Clinton says we 'owe' it to Oklahoma City bombing victims to 'do better' as a nation

The bombing on April 19, 1995, at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history. A truck bomb that exploded in front of the federal building at 9:02 a.m. claimed the lives of 168 people, including 19 children. Nearly 700 others were injured in the attack.

"Thirty years ago, I thought I was going to have a very different day when I woke up," Clinton told the attendees at the event on Saturday. "I went jogging with the winners of the Boston Marathon, giving me the illusion, and an illusion it was, that I was somehow pretty fit. And then I got back to the White House and the devastating news." 

The former president also spoke about the beauty and importance of the "Oklahoma Standard," a spirit of resilience and unity that emerged in response to the bombing. Clinton said he wished "every American would get a copy of the Oklahoma Standard in the mail or on their cell phone tomorrow. I bet you it would have a terrific impact."

He urged Oklahomans to take the spirit of the "Oklahoma Standard" and spread it across the country, saying that he was grateful for the standard's existence.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, former Army soldier and security guard Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building before he set off the bomb.