Like other tragedies that hit American cities, the 1995 bombing of the former Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building brought out the best in residents that led to the development of a brand. The Oklahoma Standard brand is the result of the state's selfless response to the tragedy that took 168 lives.

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To remember those 168 people and the events 20 years ago, the morning service at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Sunday began with 168 seconds of silence: a second for each Oklahoma resident who lost their lives in the bombing on April 19, 1995.

The names of each victim were read by relatives before the estimated crowd of 1,000 who attended the memorial ceremony, led by former President Bill Clinton who was the White House resident when the explosion ripped the city.

Oklahomans, rather than wallow in misery, Clinton notes, chose "far-sighted love over blind hatred."

"A tragedy like this could have torn a city apart, but instead it has united this city," USA Today quotes Clinton.

In place of the building, the city built a memorial on residents' sacrifice. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin cited as examples the boots donation of a construction worker for use by rescuers then and the pennies donation of school children for the construction of the memorial.

The memorial features 168 stylized chairs and balloons and teddy bears for the 19 children who perished on April 19, 1995, while staying at the building's day care center. Clinton used the occasion to mention his grandchild whom Hillary, the former president's wife, has also cited as the reason for her second presidential bid.

Clinton said he and Hillary went to see Chelsea, her husband and their 7-month-old child in New York on Saturday.

"Hillary and I bathed her and fed her and put her to bed, and I looked at her in that crib so I could remember how you felt, those of you lost your loved ones," quoted the New York Times.

The man behind the bombing, Timothy McVeigh, was found guilty in 1997 and executed on June 11, 2001 at a federal prison in Terre Haut, Indiana. He loaded a rented truck with a bomb that had over 4,800 pounds of nitrate fertilizer and parked it in front of the ill-fated edifice.

The bombing was an act of vengeance for the Branch Davidians and FBI standoff on April 19, 1993, in Waco, Texas, that resulted in more than 80 dead people.

TagsOklahoma City bombing, 1995 bombing, Bill Clinton