The Oklahoma City National Memorial is seen Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford)2025-04-16T04:06:42Z OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Thirty years after a truck bomb detonated outside a federal building in Americas heartland, killing 168 people in the deadliest homegrown attack on U.S. soil, deep scars remain.From a mother who lost her first-born baby, a son who never got to know his father, and a young man so badly injured that he still struggles to breathe, three decades have not healed the wounds from the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.The bombers were two former U.S. Army buddies, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who shared a deep-seated hatred of the federal government fueled by the bloody raid on the Branch Davidian religious sect near Waco, Texas, and a standoff in the mountains of Ruby Ridge, Idaho, that killed a 14-year-old boy, his mother and a federal agent. This aerial view shows the destroyed north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after a massive bomb blast, April 19, 1995. (AP Photo, File) This aerial view shows the destroyed north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after a massive bomb blast, April 19, 1995. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Rescue workers dig through the rubble from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building explosion in downtown Oklahoma City on April 20, 1995. (AP Photo/J.Pat Carter, File) Rescue workers dig through the rubble from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building explosion in downtown Oklahoma City on April 20, 1995. (AP Photo/J.Pat Carter, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More And while the bombing awakened the nation to the dangers of extremist ideologies, many who suffered directly in the attack still fear anti-government rhetoric in modern-day politics could also lead to violence.A 30-year anniversary remembrance ceremony is scheduled for April 19 on the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. A baby killed and a mothers anguishLittle Baylee Almon had just celebrated her first birthday the day before her mother, Aren Almon, dropped her off at the Americas Kids Daycare inside the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. It was the last time Aren would see her first child alive.The next day, Aren saw a photo on the front page of the local newspaper of Baylees battered and lifeless body cradled in the arms of an Oklahoma City firefighter. I said: Thats Baylee. I knew it was her, Aren Almon said. She called her pediatrician, who confirmed the news. Aren Almon poses for a portrait at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Aren Almon poses for a portrait at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Aren Almon poses for a portrait next to the memorial chair for her daughter, Baylee Almon, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Aren Almon poses for a portrait next to the memorial chair for her daughter, Baylee Almon, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Aren Almon wears a button with a photo of her daughter Baylee Almon, who was killed in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Aren Almon wears a button with a photo of her daughter Baylee Almon, who was killed in the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Oxford) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In the hauntingly iconic image, which won the amateur photographer who took it the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography, firefighter Chris Shields came to symbolize all the first responders who descended on the bomb site, while Baylee represented the innocent victims who were lost that day.But for Aren, her daughter was more than a symbol.I get that (the photo) made its mark on the world, Almon said. But I also realize that Baylee was a real child. She wasnt just a symbol, and I think that gets left out a lot. A firefighter thrust into the spotlightThe Oklahoma City firefighter in the photograph was Chris Fields, who had been on the scene for about an hour when a police officer came out of nowhere and handed him Baylees lifeless body.Fields swept the infants airway and checked for any signs of life. He found none.He said the iconic photograph was snapped as he waited for a paramedic to find room for the baby in a crowded ambulance.I was just looking down at Baylee thinking, Wow, somebodys world is getting ready to be turned upside down today, Fields recalled. Former Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields looks at the Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Former Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields looks at the Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More While he tries to focus more on being a grandfather than politics, Fields said he has little doubt an attack motivated by radical political ideology could happen again.I dont worry about it, but do I think it could happen again? Without a doubt, he said. A badly injured child still scarredOne of the youngest survivors of the bombing was PJ Allen, who was just 18 months old when his grandmother dropped him off at the second-floor daycare. He still bears the scars from his injuries. Nine-year-old P.J. Allen plays in his backyard in Oklahoma City on April 17, 2003. One of the youngest survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, Allen says he wants more than anything to be able to swim and wrestle with his friends without worrying about the tracheotomy in his throat getting dislodged. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Nine-year-old P.J. Allen plays in his backyard in Oklahoma City on April 17, 2003. One of the youngest survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, Allen says he wants more than anything to be able to swim and wrestle with his friends without worrying about the tracheotomy in his throat getting dislodged. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Allen suffered second- and third-degree burns over more than half his body, a collapsed lung, smoke damage to both lungs, head trauma from falling debris and damage to his vocal chords that still affects the sound of his voice.Now an avionics technician at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Allen said he had to be homeschooled for years and couldnt go out in the sun because of the damage to his skin.Still, there doesnt seem to be any self pity when he speaks of the impact of the bombing on his life.Around this time of year, April, it makes me very appreciative that I wake up every day, he said. I know some people werent as fortunate. PJ Allen, the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing, poses for a photo where he works at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City on March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) PJ Allen, the youngest survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing, poses for a photo where he works at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City on March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A display at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum shows items from the bombed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) A display at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum shows items from the bombed Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A son who didnt get to know his fatherAustin Allen was 4 years old when his father, Ted L. Allen, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development employee, died in the bombing. He never truly got to know his dad.Although he remembers snippets of riding in his dads truck and eating Cheerios with him in the morning, most of his memories come from friends and family.Its just been little anecdotes, little things like that Ive heard about him over the years, that have painted a bigger picture of the man he was, Allen said. Austin Allen shows a photo of himself with his deceased father, Ted Allen, during an interview in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Austin Allen shows a photo of himself with his deceased father, Ted Allen, during an interview in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Austin Allen touches a memorial for his deceased father, Ted Allen, in the Field of Empty Chairs section of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Austin Allen touches a memorial for his deceased father, Ted Allen, in the Field of Empty Chairs section of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Austin Allen poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Austin Allen poses for a photo at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. Austin was 4 years old when his father died in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Allen, who now has a 4-year-old of his own, acknowledges hes troubled by the anti-government vein in modern-day politics and wonders where it could lead.Its such a similar feeling today, where you have one side versus the other, he said. There is a parallel to 1995 and the political unrest. A workers life changed in an instantDennis Purifoy, who was an assistant manager in the Social Security office on the ground floor of the building, lost 16 co-workers in the bombing. Another 24 customers who were waiting in the lobby also perished.Although he doesnt remember hearing the explosion, a phenomenon he said he shares with other survivors, he remembers thinking the computer he was working on had exploded.Thats just one of the weird ways that I found out later our minds work in a situation like that, he said. This photo provided by Dennis Purifoy on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, shows Purifoy in 1995 at the Social Security office where he worked in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (Dennis Purifoy via AP) This photo provided by Dennis Purifoy on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, shows Purifoy in 1995 at the Social Security office where he worked in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (Dennis Purifoy via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Bombing survivor Dennis Purifoy stands during an interview at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) Bombing survivor Dennis Purifoy stands during an interview at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum in Oklahoma City on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Purifoy, now 73 and retired, said the bombing and McVeighs anti-government motives were a reality check for an innocent nation, something he said he sees in our society today.I still think that our country is naive, as the way I was before the bombing, naive about the numbers of people in our country who hold far right-wing views, very anti-government views, Purifoy said. One thing I say to tell people is conspiracy theories can kill, and we saw it here. SEAN MURPHY Murphy is the statehouse reporter for The Associated Press in Oklahoma City. He has covered Oklahoma news and politics since 1996. twitter mailto