Ceremony Wraps On 22nd Anniversary Of The Oklahoma City Bombing

Wednesday marked 22 years since the Oklahoma City Bombing, when 168 lives were lost and countless more impacted.

April 19, 1995 was also the Wednesday after Easter. And the memories of that day are just as present now.

Timing is key each year of this remembrance ceremony. At the very minute the bomb went off, 9:02am, 168 seconds of silence were observed.

Each victim was then honored with words from Gov. Mary Fallin and Sen. James Lankford.

"The one thing death could not take from us was the outpouring of love and compassion that we saw in our state and nation," said Fallin

"We declare with one voice again, evil does not win." said Lankford.

Lankford then introduced the special guest speaker, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson. Carson now leads the department that lost 35 employees that day 22 years ago; the most of any department inside the Alfred P. Murrah building.  

Nineteen children were also killed that day and it's the children of the U.S. who Dr. Carson says his department will now focus on to ensure a brighter future for America.

"Our people are our most precious resource and do we just house them or do we develop them? Because they can either become part of the engine or part of the load," said Carson.

From there, all 168 names of the victims were read by various family members. And once the ceremony was over, flowers were placed at each and every chair.