Domestic Terrorism

Many of these will be incidents that are examples of the horrors of that day that Lance talks about. His experiences in law enforcement have taught me countless lessons and shown me how many people out there will follow through with violence when they don’t get their way. Though he is always strictly guarded with the confidences of his profession, he has always given me with a firsthand show of the impact that domestic terrorism has on the citizens and law enforcement. I learn the details of some of these incidents without the media’s exaggerations. Some of these facts are not known widely about the infamous bombings. These impacts include the monetary damages that terrorism inflicts, along with the injuries and mental trauma to the victims
of said cowardice brings. The damages that are embedded into the minds of those good folks who came to sort through the rubble franticly to find the survivors. At the same time I will say that these tragedies seem to bring Americans back together despite any sort of differences. When the Alfred P. Murrah building exploded that sunny April morning, there was so much chaos throughout Oklahoma City that there wasn’t much time to think about much more than survival. After the dust and ash settled it was clear that there were survivors and they needed pulled out immediately, After the hours and hours spent pulling out these lucky people, the whole city had a moment to look at the once colossal building teeming with people that now stood before them in a mangled heap of rubble and bodies. There is wide reaching damages that always follow when terrorism strikes at home. The bombing in Oklahoma City completely destroyed almost all of the Murrah Federal Building. All officers, fireman, and almost everyone one able to help to move small rubble and respond to voices trapped in the still smoking ruins. The destruction that follows these cowardly terrorist acts leaves its mark on the community with the fear that ensues.
Lance said he heard a lot of people say “There is no way in hell I am going to work tomorrow. What if my office building is the next to be blown up?” These fears of more attacks touched the very hearts of American citizens. It is the lives that are lost and helpless children that were killed by these people that can lead to a quick breakdown of society. Domestic terrorism claims thousands of lives every year. Around the world. In the case of the Oklahoma City bombing, 168 lives were extinguished, and more than 680 people were injured. Perhaps one of the issues that made this attack the most devastating to people was that 19 of the lives that were lost that day were those of
children. While it is always difficult to suffer the long-lasting effects of a terrorist attack, perhaps some of the most lasting effects of terrorism is that which is inflicted on the people we call upon to take care of the situation that respond with no hesitation.
They are the paramedics, fireman, and the investigators that are subjected to respond to these senseless acts of violence. This is the biggest part of the terrorism that is most personal to me. During the Oklahoma City Bombing, my step-dad was gone for 4 days digging through rubble. Lance called each day to tell us how awful the damage was. Windows from the blast were broken up to 16 blocks away. While the rescuers were searching for the survivors and the victims, he was with the team that would find the evidence that would soon point the finger at Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. These two cowards drove a large moving truck/van that was loaded with about 4,800 pounds of fertilizer and oil, where it exploded. Police detectives were out there twenty-four hours a day for several days, picking through the rubble of broken mortar, family pictures, and children’s toys, as well as dead bodies. They were out there all day, every day, until May 9th. That was the day that the final victims were found
dead.

I don’t believe enough is said about what anyone in public service does. All of the trauma they go through and went through that day was is just mostly bottled up. “That attack was the most traumatic thing I have ever had to do and it just haunts you forever.” Lance says. This is not the first or last time he has said this. The day of April 19th, 1995 will forever be known as one of the most intense and gloomy days that the city of Oklahoma City has ever had.