Courier reflects on bombing by helping out at marathon

By Brad Collins

Published: April 21, 2005

Bob Fowler doesn't know why he continued his route on April 19, 1995. But after witnessing the events at 9:02 that morning, the FedEx courier kept delivering packages.

On Sunday, Fowler will help runners continue their routes in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, serving as a volunteer for FedEx's water station.

Fowler said this weekend will be the first time he's participated in a memorial activity. In fact, Fowler hasn't been through the National Memorial. He said it's been too hard.

Fowler started his route that day just like any other. He arrived at the Oklahoma Tower around 8:30 that morning and started working his way from the top to the bottom.

He arrived at Faye Moss' office on the 28th floor, had her sign for a package, then turned to leave.

"As I turned, I heard this loud boom," Fowler said. "I fell down, and Faye screamed. We thought a plane had hit the building."

But when Fowler went back to make sure Moss was OK, he saw the devastation over her shoulder out the window. Immediately, he knew it was the Alfred P. Murrah Building.

Fowler said he called to see if his co-worker, Linda Roberts, who was usually in the Murrah Building on deliveries, was safe. Roberts was only a block away but had survived. Fowler decided to continue his route downtown.

Amid the chaos, he couldn't maneuver his truck to the next building. So Fowler unloaded his truck, package by package, and continued his route on foot.

"I really think I was in shock mode," he said. "I don't really know what I was thinking."

Fowler tried to catch a glimpse of what had happened on television in each office. Eventually, as the news spread, offices closed. As people left their buildings, they urged Fowler to do the same. But he kept going.

At around 11:30, police officers finally stopped Fowler from finishing his route. They told him to go home.

Over the next days and weeks, Fowler learned of the death of his customers' children and relatives. He had eaten lunch at the Murrah Building a few days before the bombing with James Boles, one of the 168 who died.

Now, Fowler said, he's ready to give back -- for his own closure, for those who perished, for those who lost loved ones.

"I feel like I'm honoring them by doing this," Fowler said. "It's already giving me a good feeling just knowing I'm going to be out there. I think this will help me move on."