Friends and relatives of the 167 victims of the nation's worst terrorist bombing made a somber pilgrimage Saturday to the ruined federal building, offering red rosebuds on a makeshift altar and taking away rubble as a remembrance.
"God is good," said Henry Biddy, whose wife's remains were brought out of the ruins late Thursday. "He gives you the strength to do what you have to do."About 1,500 people, many in their Sunday best, filed past the gutted building to say goodbye to their loved ones. A few who survived returned to view the destruction.
Across town, one family that lost three members in the bombing gathered to bury two of them and remember a third - an infant whose remains are still at the medical examiner's office.
Twenty-year-old Dana Bradley, whose leg had to be amputated to pull her from the wreckage, attended the church service in a wheelchair. She lost her mother and two children, ages about 4 months and 3.
"I have drawn strength from Dana Bradley," Dr. Gary Massad, who assisted in the surgery, said at the church service. "I would not have been able to survive the tragedy that Dana Bradley has survived."
The memorial at the skeleton of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building began under gray skies as families began arriving from the city's convention center on buses. By midafternoon, rain clouds gave way to brilliant sunshine.
Volunteers handed red roses to the somber mourners as they got off the buses and walked toward the wrecked building. Many of the families held children or each other's hands.
Two red-and-white striped tents were set up in front of the building, and participants handed their flowers to rescue workers who tossed them on a makeshift altar of roses, crosses, teddy bears and photographs.
Often, family members hugged the honor guard of rescue workers, drawn from the giant corps of federal, state and local law enforcement and safety agencies who spent more than two weeks scouring the rubble in a futile search for survivors. The last survivor was pulled from the building the night of the bombing.
From there, the families walked to a blue-and-white striped tent to receive a miniature state flag from Gov. Frank Keating and, if they wanted, a chunk of concrete scavenged from the blast site by the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
Biddy, whose wife, Oleta, worked in the Social Security office, came "to take a picture for my grandsons." He was accompanied by several family members including his son, Daniel, and daughter-in-law, Jeannean, who had worked in the same office until she went on maternity leave in March.
Biddy and the couple came with the couple's baby boy. Their older son, 3, wasn't in the America's Kids day-care center when the bomb went off April 19 only because his mother wasn't working.
"It could have been much worse," said Daniel Biddy, who said he didn't know if he was emotionally prepared to see the site.
"I kind of want to go down there before it's gone."
Bette Patterson sobbed as she stood facing the building with her husband, Sam, at her side.
He was working in the Department of Health and Human Services on the third floor when the bomb exploded, and escaped unharmed by crawling down a 12-inch ledge to a pile of rubble.
"Just to think I came that close to losing him," Bette Patterson said as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm so thankful, but I feel so guilty because I have him."
Sam Patterson said he needed to see for one last time the building where he had worked since it opened in 1977. "It's hard to explain," he said, "but it helps me understand what happened."
The Pattersons each took a fist-sized chunk of concrete from the site. Bette Patterson said she would paint a Bible verse on hers, "something to do with God's protection."
As family members paid their respects, onlookers were held back by police lines. Some wiped away tears, others laid bouquets of flowers on the gates barring the public from the site.
Cheryle Harrison traveled from Albuquerque, N.M., for the day just to look at the building.
"I have a day-care center in Albuquerque and the kids . . .," she said, her voice trailing off. "It's real hard for me."
She said she planned to take pictures to show the children and help answer their questions. She also brought a poster they made to leave in remembrance.
No decision has been made yet on what to do with the building. Local sentiment is strongly in favor of razing the rubble and erecting a memorial that would include a statue of the firefighter who carried out a limp baby.
Despite intensive coverage of the tragedy, many still weren't prepared for the extent of the destruction.
Fifteen members of the Newcastle High School baseball team stood silently viewing the building from a nearby vacant lot.
The team's pitcher, Gabe Sykes, 18, said his father was working in the basement mail room when the bomb went off.
He escaped with minor injuries but hasn't been the same. "He don't sleep that well anymore," Sykes said.