Anthony Fernandez III

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Anthony Fernandez III | Remembering the Oklahoma City Bombing | The Journal of American History, 94.1 | The History Cooperative

Remembering the Oklahoma City Bombing

I am a certified fire fighter and paramedic in the state of Florida. Upon separation from active service in the United States Marine Corps in 1986, I transferred into the Marine Corps Reserve. My involvement with fire rescue began in 1988. The fire service afforded me a flexible schedule that allowed me to continue my affiliation and career in the Marine Corps. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, Miami, Dade County, Florida, is a professional fire rescue service. I was a volunteer member of Florida Task Force–1 (FLTF-1) and the canine search-and-rescue (K-9 SAR) unit.	1
Immediately following the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 19, 1995, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) alerted a number of its urban search-and-rescue teams around the country. One of those teams, FLTF-1, made up of members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, was notified and placed on alert to respond. As a member of FLTF–1, I immediately prepared for possible deployment to Oklahoma City. FEMA activated FLTF–1 and deployed us to Oklahoma City in support of its operations. A U.S. Air Force C-141 military transport aircraft brought the task force directly to Oklahoma City on April 22. The SAR K-9s were secured in kennels that were secured to the deck of the aircraft. None of the K-9s had difficulties with the flight, nor were they sedated.	2
At that point, we, like millions of Americans, knew only what we heard on the news networks. However, the broadcast pictures that we watched would soon become surreal, as they could not convey to the distant viewer the true scope and magnitude of the disaster or its impact on the people of Oklahoma City. We would not see the remains of the Murrah Building until 6 p.m., and later that day, we would be assigned the 6 p.m.–6 a.m. shift. As we slowly made our way toward the site and penetrated each layer of security, we could see the increasing activity. The intense lighting coming from the site signaled our proximity and increased our curiosity as well as our desire to begin working as we were trained to do.	3
For many members of FLTF-1, this was the first experience in responding to such a catastrophe. When we moved toward our staging area directly in front of the building, we were struck by a sight we could not imagine. The building was bathed in light before us, ripped apart, its soul bared for all to see, almost as if it were a once-living thing that had died. It was covered by dust and motionless, with the exception of the multitudes of dwarfed rescue workers climbing about it with urgency. There seemed to be nothing but blackness around the building, and all lights were focused directly on the building's face. Within the torn building were its inhabitants, possibly some still alive. It would be our job to find and remove them or their remains and return them to their families and neighbors. We would work in the pit, deep in the center and isolated from the world outside. For thirteen nights our unit would work its way down into the pit, where we stayed until dawn.	4
Each evening, my partner Aspen and I would slowly and carefully make our way down to the pit to begin our task with the squad. Aspen was my second SAR K-9. My first was Sierra, also a golden retriever from the same breeder as Aspen, Joyce Davis at Sun Joie kennels. I purchased Aspen from the kennel where I had found Sierra. Aspen was acquired and trained specifically for SAR. I chose her for traits she displayed that were those desired for training as a SAR K-9. She was an eight-week-old pup, and her training began immediately. In addition to being certified for search and rescue, Aspen was also a certified body recovery K-9 when she was deployed to Oklahoma City. It was Aspen's first major event, and she was approximately nineteen months old at the time.	. . .

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