Essay About Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Ladd And Injured Numerous Amounts Of People

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Ladd – Whitney Monument
Join now to read essay Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Ladd – Whitney Monument
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 didnt 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