I helped care for victims during the OKC bombing. The outpouring of help gave me hope for humanity

I dedicate this short piece to the great people of Oklahoma City for the 29th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

I hope the American people never forget this event in what remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history. In Oklahoma City, many people still refer to events as either being before or after this horrific bombing.

Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. A total of 168 people died, including 19 children.

I was a neuro-ophthalmology fellow training at Dean McGee Eye Institute under Dr. Brad Farris' amazing guidance in 1995. For those like me and my mentor, Dr. Farris, who were within a mile of the bombing and became involved with the triage of patients, this experience is forever etched in our memories ― as is the case for the million+ Oklahoma City area residents. At least one-third of that 1995 population knew or had a relationship with somebody who was a casualty.

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When preparing for a talk that I was giving about that historic event at a trauma convention in the late 1990s, I read a recent article in the newspaper of one of Dr. Farris' trauma patients, a sharp Army officer and graduate of West Point. He had survived despite losing all his staff and most of the office walls on the fifth floor of the Murrah Building. The article indicated he had committed suicide. In tears and a broken voice, I added that painful news at the end of my lecture, indicating that casualties continue long after such traumatic events and in combat.

My prayers continue for all those first responders, healthcare personnel, combat veterans and victims of such horrific experiences. Even more so, I pray that our world community can learn to grow up and stop the needless bickering and violence we continue to experience across the globe.

However, I do have great hope for humanity ... because I saw how good it could be in the people that I was privileged to see and meet in Oklahoma City in April 1995.

Dr. Steven R. Grimes is a retired Army ophthalmologist and retired colonel at Brooks Army Medical Center.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Help during Oklahoma City bombing offers hope for humanity