Bush family receives OKC National Memorial award
Bush family receives OKC National Memorial award
By KRISTI EATON Associated Press
April 20, 2011, 4:49PM
OKLAHOMA CITY — Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager still remember sitting in front of the TV and watching the images of rescuers searching for survivors after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
The twin daughters of former President George W. Bush were just 13 years old at the time, but they said the images left an indelible mark on them.
"It was the first act of terrorism our generation had witnessed and sadly, it was not the last," Hager said Wednesday, one day after the 16th anniversary of the bombing.
Hager and Bush were in town to accept the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum's Reflections of Hope award on behalf of their father and mother, who could not be there.
In a videotaped message, former President Bush and Laura Bush said they are proud of how Oklahomans reacted to the tragedy. They said there were honored to receive the award given to a living person or active organization who exemplifies the two core beliefs of the Oklahoma City Memorial Foundation: that hope can survive despite tragedy and chaos of political violence and that, even in environments where there is such violence, peaceful approaches provide the best answers to human problems.
In accepting the award before the 500 guests, Hager and Bush read portions of the speech their father gave 10 years ago at the dedication of the Memorial and Museum.
"Americans found a lot to admire in Oklahoma during those days," Hager quoted her father as saying at the dedication in February 2001, shortly after he became president. "You suffered so much and you responded with courage. Your loss was great and your pain was deep. But far greater and deeper was your care for one another. That was what lasts, and that's what brings us back to this place today."
The sisters detailed their work to assist in humanitarian efforts: Barbara as co-founder and president of Global Health Corp, an organization connecting recent college graduates with people in underserved areas to promote global health, and Hager as a teacher and through her work with UNICEF.
Hager spoke about her time living abroad as part of UNICEF and meeting Ana, a 17-year-old single mother living with HIV, who Hager wrote a book about.
"Just like all of you here in Oklahoma City, she is a survivor," Hager told the audience.
John Richels, chair of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation, said the Oklahoma City bombing will forever be linked with New York City and 9/11 because just seven months after President Bush dedicated the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, the Twin Towers were hit.
"Who doesn't remember vividly the image of President Bush standing atop a rubble pile joined by New York City rescue workers and service personnel? From that day forward, our two cities were joined together in our resolve to let terrorism neither define nor defeat us," he said.
The Reflections of Hope award ceremony had originally been scheduled for Wednesday night but was moved to lunchtime because the Oklahoma City Thunder is playing the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs Wednesday night.
Richels said honoring the memory of the Oklahoma City bombing has become a part of Thunder culture, with every player touring the Memorial.
"We feel that it's important that they understand what this community has gone through," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said in a videotaped message.
President and Laura Bush's videotaped message