Today marks the 16th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. We at the Department of Transportation join with all Americans in remembering the 168 people--including 19 children--who lost their lives in that despicable act of terrorism.
Each of the 168 empty chairs honors one of the April 19 victims
Eleven of the public servants killed that day were part of the DOT family. They were at their desks in the Murrah Building, doing what all of us at DOT do every day: working hard to make American transportation safer and better. Their memory continues to inspire us.
Lucio Aleman, Jr., Mark A. Bolte, Ronota A. Woodbridge, Larry J. Jones, James K. Martin, Jerry L. Parker, Michelle A. Reeder, and Johnny A. Wade worked for the Federal Highway Administration.
Michael J. Carrillo, Rick L. Tomlin, and John "Buddy" Youngblood also worked for the FHWA, but in the office that eventually became today's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
All 11 are memorialized in a grove of rebud trees planted in their honor at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Research Center in Virginia.
I am thankful to everyone who honors these individuals by remembering this sad anniversary. And I urge everyone to continue remembering their sacrifice.
I particularly want to thank today's federal employees. Ever since that tragic day in 1995, going to your government job each day is an act of courage in the service of your nation. And I, for one, appreciate that service.
Thoughts and prayers to each of the victim's families. It's sad that things like this ever happen.
Posted by: Asheville Photographer - Blue Bend Photography | January 27, 2012 at 01:15 PM