“We will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes.”

On April 19, 1995, a domestic terrorist detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 168 people were killed — including 19 children in the building’s daycare center. It was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history.

Four days later, President Clinton traveled to Oklahoma City to speak at a memorial service for the victims and their families. In one of the most important addresses of his presidency, he offered the nation both grief and resolve — acknowledging unspeakable loss while refusing to let despair have the final word.

His words that day reminded a shattered community — and a shaken country — that they did not grieve alone. He directed federal resources to the recovery, personally consoled hundreds of survivors and first responders, and in the weeks that followed, helped lead a national conversation about the dangers of extremism and hatred at home.

The Oklahoma City bombing tested the character of the American people. President Clinton responded with compassion, clarity, and an unshakeable commitment to the families who needed their country most.

We will never forget the 168 lives lost, or the community that showed the world what it means to rebuild.