Mom Remembers Daughter Killed in Bombing

April 19, 2005 — -- The images from the Oklahoma City bombing -- faces of devastation and grief -- are still haunting today. One photograph in particular became a symbol of the national tragedy.

That image was of firefighter Chris Shields cradling the body of a lifeless baby.

That baby was Baylee Almon, whose first birthday was the day before the bombing. Her mother, Aren Almon-Kok, says the pain of losing Baylee has lessened somewhat, but never goes away.

""I think [it's] easier to deal with, but the pain is still there," Almon-Kok said on "Good Morning America" today. "I still miss her very much."

Almon-Kok says she still remembers April 19, 1995, vividly. She worked 10 blocks from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and recalled that her building shook when the explosion went off. She initially thought it was thunder.

She looked out the window and saw clear skies. But then a puff of smoke rose in the air. She thought maybe a building downtown was being demolished.

Then the news came over the television. Almon-Kok took off, knowing she had to find out if Baylee was alright.

"By the time I saw the front of the building and just the people walking around on the streets as bad as they were hurt and stuff, I knew something was not good," she said.

Almon-Kok said Baylee was a sweet and loving little girl who was just learning to walk and talk.

Almon-Kok now has two other children -- a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. She has told them about Baylee, who remains very much a part of the family's life.

"They talk about her all the time," she said. "And when they draw pictures of the family, they draw her in them."

Though it's not an easy job, Almon-Kok believes she owes it to her children to explain what happened that day.

"I'm preparing them for things they're going to find out anyway, and I didn't want it to look like … I tried to hide things from them."