The Oklahoma City bombing was 30 years ago. Some survivors worry America didn’t learn the lesson

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY AP Thirty years after a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in America s heartland killing people in the deadliest homegrown attack on U S soil deep scars remain From a mother who lost her first-born baby a son who never got to know his father and a young man so badly injured that he still struggles to breathe three decades have not healed the wounds from the Oklahoma City bombing on April The bombers were two former U S Army buddies Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols who shared a deep-seated hatred of the federal administration fueled by the bloody raid on the Branch Davidian religious sect near Waco Texas and a standoff in the mountains of Ruby Ridge Idaho that killed a -year-old boy his mother and a federal agent And while the bombing awakened the nation to the dangers of extremist ideologies numerous who suffered directly in the attack still fear anti-government rhetoric in modern-day politics could also lead to violence A -year anniversary remembrance ceremony is scheduled for April on the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum Aren Almon poses for a portrait at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday April AP Photo Nick Oxford Aren Almon poses for a portrait next to the memorial chair for her daughter Baylee Almon at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday April in Oklahoma City AP Photo Nick Oxford Aren Almon wears a button with a photo of her daughter Baylee Almon who was killed in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday April AP Photo Nick Oxford FILE Aren Almon center whose daughter Baylee became a national symbol in an iconic photo of a firefighter holding her lifeless body following the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City is comforted by her father Tommy Almon and mother Debbie Almon during a funeral operation for Baylee at Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City April AP Photo Pat Sullivan File FILE Aren Almon greets President Bill Clinton after a prayer system for the casualties of the deadly truck bomb attack in Oklahoma City on April AP Photo Pat Sullivan File Show Caption of Aren Almon poses for a portrait at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday April AP Photo Nick Oxford Expand A baby killed and a mother s anguish Little Baylee Almon had just celebrated her first birthday the day before her mother Aren Almon dropped her off at the America s Kids Daycare inside the Alfred P Murrah federal building It was the last time Aren would see her first child alive The next day Aren saw a photo on the front page of the local newspaper of Baylee s battered and lifeless body cradled in the arms of an Oklahoma City firefighter I commented That s Baylee I knew it was her Aren Almon reported She called her pediatrician who certified the news In the hauntingly iconic image which won the amateur photographer who took it the Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography firefighter Chris Shields came to symbolize all the first responders who descended on the bomb site while Baylee represented the innocent casualties who were lost that day But for Aren her daughter was more than a symbol I get that the photo made its mark on the world Almon mentioned But I also realize that Baylee was a real child She wasn t just a symbol and I think that gets left out a lot Former Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero Former Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields looks at the Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero Show Caption of Former Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero Expand A firefighter thrust into the spotlight The Oklahoma City firefighter in the photograph was Chris Fields who had been on the scene for about an hour when a police officer came out of nowhere and handed him Baylee s lifeless body Fields swept the infant s airway and checked for any signs of life He ascertained none He disclosed the iconic photograph was snapped as he waited for a paramedic to find room for the baby in a crowded ambulance I was just looking down at Baylee thinking Wow somebody s world is getting ready to be turned upside down the present day Fields recalled While he tries to focus more on being a grandfather than politics Fields explained he has little doubt an attack motivated by radical political ideology could happen again I don t worry about it but do I think it could happen again Without a doubt he disclosed PJ Allen the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing poses for a photo where he works at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero FILE Nine-year-old P J Allen plays in his backyard in Oklahoma City on April One of the youngest survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing Allen says he wants more than anything to be able to swim and wrestle with his friends without worrying about the tracheotomy in his throat getting dislodged AP Photo Sue Ogrocki File PJ Allen the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing poses for a photo at the Tinker Air Force Base where he works in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero Show Caption of PJ Allen the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing poses for a photo where he works at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero Expand A badly injured child still scarred One of the youngest survivors of the bombing was PJ Allen who was just months old when his grandmother dropped him off at the second-floor daycare He still bears the scars from his injuries Allen suffered second- and third-degree burns over more than half his body a collapsed lung smoke damage to both lungs head trauma from falling debris and damage to his vocal chords that still affects the sound of his voice Now an avionics technician at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City Allen disclosed he had to be homeschooled for years and couldn t go out in the sun because of the damage to his skin Still there doesn t seem to be any self pity when he speaks of the impact of the bombing on his life Around this time of year April it makes me very appreciative that I wake up every day he disclosed I know selected people weren t as fortunate Austin Allen poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March Austin was years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building AP Photo LM Otero Austin Allen shows a photo of himself with his deceased father Ted Allen during an interview in Oklahoma City on March Austin was years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building AP Photo LM Otero Austin Allen touches a memorial for his deceased father Ted Allen in the Field of Empty Chairs section of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum on March Austin was years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building AP Photo LM Otero Show Caption of Austin Allen poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March Austin was years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building AP Photo LM Otero Expand A son who didn t get to know his father Austin Allen was years old when his father Ted L Allen a U S Department of Housing and Urban Rise employee died in the bombing He never truly got to know his dad Although he remembers snippets of riding in his dad s truck and eating Cheerios with him in the morning most of of his memories come from friends and family It s just been little anecdotes little things like that I ve heard about him over the years that have painted a bigger picture of the man he was Allen noted Allen who now has a -year-old of his own acknowledges he s troubled by the anti-government vein in modern-day politics and wonders where it could lead It s such a similar feeling this day where you have one side versus the other he declared There is a parallel to and the political unrest FILE Bombing survivor Dennis Purifoy stands during an interview at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero File This photo provided by Dennis Purifoy on Wednesday April shows Purifoy in at the Social Measure office where he worked in the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City Dennis Purifoy via AP Show Caption of FILE Bombing survivor Dennis Purifoy stands during an interview at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum in Oklahoma City on March AP Photo LM Otero File Expand A worker s life changed in an instant Dennis Purifoy who was an assistant manager in the Social Shield office on the ground floor of the building lost co-workers in the bombing Another customers who were waiting in the lobby also perished Related Articles In contemporary times in History April the Virginia Tech shooting In current times in History April the Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic Plans to celebrate America s th anniversary were underway Then came the federal funding cuts Nowadays in History April Abraham Lincoln fatally shot at Ford s Theatre Titanic digital evidence in documentary corroborates patron accounts Although he doesn t remember hearing the explosion a phenomenon he revealed he shares with other survivors he remembers thinking the computer he was working on had exploded That s just one of the weird techniques that I unveiled out later our minds work in a situation like that he noted Purifoy now and retired reported the bombing and McVeigh s anti-government motives were a reality check for an innocent nation something he mentioned he sees in our society in the current era I still think that our country is naive as the way I was before the bombing naive about the numbers of people in our country who hold far right-wing views very anti-government views Purifoy explained One thing I say to tell people is conspiracy theories can kill and we saw it here