over a prior target building because of an included florist shop but at the Murrah building not "...
notice that there's a child day-care center there, that there was a credit union there and a Social
Security office?"
[134]
Schools across the country were dismissed early and ordered closed. A photograph of firefighter
Chris Fields emerging from the rubble with infant Baylee Almon, who later died in a nearby
hospital, was reprinted worldwide and became a symbol of the attack. The photo, taken by utility
company employee Charles H. Porter IV, won the 1996
Pulitzer Prize
for Spot News
Photography.
[135]
[136]
The images and media reports of children dying terrorized many children
who, as demonstrated by later research, showed symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder
.
[137]
Children became a primary focus of concern in the mental health response to bombing and many
bomb related services were delivered to the community, young and old alike. These services
were delivered to public schools of Oklahoma and reached approximately 40,000 students. One
of the first organized mental health activities in Oklahoma City was a clinical study of middle
and high school students conducted 7 weeks after the bombing. The study focused on middle and
high school students that had no connection or relation to the victims of the bombing. This study
showed that these students, although deeply moved by the event and showing a sense of
vulnerability on the matter, had no difficulty with the demands of school or home life,
contrasting those who were connected to the bombing and its victims, who suffered from
post-
traumatic stress disorder
.
[138]
Children were also affected through the loss of parents in the bombing. Many children lost one or
more parents in the blast, with a reported seven children that lost their only remaining parent.
Children of the disaster have been raised by single parents, foster parents, and other family
members. Adjusting to the loss has made these children suffer psychologically and emotionally.
One interview revealed the sleepless nights and obsession with death of one of the at least 10
orphaned children.
[139]
President Clinton stated that after seeing images of babies being pulled from the wreckage, he
was "beyond angry" and wanted to "put [his] fist through the television".
[140]
Clinton and his wife
Hillary
requested that aides talk to child care specialists about how to communicate with the
children regarding the bombing. President Clinton spoke to the nation three days after the
bombing, saying: "I don't want our children to believe something terrible about life and the
future and grownups in general because of this awful thing ... most adults are good people who
want to protect our children in their childhood and we are going to get through this".
[141]
On April
22, 1995, the Clintons spoke in the White House with over 40 federal agency employees and
their children, and in a live nationwide television and radio broadcast, addressed their concerns.
