Brade
April 19, 1995, began as a day of hope for AMY DOWNS, a teller at a credit union inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. “I remember the red buds were blooming,” DOWNS recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was so excited. I was getting ready to close my very first house.” However, the day took a devastating turn when a truck bomb detonated outside the building, killing 168 people and injuring nearly 700 others in the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
DOWNS, then 28, was one of the last survivors pulled from the rubble after being trapped for six and a half hours. She shared her harrowing experience in the new National Geographic docuseries, *Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America*. “I think it’s so important to remember what happened and the lessons that were learned,” she said.
The explosion left DOWNS buried under 10 feet of debris, her body pierced with glass and her leg severely injured. “I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. It was very hard to breathe,” she recounted. “I had no idea what had happened. I just knew it was bad.” Firefighters initially evacuated due to fears of a second bomb, leaving DOWNS behind. “I was getting ready to die,” she said. “I prayed for a second chance.”
Fire Chief MIKE SHANNON heard DOWNS‘ cries for help and returned to rescue her once the threat of a second bomb was ruled out. “I promised in the darkness to bake them chocolate chip cookies if they could save me,” she recalled. After her rescue, DOWNS spent eight days in the hospital, grappling with the loss of 18 co-workers and survivor’s guilt. “Grief is something that I couldn’t comprehend,” she said.
The bombing was orchestrated by TIMOTHY MCVEIGH and TERRY NICHOLS, who harbored a deep-seated hatred of the federal government. MCVEIGH was executed in 2001, while NICHOLS is serving life in prison without parole. DOWNS later faced MCVEIGH in court, describing the experience as “very disturbing.”
Determined to embrace her second chance at life, DOWNS transformed herself from a 355-pound couch potato to completing a full Ironman triathlon. She also returned to the credit union, now called Allegiance Credit Union, where she served as president and CEO. “I promised God that I would never live my life the same if I survived, and I meant that,” she said.
Today, DOWNS is a full-time speaker and is planning to walk 160 miles of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage with her sister. She hopes the docuseries will inspire viewers to unite during times of tragedy. “It showcases the strength of the human spirit and the courage of these men who rushed in to help,” she said. “When you come together during times of difficulty, you are stronger than you realize.”
For more on this story, visit [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com) and [National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com).
