Interview: Oklahoma City Bombing Survivor Amy Downs Discusses the New National Geographic Documentary and Her Experiences on That Dark Day in America

April 19th, 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, which remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the history of the United States. As that date approaches, National Geographic is releasing a new docuseries looking back at the tragedy called Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America. In the series, survivor Amy Downs relives the harrowing experience, which found her trapped in rubble for hours.

Recently, we had a chance to talk to Downs firsthand about that dark day, the documentary, and more.

Ben Breibart: It's a pleasure to meet you.

Amy Downs: Thank you for having me.

BB: Obviously you've gone through an unbelievable journey through the incident and then life after that, and I can't even imagine — most folks can't. But now that you have this moment with this special series airing on National Geographic, what did this series bring to you regarding the memories of that tragic day?

AD: Well, when I watched the documentary, there was some footage I had never seen before. I saw there's a really brief footage of me after they got me out of the building, and I had never seen that before. Also, there was a little part where I had begged one of the rescuers to stay, and he talks about that, and I never really considered what he was going through. And so that was very... interesting to learn. And now, as a mature woman, to look back on that and think about what they were going through during this time.

BB: You’ve had a lot of time to reflect and you've published on this as well as done public speaking, but you still get emotional when you look back at that. How have your emotions evolved over the decades since this day? Is it easier? Do you have more perspective now? How has that changed over the time?

AD: That's a hard question. I'll tell you this, and I'm not alone in this: I've talked to some other survivors and it's the same. So when Spring starts happening and we start having warmer days in Oklahoma and red buds are blooming and things like that, it triggers an angst, an anxiety. I don't even always connect it with the bombing. I just know I feel on edge. And then all of a sudden I think, "Oh, I bet this is it." I remember one year my boss said to me, I said, "Something's wrong. I think maybe it's the bombing." And she looked at me and she said, "You think? It happens every year."

Even the people around me could see like, "Yeah, that's what it is." So yeah, there's some little things like that. And then attending a funeral, I can't do that. I just will sob and I don't even know the person. I may not even know the person, and I will just be crying, because the grief, the things that... So I guess some PTSD triggers that you have from something like that, that you are just kind of part of what you deal with.

BB: You have turned this tragedy that we all wish didn't happen, but you've found a way to help others through sharing your experience and inspiring others. In the documentary, you talk about how you really took this almost as an act of defiance that you were going to succeed despite the challenge. Now that you have other people who might've experienced other tragedies of small and large scale. What have you gained from being able to share your experience?

AD: Well, sometimes I'll think, "I don't want to hear myself talk anymore." I've talked so much. I don't want to hear myself talk anymore. And that will be when I get the email or the message from a stranger, I don't even know who will tell me how much it encouraged them. And I remember when I was in the hospital after the bombing, wishing somebody would've walked into that room, looked at me and said, "Hey, I went through something really bad and I'm here to tell you one day you'll get through it. It'll be in your rear view mirror and you're going to come out and you're going to get through it." That encouragement, I wanted that, and I hope that I can give that to other people that makes me feel good if I can help them.

BB: You've talked about it briefly, but in the series, you're able to hear other perspectives from other survivors, other responders, politicians, the president, governor, etc. What’s your reaction to hearing those?

AD: I like to hear other people's viewpoints. I think differences are good, but it helps us when we can all understand how another person views something and respect their views on it, even if we don't share the same view. So I like to hear the different views and perspectives and how it's affected different people.

BB: What do you think of the documentary in and of itself? I thought it was very well done, but as someone who is involved in this unfortunately tragic incident, what's it like to see this iteration done by the talented folks?

AD: You're exactly right. I would not even be here talking to you today if I did not think it was well done. It was well done, and I knew it was going to be from the moment I sat down to interview with them. They were so thoughtful and careful about the mental health of everyone they talked to the point that they even offered free counseling every time we would visit. I mean, they just were top-notch on how they handled everything.

BB: In the documentary, we see the part of your life when you're just in the office having fun, goofing off with co-workers, and we all know what's going to come. It's hard for me to watch that. I can't imagine what it's like for you to see knowing that you have no idea that, I mean, you would never conceive of something like that.

AD: Right.

BB: So does it bring back happy memories or does it just bring you anxiety? How do you reconcile that?

AD: I don't. I guess I don't. You're right. It's all of it, right? Sometimes I can watch it and be like, "Oh, there's Claudette. Oh, there's..." And it's like seeing an old friend again. And then there's other times where it's just heartbreaking.

BB: Unfortunately, this is not the last tragedy the world has faced, but what do you hope people learn from this tragedy — whether it's from the documentary or just researching it on their own? What's the message you hope people take away from it?

AD: Well, I think one, it's an excellent historical, in-depth account. And we have a whole generation, we have people that weren't even born then. So I think just alone, just the information, all of that, but just the strength of the human spirit, the courage, the way we came together, despite our differences to help each other get through such a difficult time. And I hope that that's inspiring. I hope that's something, a lesson that people can walk away with, just how we can come together to get through tough times together. I think that's important.

BB: Do you hope that by watching this moment and seeing how people of all stripes united around this can encourage people to understand that there are more commonalities in the human condition than we are?

AD: Yes. And that's it. We're humans. You and I may have very different opinions about a lot of different things, and that's okay. That's actually good, but we don't have to move into hatred and we can still get along and we can still come together when needed. And so I think that is good.

BB: One thing that being younger when this happened and choosing not to follow it as a teenager for your own reasons, you see on the negative side what happened when someone wasn't listened to. And then you're on the positive side, you see what happens when we all are able to have conversations together and be okay to disagree. Do you ever get disheartened that you feel like maybe we forget that lesson, the warnings and the lessons we learned from something like this?

AD: Well, I hope in that this documentary maybe will help kind of bring that out, I hope.

BB: You are such an inspiration in that you talked about the success you've had since this incident. What do you wish you could have told your younger self now that you've had all these accomplishments that would've helped you cope with this?

AD: Yeah. Gosh, I don't know. I don't know. I think I'd just tell myself, "Give yourself some grace. Give yourself some grace. You're going to get through the things." But I don't regret the choices that I've made. I don't regret the way I leaned into embracing my second chance at life. If anything, I think I would tell myself, "Don't take your foot off the gas. Don't take your foot off the gas. Keep going." And I don't know if I'm grown up yet. Thank you for telling me I'm grown up. I don't know that I'm grown up. I'm getting ready to be 58 years old, and I still feel like I haven't grown up.

BB: It was such a joy to get to hear your story. Thank you for participating in the documentary so we could have your inspiration to such a wide audience on Nat Geo, Disney+, and Hulu. Do you have any final thoughts you want to share with the folks that are going to be tuning in?

AD: I think we all go through difficulties, and you're going to watch this documentary and see such a dramatic, terrible thing and the people that got through it. But all of us at some point in our lives find ourselves buried under the rubble of life. I mean, we all have things that come our way that are devastating at different times. And just remember, you're stronger than you think you are, and you will get through it. And it's not so much what happens to you, but how you choose to respond to it. So respond as positively as you can.

BB: Well, I can't think of a better way to end it than that. So thank you so much for your time. Thanks for participating. Thanks for sharing your story. It was really touching, so thank you.

AD: Thank you.

Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America airs on April 2nd on National Geographic and will be available  to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.