Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995

The printed information here below was obtained from About.com's entry on this horrendous event. 

The pictures and captions are from a site titled

Oklahoma City Bombing.com

May those who were lost rest in peace.

On April 19, 1993, the standoff between the FBI and the Branch Davidian cult (led by David Koresh) at the Davidian compound in Waco, Texas ended in a fiery tragedy. When the FBI tried to end the standoff by gassing the complex, the entire compound went up in fire, claiming the lives of 75 followers, including many young children. The death toll was high and many people blamed the U.S. government for the tragedy. One such person was Timothy McVeigh.

McVeigh, angered by the Waco tragedy, decided to enact retribution to those he felt responsible -- the federal government, especially the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). In downtown Oklahoma City, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building held numerous federal agency offices, including those of the ATF.

Planning his revenge for the second anniversary of the Waco disaster, McVeigh enlisted his friend Terry Nichols and several others to help him pull off his plan. In September 1994, McVeigh purchased large amounts of fertilizer (ammonium nitrate) and then stored it in a rented shed in Herington, Kansas. The ammonium nitrate was the main ingredient for the bomb. McVeigh and Nichols stole other supplies needed to complete the bomb from a quarry in Marion, Kansas.

On April 17, 1995, McVeigh rented a Ryder truck and then McVeigh and Nichols loaded the Ryder truck with approximately 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. On the morning of April 19th, McVeigh drove the Ryder truck to the Murrah Federal Building, lit the bomb's fuse, parked in front of the building, left the keys inside the truck and locked the door, then walked across the parking lot to an alley, then started to jog.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, most employees of the Murrah Federal Building had already arrived at work and children had already been dropped off at the daycare center when the huge explosion tore through the building at 9:02 a.m. Nearly the entire north face of the 9-story building was pulverized into dust and rubble.
In took weeks of sorting through debris to find the victims. In all, 168 people were killed in the explosion, which included 19 children. One nurse was also killed during the rescue operation.
Ninety minutes after the explosion, McVeigh was pulled over by a highway patrol officer for driving without a license plate but when the officer discovered that McVeigh had an unregistered gun, he arrested him on a firearms charge. Before McVeigh was released, his ties to the explosion were discovered. Unfortunately for McVeigh, almost all his purchases and rental agreements related to the bombing could be traced back to him after the explosion. On June 3, 1997, McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy and on August 15, 1997 he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. On June 11, 2001, McVeigh was executed.
Nichols was brought in for questioning two days after the blast and then arrested for his role in McVeigh's plan. On December 24, 1997, a federal jury found Nichols guilty and on June 5, 1998 Nichols was sentenced to life in prison. In March 2004, Nichols went on trial for murder charges by the state of Oklahoma.
A third accomplice, Michael Fortier, who testified against McVeigh and Nichols, received a 12-year prison sentence and was fined $200,000 on May 27, 1998 for knowing about the plan but not informing authorities before the explosion.
What little remained of the Murrah Federal Building was demolished on May 23, 1995. In 2000, a memorial was built on the location to remember the tragedy of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Hero firefighter Chris Fields carries angel Baylee Almon.
Baylee passed away shortly after the picture above was taken.

Nineteen precious children lost their lives on that day.

God bless them.

We love them.

We miss them.

They are angels.

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Our Precious Angels

Baylee Almon, 1

Danielle Nicole Bell, 1

Peachlyn Bradley, 3

Gabreon Bruce, 4 months

Zackary Taylor Chavez, 3

Antonio Ansara Cooper Jr., 6 months

Christopher Cooper, 2

Aaron M Coverdale, 5
Elijah Coverdale, 2

Jaci Rae Coyne, 1

Tylor Eaves, 8 months

Ashley Megan Eckles, 4

Tevin D'Aundrae Garrett, 1

Kevin Lee Gottshall II, 6 months

Kayla Marie Haddock, 3

Blake Ryan Kennedy, 1

Dominique London R., 2

Chase Dalton Smith, 3
Colton Smith, 2

Lucio Aleman Jr., 33

Teresa Antoinette Alexander, 33

Richard Arthur Allen, 46

Ted Leon Allen, 48

Baylee Almon, 1

Rebecca Anderson, 37

Diane Elaine Hollingsworth Althouse, 45

Pamela Denise Argo, 36

Saundra Gail "Sandy" Avery, 34

Peter Robert Avillanoza, 56

Calvin Battle, 62

Peola Battle, 56

Danielle Nicole Bell, 1

Oleta Christine Biddy, 54

Shelly Bland, 25

Andrea Y. Blanton, 33

Olen Burl Bloomer, 61

Sgt. Lola Renee Bolden, 40

James Everette Boles, 50

Mark Allen Bolte, 28

Cassandra Booker, 25

Carol L Bowers, 53

Peachlyn Bradley, 3

Woody Brady, 41

Cynthia Lynn Campbell Brown, 26

Paul Gregory Broxterman, 42

Gabreon Bruce, 4 months

Kimberly Ruth Burgess, 29

David Neil Burkett, 47

Donald Earl Burns Sr.,63

Karen Gist Carr, 32

Michael Joe Carrillo, 44

Rona Linn Chafey, 36

Zackary Taylor Chavez, 3

Sharon Louise Wood Chesnut, 47

Robert Chipman, 51

Kimberly Kay Clark, 39

Peggy Clark, 42

Antonio Ansara Cooper Jr., 6 months

Christopher Cooper, 2

Dana LeAnne Cooper, 24

Harley Richard Cottingham, 46

Kim Robin Cousins, 33

Aaron M Coverdale, 5

Elijah Coverdale, 2

Jaci Rae Coyne, 1

Kathy Cregan, 60

Richard Leroy Cummins, 55

Stephen Douglas Curry, 44

Brenda Faye Daniels, 42

Benjamin Laranzo Davis, 29

Diana Lynn Day, 38

Peter Leslie DeMaster, 44

Castine Deveroux, 49

Sheila R. Gigger Driver, 28

Tylor Eaves, 8 months

Ashley Megan Eckles, 4

Susan Jane Ferrell, 37

Carrol June Fields, 48

Katherine Ann Finley, 44

Judy Joann Fisher, 45

Linda L Florence, 43

Donald Lee Fritzler, 64

Mary Anne Fritzler, 57

Tevin D'Aundrae Garrett, 1

Laura Jane Garrison, 61

Jamie Lee Genzer, 32

Margaret Goodson, 54

Kevin Lee Gottshall II, 6 months

Ethel Louise Griffin, 55

Juretta Colleen Guiles, 59

Randolph Guzman, 28

Kayla Marie Haddock, 3

Cheryl Hammons, 44

Ronald Vernon Harding, 55

Thomas Hawthorne Sr., 52

Doris Adele Higginbottom, 44

Anita Hightower, 27

Thompson Eugene Hodges Jr., 54

Peggy Louise Jenkins Holland, 37

Linda Coleen Housley, 53

George Michael Howard, 45

Wanda Lee Howell, 34

Robin Ann Huff, 37

Anna Jean Hurlburt, 67

Charles Hurlburt, 73

Paul Douglas Ice, 42

Christi Yolanda Jenkins, 32

Norma Jean Johnson, 62

Raymond Johnson, 59

Larry James Jones, 46

Alvin Junior Justes, 54

Blake Ryan Kennedy, 1

Carole Sue Khalil ,50

Valerie Jo Koelsch, 33

Carolyn Ann Kreymborg, 57

Teresa Lea Lauderdale, 41

Catherine Mary Leinen, 47

Carrie Ann Lenz, 26

Donald R Leonard, 50

Lakesha Levy, 21

Dominique London R., 2

Rheta Ione Bender Long, 60

Michael Lee Loudenslager, 48

Aurelia Donna Luster, 43

Robert Lee Luster Jr., 45

Mickey Bryant Maroney, 50

James Kenneth Martin, 34

Gilbert Xavier Martinez, 35

Tresia Jo Mathes-Worton, 28

James Anthony McCarthy, 53

Kenneth Glenn McCullough, 36

Betsy Janice McGonnell, 47

Linda Gail Griffin McKinney, 47

Cartney McRaven, 19

Claude Arthur Medearis, 41

Claudette Meek, 43

Frankie Ann Merrell, 23

Derwin Wade Miller, 27

Eula Leigh Mitchell, 64

John Clayton Moss III, 50

Patricia "Trish" Ann Nix, 47

Jerry Lee Parker, 45

Jill Diane Randolph, 27

Michelle Ann Reeder, 33

Terry Smith Rees, 41

Mary Leasure Rentie, 39

Antonio C Reyes, 55

Kathy Ridley, 24

Trudy Rigney, 31

Claudine Ritter, 48

Christine Nicole Rosas, 22

Sonja Lynn Sanders, 27

Lanny Lee David Scroggins, 46

Kathy Lynn Seidl, 39

Leora Lee Sells, 57

Karan Denise Shepherd, 27

Chase Dalton Smith, 3

Colton Smith, 2

Victoria Lee Sohn, 36

John Thomas Stewart, 51

Dolores Marie Stratton , 51

Emilio Tapla, 50

Victoria Jeanette Texter, 37

Charlotte Thomas, 43

Michael George Thompson, 47

Virginia Mae Thompson, 56

Ricky Lee Tomlin, 46

LaRue Ann Treanor, 55

Luther Hartman Treanor, 61

Larry Laverne Turner, 42

Jules Alfonso Valdez, 51

John Karl Vaness III, 67

Johnny Allen Wade, 42

David Jack Walker, 54

Robert Nolan Walker Jr., 52

Wanda Lee Watkins, 49

Michael D. Weaver, 45

Julie Marie Welch, 23

Robert Glen Westberry, 57

Alan Gerald Whicher, 40

Jo Ann Whittenberg, 35

Frances Ann Williams, 48

Scott Dwain Williams, 24

William Stephen Williams, 42

Clarence Eugene Wilson, 49

Renota Ann Woodbridge, 31

John Albert Youngblood, 52

Let us pray…