Oklahoma Standard: Thunder celebration comes full circle 30 years after OKC bombing

Yahoo

4 days ago

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – 30 years separate two of the most unforgettable days in Oklahoma City's history, and Tuesday, the city's resilience was honored for it.
In 1995, a terrorist attack outside of the Murrah federal building claimed 168 lives, including children, and injured others. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum has spent the past several months of 2025 remembering the victims and reflecting on how far Oklahoma City has come.
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Tuesday marked a celebratory parade for the Oklahoma City Thunder after winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday. The two-mile stretch of the parade route started at NW 10th Street and N. Harvey Avenue and headed south on Harvey to NW 5th Street. Although the celebration concluded in Scissortail Park, the early portion of the route meant it crossed right in front of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
'We've been commemorating and celebrating that for the last six months, and so this really is just part of that, I think, and the fact that it's happened during this 30th year, I don't think it's by accident,' said Kari Watkins, President and CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
News 4 cameras captured hundreds of people gathered along the perimeter of the memorial grounds, paying respect to the victims by staying away from the memorial's reflection pool and chairs placed to honor each victim of the bombing.
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'It almost brought me to tears,' said Patti Smithhart, who visited the memorial for the first time Tuesday from Texas.
Smithhart described the 1995 bombing as undoubtedly the low point of Oklahoma City's life, but said she felt like the parade celebration was one of the high points. The city's love for the Oklahoma City Thunder can even be felt and seen across the memorial grounds. Families of victims have placed Thunder shirts on some of the victims' chairs, including one shirt with a handwritten tribute.
News 4 asked Smithhart how she felt when she read the tribute.
'Timothy McVeigh robbed Sara and Eli and lots of other children of their mothers and fathers, and their lives were forever changed, and that's a terrible thing. That's a terrible thing,' said Smithhart.
In all of the bad, visiting the grounds still, so many years later, offers a chance for Oklahomans and visitors alike to have hope, see the strength, and remember the city's darkest chapter now framed in light.
'I think that's a beautiful thing,' said Paul Stepusin, who visited the memorial from Florida. 'They're still in their hearts, and it's important that they can show that way. I think that's a reflection of that. Love is still there inside our hearts.'
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