From Oklahoma to Kentucky
Buck and Joyce Coomer with Survivor tree offspring. Photo by Lynn Bledsoe.
By Lynn Bledsoe
Gimlet Reporter
Joyce and Buck Coomer have a very unique item they are growing at their home. To better appreciate what they have let’s go back in time to April 19, 1995.
On April 19, 1995 many people were just going about the business of their daily lives. They were going to work, dropping their kids off at day care and simply living. At 9:02 am that all changed. Home grown terror had came to visit the United States at the specific location of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City.
Former Army veteran Timothy McVeigh parked a loaded rental truck that contained a homemade bomb of fuel and fertilizer in front of the Murrah building. It was equivalent to over 5000 lbs of TNT. He left the area, then the bomb went off killing 168 people, 19 of whom were children in the day care. Over 500 people were injured. Over $652 million dollars worth of damage was incurred from the blast.
The building was chosen because inside were offices for ATF, FBI, Social Security, Secret Services, HUD, recruiting offices for the Army and Marine Corps, in total 14 government agencies had offices inside the building.
The blast was felt 55 miles away and damaged 324 buildings in the area. 16 miles away in Norman, OK the blast was recorded as a 3.0 Richter scale earthquake. Through this tragedy came the strength of many. Rescue workers worked for two weeks to look for survivors.
Joyce Coomer lived in OK at the time of the bombing. She lived 12 miles away from the blast. On the day the explosion happened she was at work and felt the explosion and heard the boom.
Her and her husband, Buck, have visited the memorial. They said the pictures of the victims and voice recordings that were being made the day of the explosion moved them to tears each time. One thing they noticed was the Survivor’s tree. The tree is an American Elm that had been left in the parking lot when the building was built. The tree survived the direct blast. It still has scorch marks and scars from the debris that was embedded into the tree.
Since the tree survived the blast, it became a central part of the memorial and people are able to apply to receive a seedling of the tree. Joyce’s daughter, Crystal, applied to get one of the seedlings for her mom. It took her two years, but she finally managed to get one in 2018. The memorial also includes a reflecting pool and 168 chairs handmade of glass and bronze. The bottom of the chairs is glass and light up in the dark. There are 19 smaller chairs for the children. No two chairs are the same.
The Coomers flew out to get the tree and on the return trip they incurred a small hiccup at the airport. Buck wanted to take the tree on the plane in order to protect it. The airport would not allow it but once they heard the story of the tree they specially marked it and put it in last so it would rest on top and not be damaged. The Coomers said when they were at the luggage carousel the tree was the first thing to come down the conveyer belt and they breathed a big sigh of relief.
Once back in Edmonson County with the tree Buck and Joyce planted the seedling in their back yard and Buck constructed a memorial of their own. The Coomers would like to remind people the tragedy should not be forgotten. It was a terrible act of violence in our country, on our soil and if it can happen in Oklahoma City, it can happen anywhere.
“People should love their country and if they don’t like how things are going, change it by voting not by violence.”-Buck Coomer
*** Editors notes*** If you would like to see what the memorial is like you can watch a tour of it on YouTube or through the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum website.
Original Survivors Tree at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Photo credit to Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
