Leonard Pitts Jr.

The site of the Alfred P. Murrah building became a shrine of sorts following the bombing in 1995. Even before the building was demolished, people began bringing mementos and leaving them on the chain-link fence that surrounded the site. Stuffed bears, baby shoes, bouquets, and poems and notes are the most popular items that are left on the fence.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. visited the memorial in 1999 before it was completed. He describes his feelings of awe and reverence as he gazed upon the fence decorated with objects that have become holy icons. He writes that he still felt pain as he thought about the innocent lives that were lost.

It is the shoes that stop me. They are brown and look new, the rubber on the soles still thick, black and unmarked. They are toddler-size boots, made for bouncing...