April 19 marks 29 years since the worst domestic terrorist in United States history struck the heart of our state.
The Oklahoma City bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people and injured 680. 19 children were among the victims.
But now, it's a day in our state's history that many Oklahomans may be too young to remember — or it happened before they were born.
2 News stopped by a lesson at Will Rogers High School to see how they're learning about the worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
As the Oklahoma City bombing slips away from recent memory and into the pages of history, teaching kids about it is more important than ever. That importance will only keep growing.
"When they come in, I ask [my students], 'How many you know about the Oklahoma City bombing?'" history teacher Jo Glenn told us. "And if I get one through all my classes, I'm surprised."
"I did not hear anything of it or know anything about this," said freshman Diego Hernandez-Perez.
Glenn taught a class of ninth-graders on April 18, the day before the anniversary, about the bombing. It's all part of their one-semester course on Oklahoma history.
The students watched the harrowing videos from that fateful morning and interviews — all while going through the timeline and all the background information.
They also crafted their own survivor trees.
The class really made Hernandez-Perez think.
"As quick as one minute, it ruined many people's lives," he said. "Hundreds of people lost loved ones. Others lost children and generations of their familes. And, others have traumatic effects and maybe, with this now, they can't really live past it or they live in fear that something else may happen again."
However, it's not just about learning numbers and dates. It's also how these students carry that lesson in their own lives.
"You just gotta start valuing, like, the smaller stuff because there's many children that lost their lives that day," said Hernandez-Perez, "and just being able to wake up and still be here is just a gift that I appreciate and learned to value."
The remembrance ceremony in Oklahoma City will start seating at 8:30am on April 19 and begin at 8:45am.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will speak at the event.
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