans have proven ourselves capable of such delusion, and we pay a terrible price time and time again. I ask you to consider this morning that this sacred place is a sober reminder that humanity is capable of such evil things, even here in the United States, even in oklahoma, and we all have an obligation to speak up and reject words that divide us, words that cast others as our enemies. Right now, i hear such words coming out of the mouths of some of the most prominent people in our country, and i see them echoed in daily life by those who know better. We should know how this story ends. Let this place be a reminder, we must have better conversations, we must reject dehumanization, we must love each other. Those are the lessons i hope we will continue to carry from this event today and all the days ahead. That is the oklahoma standard i believe in. The standard that the people of oklahoma showed in the hours that followed this evil act. We did not ask the survivors what Political Party they were, as we pulled them from the ruins. We did not ask the rescue workers how they voted in the last election before we served them lunch. We loved all, we accepted all. That is who we are. That is who we should always be. I am proud of us for leading by example, and i think we always will. To the people of Oklahoma City, i say it is our unique obligation to carry these lessons forward. We did not choose this obligation. It was given to us. We must carry the load so that our people will not have died in vain. We must speak with the authority of those who will always carry a scar in the heart of our downtown. We know what happens when empathy and understanding are lost. We must be the first ones to always say, we are all in this together. Lets listen to each other and lets find common ground. Thank you for sharing time this morning to remember what happened here 25 years ago today and consider what it means for us now. If we carry the lessons of april 19 forward, this sacred place will be relevant 50 years hence, 100 years hence, and forever. May god bless the families of those who were lost, those who survived, those who came to our rescue, and those changed forever. Bob more than half the population of Oklahoma City either was not alive or did not live here in 1995. We work every day to continue teaching our story, doing our part to make sure Something Like this never happens again. During his first year in office, Governor Kevin Stitt and his entire family showed their commitment to our mission by visiting the memorial and museum and participating in the marathon. Like last year, we look forward to the governor joining us for our 25th in verse run to three remember, which is rescheduled for october 4, 168 days from today. Like so many oklahomans, i remember exactly where i was on april 19, 1995, and in the days that followed seeing the devastation and our First Responders helping oklahomans. I am honored to join you as we remember. This anniversary marks a milestone for our state and people that provides us with an opportunity to remember the past while also considering where we stand today. On this day 25 years ago, our people experienced a senseless attack that shook our state and nation to its very core. No words or measure of time can fully heal the scars rooted in that day, but we will and we must never forget the wisdom we gained into the lessons we gained and the lessons we learned. This is why we take time to remember. We remember the 168 lives lost and the hundreds injured on that day. We remember the selflessness of our rescue workers, emergency responders, and volunteers who answered the call to help fellow oklahomans. We remember the families who lost loved ones and the survivors whose lives were forever changed. We remember the unbreakable spirit of oklahomans who united together on the darkest day in our states history. We also remember so we can continue to teach the next generation about the impact of violence, the power of prayer, and the strength of our people. 25 years ago, we were faced with two options allow hate and terror to reign, or rise up together in kindness and love. Where there was meant to be division, oklahomans responded. Where there was destruction, oklahomans responded with resilience and where there was chaos oklahomans responded with hope. The personification of the heart and strength of our people can be seen in the story of the survivor tree. An american elm that withstood the impact of the bombing and now overlooks the hallowed grounds of the Oklahoma City memorial, where it stands stronger than ever before. As you walk around the survivor tree, you are met by the words reverend billy graham spoke to the people of oklahoma during a Prayer Service on april 23, 1995 the spirit of this nation and city will not be defeated. Our deeply rooted faith sustains us. These words continue to ring true today. 25 years ago, oklahomans showed the nation and world what it looks like for a community to stand together in faith, neighbor helping neighbor. 25 years later, where once there was devastation, there is now a city and a state that have not only survived, but thrived. Our roots of faith have sustained us and we continue to see the oklahoma standard displayed as we stand at this milestone stronger than ever before. God bless you, god bless the great state of oklahoma. Bob one of the lessons taught inside our museum is the importance of federal Government Agencies at all levels working together when tragedy strikes. Joining us today, representing the United States of america, is senator james lankford. Senator lankford we were all broken on that april day in 1995. I share psalm 34, verse 18. It says, the lord is near to those who are brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. We understand what it means to be brokenhearted and we know we need god to be near us. Remembrance is in the heart of oklahomans. We stop and remember. We run to remember. 25 years later, we continue to remember the atrocities that happened in oklahoma on april 19, 1995. We recognize what happens when people allow their hatred to rise up and take the venomous anger out on other people. We remember those who lost their lives but we also get up and we try to determine how we grow from here. The Memorial Museum itself is a testament to remembering and learning. It calls people to remember that day and recognize what Law Enforcement did. How firefighters ran to the crisis and how First Responders and average citizens, saved lives, stood sidebyside with total strangers and neighbors. I believe there will never be a year when oklahomans do not pause and remember april 19, 1995. We will always keep the memory of the 168 lives lost. We will always hold each other close as our families remember. And as our community heals. This museum stands as oklahomas promise to never forget. I remember the first time i brought my daughter to the museum when she was very young. She was like many in this generation, born after 1995. She did not personally experience that horrible day. It was a unique experience for her to see the museum and for us to talk through what we experienced that day. When we got to the room dedicated to children who died, my daughter stood there and literally began to cry. It moved for her from history to reality. We have the responsibility to pass on the story to the next generation. We have the responsibility to love and walk with families who know deep pain. We have the responsibility to learn from the past. Moving forward, we should recognize rising hate. How do we identify issues that need to be addressed early on . How do we identify things like antisemitism, racism, or hatred for government . We as a culture need to recognize those moments and not just allow them to lie dormant but to engage. Whyklahomans, we remember that is so important we invite the country in the entire world to walkto Oklahoma City through the museum, to learn, and to remember. We will always remember. Bob thank you mayor holt, governor stitt, and senator langford for your inspirational remarks. We find ourselves facing a Global Crisis like never before, we know you are committed to our mission and we appreciate your unyielding support. Last year, the most reverend michael b. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church toured our outdoor memorial and museum. We asked bishop curry to share a spiritual message for our 25th anniversary, one filled with hope and optimism for the future. Bishop curry there is a passage in the bible in the epistle to the romans that says, let love be genuine. Hold fast to that which is good. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We gather on this day of remembrance to remember loved ones who lost their lives, to remember loved ones who were wounded, to remember all whose lives have been changed because of that tragic day. We gather to remember them, never to forget them, but we likewise gather to remember them by recommitting, reconsecrating, and rededicating all our lives to a living legacy. A legacy that will prevent this from happening again. A legacy that will make a world where no child dies. A legacy that will make a world where there is no more suffering, where there is no more wrong. Where no human child of god is hurt or harmed by any other human child of god. We gather to remember and to remember a new world. It occurs to me that we arent able to gather physically. We gather virtually. And yet, it may be that the fact that we have to gather virtually rather than physically may well speak the message of remembering this day. We gather virtually so that covid19, a virus, may hopefully be stopped in its place. We gather virtually, not coming physically together, so that hopefully lives may be saved. We gather virtually so that our health might be preserved and the health of others, even people that we do not know. We gather virtually as an act of love. Love for our neighbor. Love for ourselves. Love for the god who loves everyone of us. It may well be that our virtual gathering on this day of remembrance is a reminder that we remember in order that we might create a new and better world as a living legacy to those who died. To those who were wounded. To those whose lives were changed. Ive made two pilgrimages previously to the memorial. One of those occasions was with over 1000 young people. We gathered for a Church Conference for several days. We gathered there in order to help young people learn something about living a way of life that reflects gods way of love. A way of life that seeks to do good as a way to overcome any evil. We made an evening pilgrimage to the memorial. Over 1000 young people gathered around the water as the dusk and the evening descended and as the light began to rise. We gathered in the midst of chairs of remembrance, the wall of remembrance, the pond, the trees. We gathered to remember that those thousand young people might learn that as the bible says in the psalm of songs, love is as strong as death, and many waters cannot quench it. We gathered that day to remember and to shape a new future. Dr. King once said, darkness cannot cast out darkness, only light can do that. Hatred cannot cast out hatred, only love can do that. We gather this day virtually because we love our neighbor. And because we seek to do good by being physically absent from each other. But being present with each other in spirit. God love you. God bless you. And may god hold each one of you and all of us in his almighty hands of love. We remember those at the Oklahoma WaterResources Board building. Trudy jean rigney. Robert n. Chipman. We remember those at the athenian building job corps. Catherine elizabeth ridley. Anita christine hightower. We remember rescue worker rebecca anderson. We remember those killed in the alfred p. Murrah federal building. United States Secret Service ninth floor. Allen witcher. Kathy seidl. Linda mckinney. My fatherinlaw, mickey maroney. Donald ray leonard. Cynthia l. Brown. We remember our friends and family with the Drug Enforcement administration, ninth floor. Kenneth glenn mccullough. My daughter carrie ann lynn, and my grandson, baby Michael James lynn iii. Rona lynn keener chafee. Carol june chip fields. Shelley d. Bland. We remember those who were killed with the department of housing and urban development, eighth floor. Clarence eugene wilson, sr. Francis williams. Michael d. Weaver. David jack walker. Jules a. Valdes. Leora sells. Lanny lee david scroggins. Antonio tony c. Reyes. Dr. George michael howard. Susan jane farrell. Kimberly k. Clark. Donald earl burns, sr. David neil burket. Peter r. Villanova. Ted l. Allen. We continue to remember our friends and family with the department of housing and urban development, seventh floor. Joann wittenberg. John carl vanness, iii. John thomas stewart. Terry smith reese. Patricia ann micks. Betsy j mcdonnell. And my father, James Mccarthy ii. We continue to remember our friends and family with the department of housing and urban development, seventh floor. Lee lauderdale. [reading names] we continue to remember our friends and family with the department of housing and urban development, fifth floor. [reading names] we remember our friends at the United States marine corps recruiting, sixth floor. [reading names] we remember those with the u. S. Customs, fifth floor. [reading names] we remember our friends and family with the department of agriculture, fifth floor. [reading names] we remember those with the United StatesArmy Recruiting battalion on the fourth floor. [reading names] we remember our friends and family with the department of transportation federal highway, fourth floor. [reading names] we remember our friends and family with the federal employees credit union, third floor. [reading names] we continue to remember our friends and family with the federal employees credit union, third floor. My sister, [reading names] we remember our friends and family with the Defense Security service, third floor. [reading names] we remember our visitor on the second floor, scott d. Williams. We remember our friends and family from the americas kids Child Development center, second floor. Our brother, colton wade smith. [reading names] we continue to remember our friends and family from the americas kids Child Development center, second floor. [reading names] we remember our friends and family from the General Services administration, first floor. My husband, [reading names] we remember our friends and family from the Social Security administration, first floor. [reading names] we continue to remember our friends and family from the Social Security administration, first floor. [reading names] we continue to remember our friends and family from the Social Security administration, first floor. [reading names] good morning. I want to thank you for joining us on our 168 day journey as we have been looking back and thinking forward. You joined us as we began in november with this powerful message. Day one, we heard our story put the Historical Perspective from renowned historian john meacham. We cant look back without remembering and educating. I am thinking forward. Learning and connecting the past with the future. Lessons learned from the bombing and combining history, science and Technology Teach relevant lessons impacting lives today. Our Standard Program will be taught in schools and to adults alike. It reminds me of the core 1995 todisplayed in step up to be kind. I encourage you to find a way to do that every day in your own life. One of our other signature projects we are undertaking is better conversations. This project aims to change how conversations work by looking at the questions we ask and honoring each others perspective. We want to teach that words matter and how words can grow generous listening, humility, hospitality, and patience. These discussions will happen in communities and around dinner tables across the state. We are living through uncertain times, but we know we can do this together. We are ready for this museum in the classroom to be full of schoolkids again to learn the story and what we have learned in the last quarter century. When we reopen the museum, we are excited to roll out a new stronger together augmented reality experience. This helps us provide tools to understand a story that likely did not happen in their lifetime. You have also seen our unique partnership with Oklahoma City thunder. The special uniform honors the memorial and your efforts at remembering. It also teaches a new generation of people on an international stage. We were honored recently to go to new york with the team when they wore these at Madison Square garden as we said thank you to the new york First Responders who came here 25 years ago, and we met the children of a man who came here to help us 25 years ago and were killed responding to 9 11. Other sports teams added the the oklahoma dodgers and oh, other sports teams including the oklahoma dodgers in the oklahoma lasers blazers added the survivor tree to their jerseys to help remember and help us teach. We will join an excited community when we return to normal and watch our favorite teams. We encourage you to post pictures as you cheer them on using weremember. The survival tree is a symbol of human resilience and tells the story of healing and hope. Today thousands of survivor trees are growing all over the United States. With their help of continuing to tell the story for generations to come, its branches can shade survivors of more tragedies. We are standing on a foundation you helped us build. We want to be available to other communities torn apart by horrific events, continue to be a Global Leader in the wake of tragedy. We owe it to the world to continue thinking forward. Together we get to define every moment that comes after. As our Mission Statement says, this memorial should offer visitors the assurance that this world holds far more good than bad. It started out as this idea to get the kids to have a clue about what happened. I heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn and then create an image. Shes a child. She liked nature. I dont know if i believe it is true, but i know i am who i am today because i knew you she was part of a Motorcycle Club and she was 54. You get to see who the people are. Are remembering their lives instead of how they died. This remembers them in a more beautiful way. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer this is American History tv on cspan3 where we feature 48 hours of programs exploring the nations past. President book the where they rank the worst and best executives. It provides insight into the president s through stories gathered by interviews with historians. This april 28, the book will be available in paperback. Richard norton smith, douglas brinkley, and edna green medford each contributed to the book. Next, they talk about the rankings at a forum recorded last spring at George Washingtons mount vernon