Son honors father lost in OKC bombing 20 years ago

Jerrel Wade was in second-period English class on April 19, 1995, when a rented-Ryder truck pulled up to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in nearby Oklahoma City.

The truck was packed with powerful explosives ignited by Timothy McVeigh, an anti-government terrorist who was executed in 2001. The blast killed 168 people and injured hundreds more. It sent a shock wave that could be felt at Wade's school in suburban Edmond, on the northern edge of the city.

Among those who died in the blast was Wade's father, Johnny Wade, a civil engineer with the Federal Highway Administration whose fourth-floor office was in the Murrah building. On Sunday, the younger Wade - now dean of administration at San Jacinto College - will be among the survivors and family members attending a memorial service at the site to commemorate the 20th anniversary of what was, until Sept. 11, 2001, the worst terrorist attack to take place on U.S. soil.

Without social media, news of the devastation traveled slowly. Wade ran into a friend after his English class who told him there had been some kind of incident in Oklahoma City, but he thought it was probably a planned demolition to make way for a new high rise.

"We just went about our business," said Wade, then a 17-year-old senior in high school.

'We waited all day'

The teen only learned what happened after stopping by the office to say hello to his football coach. He seemed transfixed by something on television. "He just kind of looked at me. He had a total blank look on his face," Wade said.

He looked at the television and saw the devastation. The force of the explosion ripped off the north wall of the building where his father was working. He immediately tried to call but couldn't get through.

"I got in my truck and just went downtown. I didn't even know what else to do," Wade said.

When he finally arrived, the scene was chaotic. Rescue crews crawled through the debris to search for any survivors. Wade was directed to a hospital near the federal building, where his mother and sister also waited for any news.

As bodies were pulled from the rubble and identified, their names were flashed on a large video screen in the hospital.

"We waited all day," Wade said.

It took almost a week before the body of Johnny Wade was recovered and officially confirmed. He was later buried in his east Texas hometown of San Augustine.

Wade stopped following the daily details of the investigation and criminal trial once McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, were arrested.

McVeigh was executed in 2001 and Nichols received life in prison.

Wade understands why other survivors and family members wanted to stay connected to the legal process.

"That's absolutely fine. Whatever helps you deal with it," he said. "But, it wasn't going to change anything in my life at that point. My dad is not walking back into the house."

'Fun-loving guy'

Johnny Wade was a proud alum of Prairie View A&M who started working for the federal highway agency after graduation.

He was a "fun-loving guy" who enjoyed fishing and being outdoors. You didn't talk trash about the Dallas Cowboys around him, his son recalled.

"He just cared so much about his family. He was a totally selfless individual," Wade said of his father.

Jerrel Wade turned 18 the summer after the explosion and had already been accepted at the University of Oklahoma.

"He wouldn't have wanted me to sit around feeling sorry for myself," he said. "He would have wanted me to go out and be the man he raised me to be."

There was no doubt Wade was going to college, but a scholarship for family members, now administered by the Federal Employees Education and Assistance Fund, helped pay for his schooling - including his doctorate in education.

"They took care of all the tuition. We were very grateful for that," Wade said.

Peace made

His mother still lives in Oklahoma and Wade has visited the site - now a memorial - where his father and so many others lost their lives.

Now, he has started to explain what happened to Jonathan, his 6-year-old son.

"When we go to Oklahoma, he knows he has a grandma but not a granddad," Wade said. "He kind of understands the situation."

At first, it was odd seeing strangers at the Oklahoma City memorial site who have no connection to the place. But, later Wade made his peace with the idea of tourists at the spot where his father lost his life.

"People just want to see it and comprehend it and understand it," Wade said.