Hundreds gathered Sunday at the former site of the Oklahoma federal building that was destroyed by a truck bomb 20 years earlier to honor the 168 victims of the blast, the survivors, and the spirit that helped the city and the nation through the worst terrorist attack the country had ever seen. Loved ones of the victims, survivors of the horrific 1995 bombing and state and federal government officials, who lived through the attack attended Sunday's ceremony, held at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. It was opened by Richard Williams, a survivor of the attack, who, with his two grandchildren read the mission statement of the museum: "May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity." Former President Bill Clinton thanked the people of Oklahoma for their resilience following the bombing. "You turned away all of the petty squabbles in which we engage, leaving only our basic humanity," Clinton said. Timothy McVeigh, an Army veteran with strong anti-government views, was executed in 2001 for setting off the explosion. His accomplice, Terry Nichols, is serving life in prison.
