"We owe it to the 168 people who perished, to their family members, to all who lost here, never to forget them, never to stop mourning, never to stop missing, but to be like a tree, to keep our roots and reach for tomorrow, to let time heal the tragedy, so we can honor their lives through living. To defeat terror, to take good care of our children who remain, to honor those in public service and never demonize them, to build bridges across the lines that divide us, because as important and interesting as our differences are, we've shown today that our common humanity matters more." - Former President Bill Clinton.

"I was struck by the words of one survivor who said, 'We can never forget. We don't even want to forget.' That's the spirit of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and it so perfectly reflects the character of the United States. This nation is decent and just fair-minded and good-hearted." - Vice President Dick Cheney.

"The 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing takes us back to the terrible tragedy that touched all Americans and took the lives of so many from Oklahoma City. We remember the malice that led to the death of 168 innocent people in the Murrah Federal Building. For the survivors of this crime and for the families of the dead, the pain goes on. We also remember the many acts of courage and kindness we saw in the midst of that horror. Oklahoma City will always be one of those places in our national memory where the worst and the best both came to pass. We pray for the lives that were lost that day - and we pray for their families. We ask God for strength and peace for those who lost so much." - President Bush.

"As we reflect on the events and legacy of that horrific day, let us honor the memory of those who died, those who survived and those whose lives were forever changed. "But let us also honor those victims by looking to the future. Let us honor them by living lives of joy, of meaning, of love and fulfillment - the lives that they would want us to lead." - Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry.

"We owe it to the families to make sure this kind of violence is not the legacy of the bombing. "We underestimated the impact of violence and hatred in our own country. We understand now that people in this country have the capacity to build bombs." - The Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"I am grateful for the firefighters and the rescue workers and the police officers and the medical personnel who came to us in our moment of need, who, with enormous courage, risked limb and life to save us and to take a building apart five-gallon buckets at a time so that we could be joined with our loved ones and we could be joined with those who were injured." - Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating.

"You learn to accept it. You can't change it, so why carry that bitterness for your entire life?" Larry Whicher, 44, of Russellville, Ark., whose brother Alan Whicher was killed in the bombing.

"It was just incredible how the community came together after the bombing. I remember one time a radio station put out a report that there was a shortage of gloves for people working at the bomb site. Later there was this long, huge traffic jam of people dropping off clothes, gloves and money." - Weldon Kennedy, the FBI's lead investigator in the bombing, now vice chairman of Guardsmark, a security company.

By The Associated Press