30 Years Later, Oklahoma City Bombing’s youngest survivor finds purpose in service

The Oklahoma City bombing claimed 168 lives on April 19, 1995. Among the victims were 15 children from a daycare center inside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. PJ Allen, just 18 months old at the time, was the youngest survivor. Now 31, he reflects on his journey and the purpose he's found in giving back.

“I've always like working with electronics,” PJ said.

PJ works as an avionics technician at Tinker Air Force Base, maintaining the systems aboard military airplanes.

"Working on planes allows me to help people in service, similar to the people that helped me out on that day," PJ said.

Thrown from the second-floor daycare by the force of the 4,000-pound bomb, PJ survived with second- and third-degree burns over more than half his body. His lungs and vocal cords were damaged, and the sound of his breath remains a constant reminder of that day.

"My voice is not going to change," he said. "So that’s how I sound."

Despite years of surgeries and a childhood largely spent indoors, PJ didn’t let his limitations hold him back, playing baseball, swimming, and going to school.

“Nothing’s really going to go away,” he said. “But it’s okay, because I appreciate being here today.”

He still suffers from a collapsed lung and undergoes daily breathing treatments. Yet, through it all, PJ remains positive.

“Working here allows me to give back and provide some sort of service, to help the very same people that were there that day, helping everyone else,” he said.

Each April, the memories return. The loss. The survival. The purpose.

“Around this time of year, I like to try and make sure I’m still looking for what I need to be doing, for the reason I survived,” he said.

His sense of purpose guides him forward.