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Washington, D.C.—The passage of time and the rush of world events have not diminished for federal workers the painful memory of the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, the leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees said upon the eighth anniversary of that tragedy.

“Federal employees have used their pain over the murders of 168 men, women and children, including many public servants doing their jobs on behalf of their fellow Americans, to redouble their commitment to serve our nation,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the April 19, 1995 bombing by a domestic terrorist of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. It was, to that time, the largest single episode of terrorism on American soil.

While the bombing of the Murrah Building shook the faith of the nation, and brought a new level of concern to federal workers regarding their safety while engaged in their day-to-day activities, it did not shake the commitment to duty and to professionalism of the nation’s federal employees, President Kelley said.

“On the contrary,” she said, “in a tribute to every one of the Oklahoma City victims, the attack there served to reinforce the understanding of federal workers of the important role they play in the life of our country.”

Every federal employee, she said, “understands, appreciates and accepts that public service is a trust.”

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents some 150,000 federal employees in 29 agencies and departments.