Oklahoma 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.
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