It’s been 14 years since eight federal agents and 160 other people were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing that shook the security of this nation. The landscape of terrorism has changed since then, but people in Oklahoma will never forget that day.
By JAMES S. TYREETulsa World
OKLAHOMA CITY – Susan Walton suffered a facial skull fracture, nerve damage behind both eyes, a broken nose, multiple jaw fractures, six busted teeth, a ruptured spleen, and legs crushed beneath both knees.
She was lucky.
Walton, of northwest Oklahoma City, sustained the injuries at the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168 people. Susan and her husband, Richard Walton, and others filled the Oklahoma City National Memorial lawn during the 14th annual remembrance ceremony on a cold, blustery Sunday morning.
“We come for the same reason they built the memorial – for us to remember and to have hope for the future, and to see the people we’ve made friends with over the years whose lives were affected,” said Walton, who is doing well now, following years of recovery.
Gov. Brad Henry and Jane Lute, U.S. Department of Homeland Security deputy secretary, attended the 55-minute event that was more spiritual than political in nature.
