April 19, 1995 started off as an ordinary day for the residents of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is etched in the minds of all who were touched by the events of the day or those who watched on television, listened to on the radio or read about in newspapers, magazines and books. There was no googling for information back then. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people.
Skye Conley, a loyal Lambda Chi Alpha, had the opportunity to intern at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum during the summer of 2020. An internship was a requirement for his Museum Studies graduate program at the University of Kansas. He is the guiding force behind this post. He is now the Museum’s Digital Archivist/Curator. I thank him for his suggestion and assistance. In 2020, Conley said:
Perhaps it was the opportunity of something greater than a lifetime since I was able to work in person with a full staff and with visitors as the COVID-19 pandemic raged in its earliest months in the United States. In my first week in Oklahoma City, my supervisors emphasized the importance of reading several texts about the Oklahoma City Bombing. One of these was 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995: The Official Record of the Oklahoma City Bombing, published by Oklahoma Today magazine. It included short biographies on each of the 168 of those who were killed, and one in particular stood out to me. His name was Mark Allen Bolte and he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, my fraternity.
I had already known that Judge Alfred P. Murrah, the namesake of the Murrah Federal Building outside of which the bombing took place, was my brother, but I did not know that I had lost a brother in the United States’ deadliest domestic terrorism attack. It occurred when I was only 47 days old. Later, upon my first tour of the Museum’s exhibit, I learned that that Museum was keeping in its permanent stewardship a metal key ring tag belonging to Brother Bolte. It was found on his person after the bombing, printed with the name of our fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha. I now have my own similar needlepoint key ring tag with our letters and the cross & crescent.
Conley felt keenly about his purpose:
I knew I wanted to spend every day ensuring that the work I was doing was not only meaningful, but I also wanted to glorify and honor all those who were killed, those who survived, and those whose lives were changed forever, to borrow from their Mission Statement. I have never felt a more personal connection to an institution and its subjects than that of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and perhaps it will never be trumped. As we mark the 26th anniversary of this painful day, I take solace in the love that I have cultivated for those with intimate connections to the bombing. My grief is their grief. I will never understand it entirely, but their losses are mine, too, and we are not alone.
However, I also take comfort in the pride that I have. Pride that I was able to grow professionally and personally in one of the most remarkable places in the world, whose mission to impart the impact of violence is an evergreen cause; and the pride in knowing that I am engaged in a sacred bond with two outstanding brothers involved in the loss but not entirely defined by it. One who was certainly fitting to be the namesake of a federal building as a result of his illustrious career as a federal judge, and one who ‘loved to make people smile, and he let his attitude lead the way.’ (Their Faith Has Touched Us)
I am in eternal gratitude to everyone who has ever given their faculties to the success and steadfastness of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, but I would be remiss to not outwardly thank Kari Watkins, the Executive Director; and my co-supervisors, Helen Stiefmiller, the Collections Manager, and Joanna Butterworth, the Curator. May we use the impact of April 19, 1995 and our fraternal bonds to be made into instruments of peace.
Fraternity and Sorority Members Who Perished in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building
Mark Allen Bolte, Lambda Chi Alpha, Arkansas Tech University, later transferred membership to the University of Arkansas. He was an environmental engineer at the Federal Highway Administration. He was 28 years old.
Mark Allen Bolte
Carolyn Ann Himes Kreymborg, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Oklahoma State University. She worked for the Department of Housing & Urban Development. She was 57 years old.
Carrie Ann Lenz, Sigma Kappa, University of Central Oklahoma. She and her unborn son Michael James Lenz III perished. Lenz was a contract employee of DynCorp, assigned to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She was 26 years old.
Derwin W. Miller, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He was a Claims Examiner in the Social Security Administration. He was 27 years old.
Derwin Miller
Larry L. Turner, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., University of Central Oklahoma. He was a special agent with the Department of Defense Investigative Services. He was 42 years old.
Michael D. Weaver, Beta Theta Pi, University of Oklahoma. He was an attorney-adviser in the legal division in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was 45 years old.
Clarence Eugene Wilson, Sr., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., University of Oklahoma. Wilson was the fourth Black to graduate the pharmacy program at the University of Oklahoma and he worked as a pharmacist until he became a lawyer. He was Acting Director of Oklahoma City Office of Housing Urban Development. He was 49 years old.
Clarence Wilson Memorial, Lawton, Oklahoma
May they all Rest in Peace and may their memories be a blessing to those who love them. I’ve never been to Oklahoma. I think I need to get there soon to pay my respects. Please let me know of any corrections or additions.
