Thirty years ago today 16 employees of the Social Security Administration lost their lives when a federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed by a man with a grievance against the federal government. Unlike past years I have seen no press release or tweet remembering this solemn date. Here is the list of those Social Security employees who lost their lives that day.1. Richard A. Allen — Claims Representative — Had 22 years of service with SSA. A Vietnam veteran, he was born in Bailey's Crossroads, Va., and won a scholarship to Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Okla. He is survived by a daughter and his mother.
2. Saundra G. Avery — Development Clerk — Worked nine years for SSA. She was a native of Danville, Ark., and was active in her church. A graduate of Central State University in Edmond, Okla., Sandy is survived by her parents and a brother.
3. Oleta C. Biddy — Service Representative — Worked 20 years for SSA. Oleta was born in Rosebud, Ark., and was active as a Sunday school teacher and taught children's choir at her church. She is survived by her husband, a son, two grandchildren and two sisters.
4. Carol L. Bowers — Operations Supervisor — Had 33 years of service at SSA, starting as a clerk-steno in December 1961. Carol was born in Chandler, Okla., and is survived by her husband and a son.
5. Sharon L. Chesnut — Claims Representative — Worked for SSA for 21 years and was an active member of her church. She was born in Oklahoma City and is survived by a daughter, her mother, a sister, a stepson and a stepdaughter.
6. Katherine L Cregan Service Representative Had 14 years of SSA service. Kathy was a native of West Memphis, Ark. A widow, Kathy is survived by three sons and five grandchildren.
7. Margaret E. Goodson — Claims Representative — Had almost 21 years of service with SSA. Margaret enjoyed motorcycling and camping trips with her husband. Other survivors include three sons, one daughter, three brothers and four grandchildren.
8. Ethel L. Griffin — Service Representative — Had 19 years of service with SSA, as a claims clerk. She was born in Illinois, where she attended Southwest Jr. College and the College of DuPage. Ethel is survived by her husband, two children and three grandchildren.
9. Ronald V. Harding — Service Representative — Had more than 30 years of government service. He served two years in the Army and also worked for the Air Force before joining SSA in 1967. A respected musician, Ron is survived by two sons, two daughters, his parents, two brothers and a sister.
10. Raymond L. Johnson — Senior Community Service Volunteer National Indian Council on Aging worker, was stationed in the Oklahoma City DO for the past six months helping with Head Start programs for Seminole children. Born in Lawton, Okla., Raymond is survived by his wife, seven children, 21 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and a brother.
11. Derwin W. Miller — Claims Representative — Worked at SSA for five years. Derwin was an Arkansas native and a member of the Army Reserve. He was hired through the Outstanding Scholar Program. He is survived by a daughter, his parents, two brothers, a sister and two grandmothers.
12. Charlotte A. Thomas — Contact Representative — Had 12 years of service with SSA. She was employed previously with the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. Charlotte is survived by a son.
13. Michael G. Thompson — Field Representative — Worked for SSA for 19 years. He served in the Army for more than two years. A Vietnam veteran, he is survived by his wife, three sons, one daughter, his mother, two brothers and one sister.
14. Robert N. Walker, Jr. — Claims Representative — Had 15 years of service with SSA. He served in the Army for three years. Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Bob attended the University of Florida. He is survived by his wife, one son, three stepsons, one stepdaughter and 12 grandchildren. (See in-depth story.)
15. Julie M. Welch — Claims Representative — Was hired under the Outstanding Scholar Program in August 1994. Julie was a recent graduate of Marquette University and had studied abroad at the University of Madrid. She is survived by her parents, a brother and a stepbrother.
16. William S. Williams — Operations Supervisor — Had 20 years of service with SSA. An Oklahoma native, he had a degree in mathematics from Oklahoma State University. Steve is survived by his wife, three daughters, his father, two sisters, one brother and two grandmothers.
14 comments:
Thanks for sharing. I'll never forget doing in person hearings in OKC back pre-Covid. They were held in the new Federal Building, which was right next to the one that was bombed. The site of the bombed Federal Building is now a museum about the events of that day. It's a museum I think every American should aspire to visit at some point in their lives. The most chilling exhibit was a hearing recording involving some type of water dispute, where it started out normal with the judge/hearing officer covering preliminaries just as Social Security hearings do, and then you hear the bomb go off and everyone screaming.
I was a 7th grader when the attack happened. Had I been practicing SSD law back in 1995 and been based out of OKC, Tulsa, or Dallas, I very likely could have been there that day, or known many agency employees/contractors/experts etc. that would not have been lucky enough to make it out. Scary to think about!
Thank you for posting this memorial and making it personal.
Leadership. Or lack thereof. That is why you see nothing. Current leadership does not appear to care two cents for employees and our sacrifices. Let alone recognizing those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
I remember when I heard. Someone at work said that a bomb blew up outside an SSA office. It was presented as a small bomb that did little damage. Soon after we saw the pictures and saw how half the building was blown away. Many other federal employees were killed and also some visitors to SSA and other offices. It was a terrible day.
I’m an SSA employee and Dudek did email yesterday all of SSA and DDS about the anniversary of the tragedy and asking for a moment of silence.
Thank you for sharing this. May their memories be a blessing.
Thank you for posting this!
Thank you for this tribute to these SSA folks. RIP and sending thoughts with prayers to these families.
Did the ACOSS send anything out?
Yes!
No surprise about the lack of public acknowledgment. People like the OKC bomber are now the core base of the president the (failing) United States of America. Can’t alienate the total-nutjob vote, right?
There is, or was before renovation, a plaque on the wall near the front entrance of Altmeyer HQ bldg with names of all those SSA employees lost from that bombing. It was by the waiting area for a local contact office that was located in Altmeyer down the hall from front entrance. The plaque was placed so the public could see it while waiting.
Perhaps the lack of any press releases about the OKC Bombing are because our current political leadership is unfortunately more sympathetic to and aligned with McVeigh’s view of America than the Civil Servants and children he murdered.
My dad (attorney) represented someone at a hearing a few weeks prior to the bombing, and had had a few hearings there in the years prior. Still remembers the friendly staff, and spoke with them often. Some had children in the daycare center when he went. Incredibly sad.
Post a Comment