Lawton man remembered during 28th anniversary of OKC bombing

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - On its 28th anniversary, we remember the 168 people who were killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing.

One of the people who never returned home again was Clarence Wilson, a man from Lawton.

Wilson was inside the Murrah Federal Building working as the Chief Legal Counsel for Housing and Urban Development when the OKC bombing happened.

“I was thinking when I was coming over here. What he would’ve been. What he would’ve done had he lived because he was extremely smart. He went to school. All of his schooling was on scholarships. He never had to pay anything to go to school,” said Bernice McGee, Wilson’s sister.

McGee has made sure his memory has lived on. She says April is always a hard month for her.

“I can handle it now because I can look back and see a lot of the good time. I can look at him and his life to be a teaching tool my grand and great grandchildren. It’s been a long time, but you never forget, and you learn to incorporate it into your daily living and thinking and you just got to move on,” said McGee.

She says she feels for people who’ve lost loved ones in similar ways.

“My heart goes out to anyone who has to suffer these tragedies.”

After Wilson’s death, a memorial was created for him in Lawton at 6th and F Ave downtown. She says she’s thankful for the group Run Lawton who stepped up for around a decade to keep the memorial in good condition.

“I’ve always kept it up, but I was getting a little old to crawl around on these rocks, and they called me, and they accepted it.”

McGee encourages people in Lawton to stop by the memorial and help keep her brother’s memory alive.

“If they would just stop by sometime and take a look or read the poem. The poem is what we need right now because it’s just fitting for today. But I’d appreciate it if you wanted to come by, put some flowers down, or plant a flower. I’d appreciate it,” said McGee.

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