Remembering the Oklahoma City bombing: An eyewitness account

The concussion of the bomb left me conscious but grayed-out, temporarily losing my vision. When my vision did return, there wasn’t much of it to speak of. I could see nothing out of my right eye, and blood flowing into my left eye from scalp lacerations made my field of vision so narrow I could see only the floor in front of me. The bomb had shattered the glass façade of the building, sending thousands of glass shards hurtling throughout the building. A large piece lodged in my right eye, filleting it open. As the glass shards were finding their victims, the massive force of the bomb destroyed the support columns, and the building began to implode, one floor collapsing onto the one below it. Once the sound of the blast faded away, Snidecor yelled out, “It must be an exploded gas main.” I was sitting just a couple of feet to the good side of the only support column left standing. The impact of the collapsing building threw me into the west wall of the building, fracturing my skull, breaking my nose, severing two arteries, and leaving me unconscious.

After a time, I don’t know how long, I came to. As I stood up, dazed and in shock from the loss of blood, Sergeant Snidecor spoke to me and said, “Captain Norfleet, you look really bad; let me help you.” He cleared off his desk, laid me down on it, and began administering first aid. There comes a time in a man’s life when he realizes death is upon him if he doesn’t take action. This was one of those times. Sergeant Snidecor and Gunnery Sergeant Bussell tried to carry me out, but the gunny’s injuries were too severe — his left thigh was cut to the bone and his left arm was bleeding profusely from glass wounds — and I was repeatedly dropped. We decided the best plan of action was for me to walk out on my own power. (Sergeant Snidecor and Captain Cooper were later awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Navy’s highest non-combat award for heroism. Sergeant Snidecor was recognized as the Marine Corps Sergeant of the Year in 1995 for his heroic actions that day.)