On the day that the bombing took place, the only thing that kept me from being sent to work in the "Pit" (the crater area of the Murrah Building)was my part-time status at work. Had I been a full-time employee, I would have joined my supervisor in providing refreshments to the rescue workers inside the Pit. My supervisor did not return home for two weeks.

There was only one private organization that was allowed inside the Pit. That organization was my employer - The Salvation Army.

The American public has no idea just how much the Salvation Army was involved in the relief effort. The Salvation Army's Oklahoma headquarters sits a few blocks away from where the Murrah Building was located. Within 5 minutes of the bombing, Salvation Army officers were at the Murrah Building assessing the tragedy and sending people to help.

One of the people sent was Jon Wallace, the Salvation Army's social services director in Tulsa (and my big boss). Mr. Wallace was a master at organizing private parties in rendering aid. Mr. Wallace found himself having to tutor the person in Oklahoma City who was leading the relief effort for the American Red Cross. Today, Mr. Wallace is featured in the OKC Bombing Museum.

Salvation Army Captain Don Vick was sent from his office in Tulsa to take charge of funeral arrangements. Captain Vick was gone from home for so long that his 3 daughters became upset about his absence. One Sunday morning, Captain Vick's middle daughter wanted me to sit with her in church to act as her temporary "Dad" (meaning that she wanted me to comfort her).

Meanwhile, I was working overtime to gather relief supplies. One day, Mr. Wallace directed me to deliver some supplies to Oklahoma City. Upon reaching Salvation Army headquarters, I could see the back of the Murrah Building, and I could see the broken windows in the buildings surrounding the Murrah Building.

The aftermath of the OKC Bombing is something that I cannot forget.

More of my thoughts about the OKC Bombing are posted on my blog.

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PS: Immediately after the OKC bombing, members of the American public gave the American Red Cross 13-million dollars, believing that the American Red Cross would use all of the money for the OKC Bombing relief effort.

Well, the American Red Cross used only 8-million of the donated dollars for the OKC Bombing relief effort. The American Red Cross wanted to use the other 5-million for other things.

Because the ARC didn't use all of the money that it had received, the Salvation Army ended up paying the bills that ARC didn't want to pay.

The ARC gets all the publicity, but it doesn't do all the work.