has this gervais syndrome, but thank god we've got something now that's working. >> she's doing so great today. oklahoma city lies at the geographical heart of the country, it is probably the last place you would pick to be targeted for destruction. then came the morning of april 19th, 1995. >> good morning. in this proceedings with regard to application 95-905 for a ground permit. will present evidence, hear

evidence from the applicant, with regard to this proceeding, there are four elements that i have to receive information regarding -- [ explosion ] >> the background on the other side, we'll have to go there so i can get a better view of it. wow, holy cow, about a third of the building has been blown away. >> it was staggering, the potential casualties, and death. and i remember saying god, i don't want to die today. >> it was a terrifying attack. >> i was so hoping it was not an american. >> that left an entire nation disillusioned. >> it was a game-changer. >> it remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in american history, perpetrated by one of our own, a decorated army veteran of the first gulf war. the oklahoma city bombing.

nex next. >> okay, i'm ready. okay, let's go. tammy, you can see thick, black smoke billowing from the federal court building downtown. >> we are seeing literally dozens of people that are bleeding. some of them you cannot even make them out. they are so badly injured. >> the impact was immediate, and nationwide. >> an explosion in oklahoma

city, with worldwide implications and enormous consequences. >> the bombing has sent shock waves through washington. >> there is enormous, increased security. >> the pentagon has responded. >> it could be a wacko, a professional, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to create this kind of bomb. >> as the smoke cleared, two questions went across the country. who and why? the answers would be shocking. the man behind the devastation was an american. his name? timothy mcveigh. >> timothy mcveigh was one of ours, he was a war hero. he grew up in the suburbs of buffalo. and we needed to know. there was a sense of obligation to find out who this man was. >> timothy mcveigh was born on april 23rd, 1968 in the town of

lock port, upstate, new york, by all accounts he had a normal childhood. >> we didn't have any warning he would do something like this. in fact, as a teenager, he was the young man that people in the neighborhood would choose to baby-sit their kids. >> he was a good student, bright, above-average intelligence. sometimes you look at the history of severe criminal conduct. and there was childhood abuse or abandonment and you can see how someone developed into it. nothing striking in mcveigh's background. >> but the young mcveigh did have a dark side. while still a teenager, he had discovered the turner diaries. a venomously racist dialogue, led by white supremacists. >> it described a truck bombing of fbi headquarters in washington, d.c., shortly after

9:00 a.m., very similar to what took place in oklahoma city on april 19th, 1995. >> if timothy mcveigh had looked to make a statement then he had succeeded in the worst way possib possible. >> it looks like emergency crews are on scene. >> the incredible explosion that ripped apart the nine-story alfred p. murrah federal building, hit with two tons of tnt. the inside was ripped apart, with black smoke. one floor pancaked onto the next, crushing and trapping men, women and children below. >> the floor has collapsed. >> the second floor held a daycare center, the lucky ones staggered into the street, some barely alive. >> standing by.

>> i saw a yellow flash, and then everything went pitch black. the force of the blast bent me over my desk. >> the whole back of the building just fell in on us. everyone along our set of offices had back injuries, head injuries, necks were bleeding, slashed. >> i felt pain on my left side of my face and popping noises. and it was the glass, shards. >> just kept falling, it was a horrible noise, horrible noise.

>> and i remember saying god, i don't want to die today, or in this building. if it is all right with you, i would like to die later. >> it felt like an earthquake actually shook our television station. that is five miles away. >> in those first frantic moments, no one was quite sure what had caused the explosion. >> initially we thought it had been a gas explosion. because we had had had to evacuate the station earlier in the week because there was a gas explosion downtown. >> i thought that a war had started. that oklahoma city had been bombed. that we had been attacked by another country. i thought that the explosion was an atomic blast from tinker air force base. >> i was trying to make sense out of it. i did not think it was a bomb. >> they had dog teams here searching for survivors, and for

bodies. >> scores of people have been killed outright. and hundreds more injured. the blast radius encompasses a 16-block area, but the murrah building is ground zero. >> buthe bureau was headquarter there, and some of its occupants are still missing. >> the still estimates were perhaps it was a thousand people, it was staggering the potential casualties and deaths that could have been caused by this bombing. >> everything around the building was still on fire. cars across the street were on fire. the trees that were there were on fire. >> people at this hour are literally trapped in the alfred

murrah building in downtown oklahoma city. >> get back! >> they have found a bomb in the building. >> 90 minutes after the blast, a new panic radiates through the streets when first responders come across what appears to be a second bomb. the rescue operation is suspended. and the four-block area is quickly evacuated. it is thankfully, a false alarm. but precious moments have been lost. by the time the rescue resumes, investigators have swarmed the area. >> first question has been answered, was this just a freak accidental explosion of some kind? we know now. >> it was quickly determined that the explosion at the building was caused by a truck

bomb. >> there are certain things can you look for, particularly in the case of a large bomb, there was a 32-foot crater in the street that appeared to be dead center to the bomb. >> then investigators get a first big break, they learned that a rear axle housing that probably came from the truck has landed 200 yards from the bomb site. >> i heard something coming through the air, i looked straight up. you could see this big object coming towards us, and when it hit the back, i looked in front of my car and there was an axle laying there. i told my wife, there is a car bomb. >> early indications are the bomb was a half-ton homemade bomb that was made of fuel oil and fertilizer. >> using that number, we were able to trace the vehicle itself and identify it was a ford motor product that had been made for

ryder rental company. >> the ryder company informs the fbi that this particular truck had been assigned to elliott's body shop, injunction city, kansas, more than 200 miles north of oklahoma city. fbi experts discovered that the truck had been rented two days earlier. >> the rental documents themselves showed it had been rented by a robert bob kling, we had no idea who he was or whether he was a real person. >> an employee provides a detailed picture of kling and another man who was with him. who was robert kling and why had he just murdered nearly 200 men, women and children? within 24 hours the nation would learn the stunning truth. >> let there be no room for doubt, we will find the people who did this.

[ ship horn blows ] no, no, no! stop! humans.

one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... not so much. but that's okay -- you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

it is one of the most terrifying days in american history. >> this is just devastating. smoke and debris and fire on the ground. there are numerous injuries. >> the human toll is overwhelming.

168 people killed, at least 650 injured. among the dead are 19 children. >> there is very little hope for those that are left in that building. >> the oklahoma city bombing will go down in history as one of those elemental moments that people will remember where they were at the time. >> this is the grisly, metic meticulous search effort to find bodies. >> less than 90 minutes after the blast, about 75 miles north of oklahoma city, state trooper charlie hanger stops a 1977 mercury marquise for not having a license plate. >> when he got out of the car, he had a military style hair cut and a wind breaker on.

it was zipped up at the bomb. as he removed the coat, the jacket tightened up. i could see a bulge that appeared to be a weapon. and i grabbed the bulge on the outside of his jacket and instructed him to get his hands up, turn around. at the same time i drew my weapon and stuck it at the back of his head, he said my weapon is loaded and i nudged him a little bit with the barrel of my weapon, and i said so is mine. >> hanger arrested mcveigh for carrying a concealed weapon, never imagining that his prisoner is the oklahoma city bomber. initially, the name mcveigh means nothing to bombing investigators. they're looking for robert kling, the man who rented the ryder truck in junction city, kansas. the next day, armed with sketches of kling and a suspected companion, law enforcement officers canvass the

entire area. >> one agent was assigned the dreamland motel, and when he walked in he asked her, has anybody been here who had a ryder truck with him. and she said actually he was, so the agent showed her the artist's conception, and she said that really looks like the fel fellow who rented room 125. >> he had rented the room in the name of tim mcveigh, the ryder rental truck was rented in the name of robert kling. so there was a question as to which was the true name, if either. >> so we did a records search through our national center to see if any mcveighs had been arrested in the united states recently. and to our surprised, we learned that a timothy mcveigh has been arrested in noble county, which is about 75 miles north of oklahoma city and was arrested the morning of the bombing.

turned out he was still there but he was getting ready to be released on bail. but we put a hold on him until our agents could get there to interview him. >> was this the same timothy mcveigh that was at the dreamland motel? at this point, we don't necessarily know. our agents tried to interview timothy mcveigh, when they approached him, they said you know what we're here for? and he said probably about that oklahoma city thing, and he gave us his name, rank and serial number and refused to talk to us anymore. >> in washington, attorney general janet reno announces the arrest. >> i am pleased to announce that one of the suspects has been arrested. i remind everybody that john doe number two remains at large.

>> when mcveigh is taken from the local courthouse to be transported to oklahoma city, he is met by an angry crowd. and screams of baby killer. >> is it the act of someone who wishes the united states government -- >> i was so hoping it was not an american. >> it is hard to believe americans blowing up americans. >> it was boggled my mind. >> what tim mcveigh did was the worst act of domestic terrorism in american history, the entire country was shocked and riveted that somebody could come from white bread suburban areas and commit such a terrible act. >> i have a daughter who is three, and she will grow up. and this is scary. >> investigators are certain that mcveigh is the john doe

number one in the police sketch. but they still have not identified john doe number two. >> john doe number two. if the fbi can't find him, does he exist? >> the fbi sent him this message, there is no place on earth where you will be safe. >> the michigan address on mcveigh's driver's license is the home of a man named james nichols. it is a critical development. nichol's brother, terry, has been close friends with mcveigh since they served together in the army. like mcveigh, nichols is known to harbor anti-government views. >> terry nichols took out an insurance policy on his pickup truck. >> an arrest warrant is quickly issued. and later that same day nichols turns himself in. by now, the rescue operation at the murrah building has become a recovery effort. >> authorities in this building behind me are coming across more bodies. >> the search for bodies will

last for two full weeks. >> most of the survivors wanted to go to most of the funerals. and that is tough gone to 16 funerals, let me tell you. that was really hard. but we needed to do it. >> two women are believed to be still in the building with an older man. >> finally, in 1995, with three victims still buried in the rubble, the search comes to an end. >> this was not two or three people, this was oklahoma city, the terrorism was directed at the city and at its people. it was the heart of oklahoma city. [ gerry ] you really couldn't have come at a better time. these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah, excuse me. the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine.

it's mine! no, it's not! it's mine! better get going. it's chevy model year end event. [ male announcer ] the chevy model year end event. the 13s are going fast. time to get yours. right now, get this great lease on a 2013 chevy malibu ls for around $169 a month.

i want you to know stuff i want you to be kind. i want you to be smart. super smart. i want one thing in a doctor. to speak my language. i don't want you to look at the chart before you say hi...david. quiero que me hagas sentir segura. i want you to be awesome. that's the doctor i want. at kaiser permanente, we want you to choose the doctor that's right for you. find your perfect match at kp.org

and thrive. . on april 21st, 1995, timothy mcveigh is arrested and charged with the bombing of the alfred p. murrah building in oklahoma city. the attorney, steven jones, is appointed as public defender. jones immediately rejects the possibility of an insanity defense. >> timothy mcveigh was not insane, he was rational, and interviewed by several doctors and psychiatrists. he didn't have any obvious emotional or mental disorder. >> the question comes up, why is a non-mentally ill individual going to conduct a bombing which kills hundreds of people. >> i don't want people to

misread what i'm about to say, but i was surprised how affable and likeable he appeared to be, for a man who killed 168 people in cold blood. >> the reporters spent more than 70 hours interviewing mcveigh, trying to gain some insight into what led him to become a domestic terrorist. by all accounts, an early turning point for mcveigh comes in 1988 when he joins the army. while stationed at fort benning, georgia, he and his roommate bond over a shared distrust of the federal government. >> mcveigh took an instant liking to him, and liked to hear nichols spout off about his dislike of politics. >> mcveigh served in desert storm in 1991 and is awarded a bronze star for valor.

during his service, he killed at least two enemies. >> one thing he bragged about, in saudi arabia, he was a gunner and told me one time when he was shooting at an iraqi bunker, and a guy came out, waved his hands, trying to surrender, and mcveigh said he shot at him. he said there were 11 hundred meters and he hit the guy in the head. >> after the war, he tries to join the special forces but quits because he is physically unprepared. >> one of mcveigh's goals early on in entering the army was special forces. when it didn't work out for him with the special forces he lost his focus. >> mcveigh is discharged from the army on december 31st, 1991. he begins to drift around the country taking odd jobs, and attending gun shows. >> he was totally against any kind of gun control.

he was totally in favor of government leaving people alone, letting them do what they want to do. >> his trust of a large, central government goes back to our independence. it is written into our constitution. the problem is, when it is taken to an extreme. and timothy mcveigh was the extreme of that ideology. >> but he doesn't seem to be destructive until two tragic events in the early 1990s incite mcveigh to embrace violence. in august, 1992, deputy u.s. marshals and fbi agents are involved in a deadly confrontation in northern idaho with an alleged white supremacist named randy weaver, who is suspected of selling illegal firearms. during an 11-day standoff,

weaver's son, his wife, and a u.s. deputy marshal are killed. then on february 28th, 1993, following a gun battle between the atf and members of a religious group called the branch davidians, federal agents lay siege to a compound near waco, texas, a suspected cache of illegal weapons was at the center of the controversy. >> mcveigh was just absolutely in a rage over both the incidents. but the one thing that pushed him over the edge and turned him into a terrorist was the waco incident. >> at one point, mcveigh drives to waco to observe the siege. >> he went and parked his car nearby. and he was selling anti-government pamphlets, giving interviews to at least one reporter back then, about how much he distrusted the u.s. government. >> during an assault by the fbi

on april 19th, the branch davidian compound is engulfed by fire. at least 76 men, women and children die during the inferno. >> mcveigh told us that he was convinced that the u.s. government purposely murdered men, women and children at the waco compound. it was all part of an effort to destroy gun rights in america. >> the triggering moment was waco. he was there, and he decided that the government had gone too far. >> he was going to start his own war. >> and the first strike would be aimed at the heart of the country. for mcveigh and his army buddy, terry nichols, targeting a government building was dramatic and symbolic. they chose the alfred p. murrah federal building in downtown oklahoma city, which housed 14 federal agencies, including the

secret service, the dea, and the atf. >> mcveigh believed that his bombing would be the opening salvo in a conflict against an illling illlegitimate government that needed to be brought down to its knees. egitimate government that needed to be brought down to its knees. vo: getting your car serviced at meineke, smart.

saving time by booking an appointment online, even smarter. online scheduling. available now at meineke.com.

davidian, david an august tenth, 1995, a federal grand jury charged timothy mcveigh and terry nichols with multiple counts of murder. on april 24th, 1997, two years after the bombing mcveigh's trial begins in denver, colorado. the prosecution presents first, and lays out a time line of events that led up to the bombing. by mid-1994, mcveigh and nichols, along with their army friend, michael fortier were ready to put their plan into action. mcveigh decided that the most effective weapon would be a truck bomb. in september, 1994, mcveigh and nichols begin to stockpile

ammonia nitrate, a fertilizer often used in truck bombs. >> you combine that with the fuel and then you have an explosive mixture. it is cheap, readily available and not particularly complicated to make. >> over the next few months, the two men start to quietly gather more components. including racing fuel, explosive charges, and 544 blasting caps they steal from a quarry, in marion, kansas. then, that december, mcveigh and michael fortier go to oklahoma city to case the murrah building. >> we know for certain that mcveigh examined multiple federal buildings. he -- and particularly executed out the murrah building on multiple occasions. we know that because he took michael fortier directly to the murrah building and said that after his examination of all the potential targets, this is the one he was going to hit.

>> mcveigh picks april 19th as the date. known as patriot's day, it is revered by many in the right wing anti-government movement. >> by april 19th, you had the first shot fired at lexington in the american revolution. on that day, waco occurs in 1993, and then two years later, mcveigh blows up his truck bomb in front of the murrah building. >> at some point, fortier decides to not take part in the bombing. in fact, in a later plea bargain he will agree to testify against his co-conspirators. in 1995, mcveigh creates a fake driver's license with the name robert d.kling. mcveigh buys the 1977 yellow mercury from a used car dealer

in junction city, kansas. the next day, mcveigh reserves the ryder truck from the body shop, using the alias, kling. they drive to oklahoma city, mcveigh parks it several blocks away from the murrah building. he removes the license plate from the car, and says not abandoned, please do not tow, will move by april 23rd. needs battery and cable. two days later, mcveigh and nicho nichols meet. >> it would have been mixed in barrels, something akin to a 50-gallon plastic barrel. it led to the boosters, and then ultimately that detonating cord

would have come together where the detonating caps or blasters were. >> reporter: but at the last minute, terry nichols, like michael fortier, bails out. >> as time grew near to the bombing, nichols got cold feet. he decided he didn't want to do that. he decided that was going too far. mcveigh screamed at him, threatened him, may have threatened to kill him. >> on the morning of april 19th, mcveigh, now on his own, drives the ryder truck into oklahoma city. at 8:57 a.m., security cameras at the regency tower building, a few blocks from the murrah building, catch the ryder parked across the street. investigators decide this is when mcveigh light tuesday first fuse. a few minutes later, mcveigh moves the truck up, lights the second fuse and parks on the north side of the murrah building. he then exits the truck, and

begins walking quickly to the yellow mercury parked four blocks away. at the federal building, the work day is starting. hundreds of people are already insid inside. >> explosion downtown. >> about a third of the building has been blown away. >> the whole front of the federal building is gone. >> mcveigh is only two blocks away when the bomb goes off. but he makes it to the getaway car and heads north on interstate 35, where he is soon stopped for driving a vehicle without tags. among the items found after his arrest is a business card for a military supply store. on the back is a handwritten note. tnt at $5 a stick, need more.

>> there is no question in my mind that timothy mcveigh wanted to get caught, wanted to become a martyr. wanted the u.s. government to execute him. he left a trail of bread crumbs for the federal agents. he was seeking the deluxe suicide by cop execution package. did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen.

the beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. seize the summer with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity. icaused by acid reflux disease, relieving heartburn, relief is at hand. for many, nexium provides 24-hour heartburn relief and may be available for just $18 a month. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take nexium if you take clopidogrel. relief is at hand for just $18 a month. talk to your doctor about nexium.

as nearly 2500 news people begin to settle in for the trial outside the federal courthouse, so is the city of denver. >> during his trial, timothy mcveigh does not deny that he set the truck bomb. he instructs his lawyers to use the necessity defense, that he acted in self defense against an oppressive federal government. >> mcveigh looked at the federal trial as a multi-million dollar soap box for his anti-government views, that he felt he had no choice but to blow up a building and kill 168 people. >> is everything still all right? >> great. >> you have no complaints. >> no, they resolve every problem i bring up? >> so the situation here is a lot better?

>> day and night. >> in his distorted view, his actions were a justified response to what he considered violence perpetrated by the government against its own people. >> but defense attorney steven jones knew a necessity case was unwinnable. so he chose a different course, arguing that mcveigh was only part of a much larger conspiracy. >> the greatest mystery of the oklahoma city bombing case is who else besides tim mcveigh, terry nichols, and michael fortier were involved, because there were most certainly others. >> most of the speculation centered on the man reportedly seen with mcveigh at the truck rental company. known as john doe number two, the description did not fit either terry nichols or michael fortier. investigators concluded that john doe number two never existed. >> we found a gentleman that had been in there that generally fit the description of john doe

number two. but it turned out it had been on a different day. he had been in there with a friend that had rented a ryder truck. so we now realize it was a misidentification of people transposing two different events and putting two current events together. >> they swore to us over and over again that there was no john doe number two, no one was with him on the day of the bombing. >> the biggest misconception on the oklahoma city bombing, in my view, is that it sprang from the mind of timothy mcveigh, and substantially carried out by mcveigh, with a little help from terry nichols. >> if there were other people involved with the bombing, who were they? some believe there may have been a connection between mcveigh and elohim city, a city 170 miles

from oklahoma city, near the arkansas border. >> it was essentially a religion that said that white americans are the true children of israel, and that black people are not even human at all. >> during the early 1990s, a number of far right extremists had reportedly spent time at elohim city. >> this was an interesting time. you had a number of anti-government groups that were taking shape, arming themselves. building compounds throughout the country. establishing their own laws, really setting themselves apart from main stream cities and locations on purpose. and believing then that not only people of other faiths or backgrounds or nationalities were the enemy, but that the united states government was the biggest enemy. >> the question that recurs is what was the connection between

tim mcveigh and elohim city. tim mcveigh says he never went there. there are people who claim to have seen mcveigh at elohim city. and probably the strongest evidence he was there is a ticket he received from an arkansas highway patrolman about four miles into arkansas from oklahoma on a road that takes you straight to elohim city. so if he was not at elohim city, where was he? >> timothy mcveigh made some calls to elohim city. he drove near the area, we know. but beyond that, any connection to elohim city or the notion that there were others involved is speculation heaped on top of speculation. >> but even assuming others were involved, why would mcveigh so strongly insist that he acted alone, with help only from nichols and fortier? >> he believed that in lying, he

would protect the others so they wouldn't be convicted. and he spun a series of lies to shield the others. >> i think it is possible that there were other people that helped along the way. but did not know they were helping with the bombing. but i believe that the only ones who actually knew what they were working on were the three men that were punished by the government. >> mcveigh, fortier and nichols. two years and 44 days after the worst terrorist attack on united states soil, a verdict has been rendered in the bombing trial of timothy mcveigh. >> on june 2nd, 1997, timothy mcveigh is found guilty on all charges of murder and conspiracy. he is sentenced to death.

>> outside the courthouse in denver, tears, smiles and all emotions in between. >> later that year, on december 24th, terry nichols is also convicted. he is currently serving life at the federal super max prison in colorado. for cooperating, michael fortier receives a 12-year sentence. he is now part of the witness protection program. >> people are going to remember timothy mcveigh as a murderer, not a martyr. >> on june 11th, 2001, timothy mcveigh is put to death at the federal correctional complex in terra haute, indiana. it is the first federal execution in 38 years. >> mcveigh, even at the point he was being executed, never flinched. never changed his mind. never expressed regret.

but right to the point of his death, mcveigh sustained his belief and did not show remorse. if you're living with moderate to severe crohn's disease,

there are times it feels like your life revolves around your symptoms. if you're tired of going around in circles, get headed in a new direction,

and ask your gastroenterologist about humira adalimumab. because with humira, remission is possible. humira has been proven to work for adults who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible.

so you want to drive more safely? of smart. stop eating. take deep breaths. avoid bad weather. [ whispers ] get eight hours. ♪ [ shouts over music ] turn it down! and, of course, talk to farmers. hi. hi. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum ♪

just over a month after the murrah bombing, what was left of the federal building was demolished. today the site is home to the oklahoma city national memorial and museum. in addition to a reflecting pool, there is a field of empty chairs, 168 hand crafted sculptures that represent the victims. >> the memorial is a very special place. i think it really is a tribute to those who were killed and those who survived and those changed forever. >> it's just a positive thing that came out of a negative situation, that we want people not to forget but realize if a bad thing happens, you can get through it.

>> claudia and jim denny's children, brandon and rebecca, were two of six kids in the day-care center who survived the blast. >> rebecca was in the hospital for ten days, released in pretty decent shape. she looked horrible, but she was in pretty good shape. brandon in 1995 spent 126 days hospitalized. the first 45 days he had four major brain surgeries. they could not tell me for 35 days if brandon would live. they informed us that if he did survive, he would more than likely never walk or talk again. but we have a young man who is now 21 years old, and he is a walking, talking example of what miracles are all about. >> the oklahoma city bombing remains the worst domestic terrorist act in american history.

it changed the country in ways that are still being felt. >> people forget how different the world was when the bombing happened. and i think it shattered across the world people's feelings of safety and security. because if it can happen in oklahoma city, it can happen anywhere. if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. >> we became a more cautious society. barriers went up around federal buildings. you have more security. the seeds of homeland security were actually planted by timothy mcveigh. >> there were other changes as well. the attack led to significant engineering improvements that allow buildings to better withstand excessive forces, whether man-made or natural. and legislation passed in the wake of the disaster has given greater voice to the victims and families left behind by attacks like the oklahoma city bombing.

>> timothy mcveigh believed that he was going to cause people to rise up and rebel against their government. this was going to be the start of the revolution. and what happened was the total opposite. you saw a community in total support of its law enforcement, of its firemen, of its government. it shows that when we put our hearts and our minds together, we can make something good happen out of something terrible. >> but resilience alone can't protect against every threat. events continue to demonstrate that free societies must remain vigilant. the tragic bombing that killed three and injured 250 at the 2013 boston marathon is a stark example. almost certainly by coincidence, it happened on patriots day.

virtually 18 years to the day after timothy mcveigh attacked oklahoma city. ♪ hey, america, remember the good old days? no, not those good old days. i'm talking about the ones we had just a few years ago. home ownership was at an all-time high, unemployment at just 5.6% and falling. it seemed like we were all on the road to riches. it almost seemed too good to be true. well, guess what? it was. when the bottom fell out of the real estate market, millions of americans fell on hard times. some lost everything. and in one way or another, most of us are still recovering. the thing is, it's not just people and businesses who have suffered. le jefferson county, alabama