30 years later, Oklahoma City ceremony honors dentists who aided in bombing response
1995 attack at Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building left 168 people dead
Thirty years ago, in the aftermath of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City that left 168 people dead, dentists worked 12-hour days for more than two weeks to help identify the victims. Those dentists were honored March 30 as part of A Day of Remembrance at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
The ceremony was organized by the Oklahoma County Dental Society, Oklahoma Dental Association, Oklahoma County Medical Society, Oklahoma State Medical Association and Oklahoma Osteopathic Association. The organizations presented 14 dentists and 68 physicians with medallions to recognize their roles in the recovery efforts following the April 19, 1995, attack.
“The Oklahoma County Dental Society was excited to partner with A Day of Remembrance to honor those in our profession who stepped up and served during the tragedy of the Oklahoma City bombing,” society President Troy Schmitz, D.D.S., said. “The standards set in dental forensics are still the standard for any large-scale tragedy throughout the world. Those who served never did so to be recognized but absolutely deserve to be honored."
During the event, Bryan Chrz, D.D.S., who helped to establish and run the dental identification section of the bombing response, recounted his memories from that time and read the names of the dentists in attendance, asking them to stand and be recognized. Not all the dentists who assisted with the response were able to attend.
“I was deeply honored to be asked to play a part in recognizing the individuals from the medical and dental community that gave aid during the bombing response,” Dr. Chrz said. “I was deeply moved by the emotions that came back to me as I toured the memorial for the first time and spoke to those we were honoring.”
In his remarks, he shared how the response to the Oklahoma City bombing is held as the gold standard for mass disaster response. At the time of the bombing, Dr. Chrz owned a private practice in Perry, Oklahoma, and worked as a part-time assistant professor in operative dentistry at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. While he and others from the dental school answered the call from the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to lead dental identification efforts, other dentists referred by the Oklahoma Dental Association and students from the dental school helped where needed as part of the massive response efforts.
“The dental community not only provided staffing for the identification unit but also were amazing in providing the necessary antemortem records for comparisons,” Dr. Chrz said. “This outpouring of resources allowed the tremendous success of the dental identification operation.”
Of the 168 victims, 45 were identified through dental records alone while 77 were identified using dental records and fingerprints. Dr. Chrz said the motto in the dental unit was to treat each case as a single individual identification, giving each victim an equal and respectful consideration.
“It seemed we all were touched in some manner by the list of victims,” he said. “We could see the toys that the children from the day care center used. Dr. Charles Hurlburt, friend, educator and head of radiology for the OU College of Dentistry, and his wife were checking on her Social Security retirement benefits when the building fell around their heads.”
Dr. Chrz said the responding dentists and physicians worked seamlessly together to show respect to the victims and concern for the family members. After reading the names of the dentists during the ceremony, he offered final words of gratitude for their efforts.
“To these persons I have named, I repeat the message on the Survivor Tree wall: ‘To the courageous and caring who responded from far and near, we offer our eternal gratitude,’” he said.
