DATE=4/18/2000 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL NUMBER5-46150 BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND DATELINE=OKLAHOMA CITY CONTENT VOICED AT: INTRO: Today (Wednesday) is the fifth anniversary of the deadliest terrorist act committed on United States soil. The truck bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building killed 168 people and injured 850. President Clinton will join thousands of people at the bombing site today for the dedication of a multimillion-dollar memorial to the victims and survivors. V-O-A's Michael Leland reports. TEXT: Talk of a memorial commemorating the bomb attack began within weeks of the tragedy. A design competition resulted in construction of a three-part memorial: an indoor museum and Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, both of which open late this year, and an outdoor park full of symbolism related to the bombing. Jeannine Gist participated in the memorial planning. Her daughter Karen was among those killed in the Murrah Federal Building. /// GIST ACT /// When you walk in, the first thing you notice is the chairs. They have such an impact because you can see at a glance just what we all lost that day. /// END ACT /// One hundred sixty-eight bronze-backed chairs are arranged in nine rows. Each row represents a floor of the federal building. The number of chairs in each row signifies the number of victims working or visiting a particular floor when the building was bombed. Two granite-and-bronze gates frame the park. One reads 9:01, and the other 9:03, representing the minutes before and after the attack. Oklahoma City Memorial Foundation Director Bob Johnson says a reflecting pool occupies the space where Fifth Street ran alongside the building. /// FIRST JOHNSON ACT /// It occupies the space where the Ryder truck, which held the bomb, was parked. You see this wonderful reflection, you hear the running water, you do not see its source, you do not see where it is going. It reminds you of some of the things in life we can not comprehend, such as the reason for this tragedy t begin with. /// END ACT /// A few meters from the reflecting pool is an elm tree that has come to be known as "the survivor tree." /// SECOND JOHNSON ACT /// On the day of the bombing it took the brunt of the blast, it was surrounding by burning cars and yet, miraculously, it survived. Its branches were broken, its bark was scarred, but its leaves are flourishing today and it is a survivor. /// END ACT /// A plaza has been built around the tree. It is surrounded by a long low wall that gives people a place to sit down and take in the park's various elements. The wall is engraved with a message reading; "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated. Our deeply-rooted faith sustains us." /// OPT /// Before construction began on the memorial, the bombing site was surrounded by a chain link fence. That fence turned into a spontaneous memorial as visitors began leaving photos of victims, along with letters, poems, flags, flowers and other mementos. Memorial Foundation archivist Jane Thomas says more than 50- thousand items have been collected from the fence and placed into storage. The new memorial includes two segments of chain-link fence where people can continue to leave items. /// THOMAS ACT /// We are more than happy for them to come here and bring them. We want them to come here and find hope, peace, comfort and serenity. /// END ACT /// /// END OPT /// The memorial also remembers those who were in the immediate area of the bombing and survived. Those 700 names are engraved on two of the only remaining wall segments from the Murrah Federal Building. Many of those people are expected to attend the dedication. (Signed) NEB/mjl/gm 18-Apr-2000 17:32 PM EDT (18-Apr-2000 2132 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .