507th Air Refueling Wing

April 19, 1995. 9:02am. A bomb was detonated in the street in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., destroying the Federal Building and killing 168 people. On Sunday, April 25, the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon was held. 507th Air Refueling Wing reservist, SrA Christina Lindstrom participated in this year's event, dedicating her run to the memory of Airman First Class LaKesha Levy. Levy was one of those killed in the blast.

Why I ran

Published May 1, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Christina Lindstrom
507th Air Refueling Wing

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma -- In 2005, I registered and ran the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon...my first.

I wept three times over the 26.2 mile course.

The first time was around mile marker 10...('What was I thinking?! I don't even cover this distance driving to work!) The second time was when I passed the banners with the names of the bombing victims. And the third was when I crossed the finish line...I'm an ordinary person who just accomplished something quite extraordinary.

A little background...I was active duty from '82-'86 and reenlisted in 2004. Foremost, it was because I wanted to serve my country, but also because I missed my military family. We all share a bond that you probably will not find in the civilian sector.

Now, if you've ever been in the hospital and have to wind your way through the maze of hallways that lead to the dental clinic, you'll come across a plaque with a picture of an attractive, young woman in a white uniform. Her name is LaKesha Richardson Levy. On the morning of April 19, 1995, she was at the Murrah Federal Building getting a Social Security card.

She was one of 168 people murdered that day when a crazy man decided to seek vengeance against our government.

Tinker lost two military members that day. A1C Cartney McRaven and A1C Levy, but it was LaKesha that I passed every day on my way to work. I learned a lot about her. She was assigned to the 72nd Medical Group, worked in the lab and had been at Tinker for only two months. Her birthday was July 25 and was 21 when she died.

She was daughter to Constance Favorite, wife to Corey Levy, and mother to Corey Levy, II, who was only two at the time. They found her nine days after the bombing and her remains are interred in an above ground vault in New Orleans.

This year I ran the Half Marathon, in her honor. I only wept once this time...on Classen Blvd., between NW 37th and NW 38th Streets, when I saw a banner with the name of the military sister that I lost.

They called this the 'Run to Remember'...I hope we never forget.