April 19, 1995, began as a day of hope for AMY DOWNS, a teller at a credit union inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. “I remember the red buds were blooming,” DOWNS recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was so excited. I was getting ready to close on my very first house.” However, the day took a devastating turn when a truck bomb detonated outside the building, killing 168 people and injuring nearly 700 others in the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
DOWNS, now 58, is one of the survivors sharing her harrowing experience in the new National Geographic docuseries, *Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America*. “I think it’s so important to remember what happened and the lessons that were learned,” she said.
At 28 years old, DOWNS found herself trapped upside down in her office chair after the explosion. She had fallen three floors and was buried under 10 feet of rubble. “I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. It was very hard to breathe,” she recounted. “I had no idea what had happened. I just knew it was bad.”
For six and a half hours, DOWNS remained trapped, praying for rescue. Fire Chief MIKE SHANNON heard her cries for help but was forced to evacuate due to fears of a second bomb. “I was getting ready to die,” DOWNS said. “I prayed for a second chance. My reality was that I was 28 years old and getting ready to die, and I’d never really lived.”
When firefighters returned and finally freed her, DOWNS was hospitalized for eight days. The physical injuries were severe, but the emotional toll was even greater. “The hardest part was finding out that 18 of my 33 co-workers were killed,” she said. “Grief is something that I couldn’t comprehend.”
The bombing was orchestrated by TIMOTHY MCVEIGH and TERRY NICHOLS, two former U.S. Army soldiers with a deep-seated hatred of the federal government. MCVEIGH was executed in 2001, while NICHOLS, now 70, is serving life in prison without parole. DOWNS later faced MCVEIGH in court, describing the experience as “very disturbing.”
In the aftermath, DOWNS embraced her second chance at life. She lost 200 pounds, completed a full Ironman triathlon, and rose to become president and CEO of Allegiance Credit Union. “I promised God that I would never live my life the same if I survived, and I meant that,” she said.
Today, DOWNS is a full-time speaker and is planning to walk 160 miles of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage with her sister. She hopes the docuseries will inspire viewers to unite during times of tragedy. “It showcases the strength of the human spirit and the courage of these men who rushed in to help,” she said. “When you come together during times of difficulty, you are stronger than you realize.”
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