The ‘Survivor Tree’ is an American Elm growing on the north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building property, the site of the Oklahoma City Bombing.  The 27th anniversary of the OKC Bombing is the 19th of April.  Although severely damaged in the explosion, the tree survived and became a symbol of hope and perseverance in the months and years following the attack.  Seeds from that tree are collected, grown, and distributed, allowing individuals to plant their own survivor trees. 

Last week, the City of Norman planted two of these survivor trees to honor the contributions made by the Norman Police and Fire Departments during the rescue and recovery after the bombing in April of 1995. One tree is located in front of the Fire Administration Building (415 E. Main St.), and the other is in the south end of Legacy Park (1898 Legacy Park Dr.), west of Redrock Canyon Grill.  Bronze plaques identifying the significance of the trees will be installed soon. 

Norman staff will soon be planting additional survivor trees to honor citizens who were killed, wounded, or otherwise significantly impacted by the bombing. The city has 20 of these individual memorial trees that will be planted in Norman Parks and would like to announce they are now accepting additional names for commemoration plaques next to these survivor trees. The community can contact the Parks & Recreation Department at (405) 266-5472 or parksrec@normanok.gov to have names considered for future plantings. 

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