Thoughts of 168 bombing victims
Soaring memorial
Ceremony observes sixth anniversxary of Oklahoma City terrorist act
By Peter Ciancone
Tribune-Star
Matching the billowing clouds in a bright blue sky, 168 white balloons tied to white ribbons floated from the hands of well-wishers on the Vigo County Courthouse lawn Thursday.
Each balloon represented a fatality from the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City.
In a short ceremony on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy, the county commissioners and about 50 well-wishers launched the balloons and planted one of 168 redbud trees in honor of the victims.
"We would like the families and friends of the victims of the tragedy to know and remember us as a state, county and city of sympathy and love," said Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson. "We will always be bound by circumstances to Oklahoma City."
The balloons bobbed and bounced off each other as they drifted north, gradually separating as they disappeared from view.
The man who killed 168 and wounded hundreds of others, Timothy McVeigh, awaits execution May 16 in the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute.
"I know the whole situation is a necessary evil that we have to deal with," Anderson said of Terre Haute's connection to the tragedy. "They say you have to play the cards you're dealt. This is my way of making a special play with our hand."
The redbud sapling, the state tree of Oklahoma, will stand with 167 others planted in county parks and on county property as part of the memorial, she said.
While Vigo County residents gathered at the courthouse, in Oklahoma City, victims, survivors and their families gathered in a ceremony to observe 168 seconds of silence at 9:02 a.m., the moment the bomb exploded.
Church bells chimed "Amazing Grace" to end the silence.
Kathleen Treanor's in-laws and 4-year-old daughter were killed in the Social Security Administration office inside the federal building. Treanor wore a button with a picture of her daughter, Ashley Eckles, holding a chocolate bunny.
"I still have an empty hole in my heart," she said. "But I've learned how to cope with that."
Family members joined in singing "Let There Be Peace on Earth," then quietly walked toward a memorial's statues of chairs, one for each of the victims, as the names of the dead were read aloud.
Edye Stowe lost two sons in the bombing -- Chase, who would be 8, and Colton, who would be 10.
"It's hard that they'd be old enough to play baseball now," Stowe said. "I just want to get on with my life."
Detective Jeff Lee, chaplain for the Terre Haute Police Department, said these kind of events help victims and their families cope with their loss.
"These type of events help victims express their pain," he said. "Often, with serious incidents, others carry on with their lives, but the victims continue to feel the pain every day."
Vigo County Park Superintendent Keith Ruble said he and his staff were planting trees throughout the county as part of the memorial. The redbud is notable for its purple flowers, he said.
Two other redbuds were in full bloom just to the west of the new tree on the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn.
"It's one of the trees that people associate with spring," Ruble said.
This sapling and 167 of its companions will help celebrate the change of seasons in Vigo County for years to come, reminding area residents of a another kind of rebirth as they blossom.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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