Oklahoma City Bombing Essay, Research Paper
Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Ladd-Whitney Monument
It was April 19, 1995 at 9:03 that the lives of thousands were affected by one single
explosion. The explosion took the lives of 168 men, women, and children. The explosion
physically injured 600 individuals and emotionally injured numerous amounts of people
around the world. The explosion took place at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma. A staff writer for a newspaper was quoted stating? the bomb was color
blind? ( Yumi Wilson, Chronicle staff writer, Langston University). It didn?t matter what
age, race, or background the victims came from. The one attribute that all of the victims
had in common was the fact that they were all innocent targets affected by the hostility
of hate and terrorism. The primary individual responsible for this tragedy is a man named
Timothy McVeigh. A 27yr old white man who possed a great hostility toward the
government. He constructed a deadly bomb made of fertilizer and fuel oil, placed it in
the back of a Ryder truck and drove and parked it at the state building. He was later
arraigned on charges of 11 counts of conspiracy and murder charges. He was convicted
and sentenced for the crimes on June 2, 1997. The other man who was suspected of
having been involved in the bombing was Terry Nichols. Though he was involved in the
planning he did not actually help McVeigh transport or set off the bomb. He was found
guilty and was charged with involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy; Nichols was later
acquitted from the murder charges. Though the justice system punished the criminals for
their crimes and may have provided the family and friends of those who died with some
degree of solace, the grief and, fear, emptiness, and loss of security can never be
replaced. It was an unfortunate tragedy to those who lost their lives it brought together
the people of our nation and showed no discrimination, only unity among a mass of
people who could not get through this atrocity alone. Due to the immense impact that the
event had on our nation, and the wide responses received on ideas of how to create a
memorial at the site, the Mayor, Ron Norick appointed a 350 member Memorial Task
Force. They were responsible to develop a memorial in order to honor those touched by
the event and the families of those killed the survivors, and volunteers. The memorial
resulted in a quote that summed up all of the responses, feelings, and suggestions
recived. The final product read: Oklahoma City Memorial Foundation Memorial Mission
Statement Murrah Federal Building Memorial, Inc. 1996 We come here to remember
those who were killed, Those who survived and those changed forever. May all who
leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength,
peace, hope and serenity. The Ladd and Whitney monument was constructed in order to
commemorate Luther C. Ladd and Addison Otis Whitney who were generally recognized
as the first of our fallen soilders. It was the day of April 19,1861 when these two Lowell
men lost their lives. Although there were two other men who lost their lives in this tragic
Civil war they are not as historically recognized like Ladd and Whitney. There names
were Needham of Lawrence, and Charles A. Taylor formally from Boston but later
moved to Lowell. The monument was originally dedicated to Ladd and Whitney, Taylor
was added to the monument later though it is unclear exactly when it is estimated that it
was in the 1900?s. The dedication of the monument occurred on Saturday, june 17th,
1865. The monument is located in front of the Lowell city hall at the junction of
Merrimack and Moody streets marking their burial spots. The monument is a light
colored granite which is about 25 feet.