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Mystery Lingers about Victim's Last Sacrifice
"Story I heard is that Mike had helped two people out and had gone back in for another," said Jim Dutton, who knew Loudenslager when the Harrah man was with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Reserve Mounted Patrol.
Loudenslager's younger brother, Tim, said he, too, had been told his brother may have made the ultimate sacrifice April 19.
Tim Loudenslager said such a deed would have been, as his brother might have put it, "the cowboy way. "
"I guess that's the kind of thing the old cowboys would do - go back in and save other people," Tim Loudenslager said. "Knowing Mike, in my heart I believe he did it. "
And Don Rogers, Loudenslager's boss with the General Services Administration, said, "You know, I didn't see it, but that's no sign that it didn't happen. It wouldn't surprise me if Mike did something like that. "
Ray Blakeney, director of operations for the state medical examiner's office, said he heard Loudenslager, a GSA planner/estimator, was not in the Murrah Building at the time of the bombing. Instead he was in court on a case involving his reserve sheriff's role. Blakeney said he heard Loudenslager went to the building to help in the rescue effort and was killed.
"A district judge says he was in court at the time of the bombing," Blakeney said.
Rogers doubts Blakeney's story. Rogers said he saw Loudenslager in the federal building just minutes before the bombing occurred.
There is at least one person who says Loudenslager saved him.
Tears came easily to Randy Ledger as he talked about Loudenslager and the heroic role he believes his friend played.
"Michael, No. 1, was a tremendous man. He would do anything for anyone if he could," Ledger said.
Ledger, a GSA maintenance worker, said he was in the first-floor GSA office when the bombing shattered the 1 building.
He said he lost consciousness and when he came to, he was covered by about 6 inches of rubble. Ledger said he began to make tapping noises on the debris in hope someone would hear and come to his aid.
That someone turned out to be Loudenslager, Ledger said.
"I heard this voice say, `I hear ya. Keep tapping,' " Ledger said.
Loudenslager's distinctive voice gave the despairing Ledger hope. He did not think anyone would find him before he lost consciousness again.
"He had a voice that you could pick out of a crowd. It was just a Southern twang - unmistakable," Ledger said.
Ledger said his eyes couldn't really focus on anything, but he did see a shadow, which he believes was Loudenslager. "I heard him say, `Hey, we got one up here! ' " Ledger said.
Ledger said he lost consciousness again and when he awoke police officer Terry Yeakey and emergency medical technician Darryl Wood were there to help him out of the rubble.
Later, in the hospital, Ledger was visited by Loudenslager's family, and he told them Loudenslager had saved his life.
When Loudenslager's body was found April 23, some people doubted his story, Ledger said.
Richard Williams - Direct
situation was, but that's the only thing I remember to that point.
Q. Do you remember seeing your left arm?
A. I remember seeing my left arm. I recognized the pink shirt that I had on that morning with my watch.
A. The first thing that I could hear was someone saying, "Hang on, I'll be back." And the next thing I remember is seeing this huge gray torso of a body that turned out to be the person who helped dig me out of the rubble pile that I was buried under and carried me out of the building. It turned out to be a Oklahoma City policeman by the name of Terry Yeakey.
Q. And you said that he carried you out of the building?
A. I don't know how he got me out from under where I was buried. I just remember him carrying me to what would have been Mr. Rogers' office, the window mullions, and at that point asking me if I could walk, and I tried. I could not, so he picked me up at that point. Next thing I remember was being laid on a backboard out on the street and someone talking over me, asking me things.
Q. So did Officer Yeakey carry you out of the building, Mr. Williams?
A. That's correct.
Q. How much did you weigh at that time?
A. About 220 pounds.
Mr. Williams was one of 13 employees in the GSA Admin office. Two from that office reportedly died in the bombing. Mike Loudenslager was one of the two. The full transcript of Mr. Williams testimony is compelling.