Q&A: Former Sen. Don Nickles reflects on the Oklahoma City bombing, 30 years later

Don Nickles was a United States Senator when the Oklahoma City bombing took place on April 19, 1995. 

He served for four terms, representing Oklahoma from January 1981 to January 2005. Following his retirement from Congress, the Ponca City native founded the Nickles Group, a Washington, DC, consulting firm that he still runs today.

Nickles was en route to Dallas to attend a BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) field hearing when he received word of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Thirty years later, at 76, he shares vivid memories of that day and its impact on the state and the nation.

Q: Where were you the morning of April 19, 1995?

“We were going to testify for the base closure commission, trying to keep our military bases open, and was called during the flight... first time I've had somebody come get me and ‘you need to—the pilot has a phone call for you.’ And Mark Nichols told me, he said there's been a massive explosion in the Murrah building—was not too far from where my office was, and they felt the shake of the explosion. And he said it's done a heck of a lot of damage, and we could have thousands of deaths. And he said, you need to get back. And I thought, ‘What in the world?’

“So we landed and turned around and came back, and went straight to the bombing site, walked around the bombing site with a lot of officials. And, you know, smoke was still going, and it was a very traumatic event—very courageous rescuers, couldn’t have been more proud of them. But, you know, it's just one of these sickening, nauseous feelings. And I was praying that it wasn’t an Oklahoman that was responsible for it. I thought this would be a scar on us that we’d never get over if [it was] some disgruntled employee or something.

“It turned out Timothy McVeigh and Nichols and so on were involved, but I was really glad it wasn't an Oklahoman. But it was just a real tragedy.”

Q: What do you remember seeing when you arrived at the bombing site?

“I remember we're walking around and I... I remember the axle of the Ryder truck. I don't remember if we saw it or if somebody pointed out or what, but—and there was debris all over the place, and they were still pulling people out when we were there. And there was a scare that maybe there was another bomb or something... anyway, there were a lot of heroes that day, and the first responders were remarkable in climbing over that debris, which was—you know, it seemed like it was a mountain high—trying to extricate wounded and deceased.”

Q: Some people have raised questions about whether others may have been involved. Do you believe the FBI’s investigation was thorough?

“No, I think the FBI did a great job. I sat in on a lot of meetings. They were as thorough—it may have been the most thorough investigation the FBI has ever conducted. They had a multitude of agents. They were very, very thorough. They had Timothy McVeigh, who was really stupid in getting caught the way he did, but he was going to be caught. And I'm glad that he was—received the ultimate penalty, he deserved it. And, you know, they did a fabulous job and very thorough. And I think, no, I have no doubt. I don't think anybody else is involved.”