SAND SPRINGS, Okla. -- The thought of this day never gets any easier, especially for those caught in the rubble. Two former Sand Springs police officers went to the capitol to help with the aftermath.
7-year-old Baker Christensen is perfecting his sketch of his five siblings. His dad watches with a smile on his face, but his mind is on something heartbreaking. He remembers the tragedy that shook the sooner state.
"It just made me sick," retired Sand Springs police officer Joe Christensen said.
Christensen was a police officer for 20 years. He'd only been on the job a few months when news broke of the bombing at the capital.
"That hole in the ground, it just really took my breath away," he said.
Christensen and a handful of other Sand Springs police officers immediately jumped in the car. They spent three days clearing up the debris.
"The building is gone and jackhammers are going off, " Christensen said. "When you see that in real life and all of a sudden it goes quiet, you don't realize the reason it's quiet is because they're bringing out a body," Christensen said.
Greg Fisher went too.
"They were still bringing people and bodies out of the debris," the former Sand Spring police captain said. "They were trying to put places together for family members to go sit and wait. There was a church across town and we were security there."
It's images both men have kept for 22 years.
"I see it everyday," Fisher said.
It's images they'll forever see.
"You'll never forget," Christensen said.
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