This week marked 26 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, often referred to by experts as the deadliest domestic terrorism attack on U.S. soil.

Some 168 people were killed and hundreds were injured.

For a Spectrum News executive, it was a very personal moment for him.

Vice President of Content and News Mike Gautreau tearfully recalls what it was like back in 1995 to be a local reporter, standing in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building right after the explosion and looking up to see people still on a ledge.

The north side of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. (Associated Press)

Gautreau says it started off as an average day off from work, planting a flower bed on April 19, 1995, when he felt the force of the blast underneath his feet.

“It was the loudest noise I have ever heard, and at the time I was probably about 20 miles away. It was loud enough that it knocked me off my feet (and I just sat there for a minute or two) wondering, ‘What in the world?’” recalled Gautreau.

He told Spectrum News 13 anchor Ybeth Bruzual that he was driving pieces of rebar into the ground with a sledgehammer when the explosion happened.

“And I literally thought in that moment that I had hit that power line. And that I was dead," he said.

But Gautreau’s journalistic instincts kicked in and he went out to the site of the bombing. 

In the interview, Gautreau also revealed to Bruzual that a piece of granite from the federal building on that fateful day currently sits in his office, reminding him for 26 years of the powerful moments, that to this day, stir deep emotions.

“I’ve cherished it, since then, and it reminds me of the humanity associated with the stories that we cover. It’s not just the five Ws. They are people,” he said.

In this file photo, visitors walk next to the reflecting pool at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum in Oklahoma City. (Associated Press)

Reporters cover the five Ws for stories: who, what, when, where and why. But as he said in the touching interview, a lot more goes into a story than just the facts.

He also shared how he received the piece of granite and what was done to most of the debris to prevent people from selling the pieces of the building.

The attack was carried out by two U.S. citizens — former Army soldier Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirator Terry Nichols — who both admitted they hated the federal government.

The deadly attack happened two years to the day after a federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.

McVeigh was convicted and was executed by lethal injection in 2001.

Nichols was sentenced to life in prison for his role.

Watch the video above to hear more about Gautreau's story as he reflects on the events of the tragic day.