On April 18th, 1775, the British military commander in Boston sent out a patrol into the nearby countryside. It was a precursor to a much larger operation scheduled for that night and the next day. The patrol was primarily looking for a couple of the leaders of what was called the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. One was John Hancock (now days most remembered for his bold signature.) The other was Samuel Adams (who has a beer brand named after him.}. The only thing the patrol really accomplished was to alert the colonists and their militias that something was up. Later that evening the suspicions were confirmed when Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and others spread the word British troops were departing Boston via the waters of the back bay.
218 years later, on April 18th, FBI agents outside of Waco, Texas made plans to end an armed standoff at a heavily armed Qusai-religious commune known as Mt. Carmel. It was being run by a guy named, Vernon Howell. Since Vernon Howell didn't really have any spiritual snap, crackle, or pop he had previously changed his name to David Koresh. His little corner of theology was known as the Branch Davidians. The name similarity was a happy coincidence. .
Two years further along, on April 18, 1995, 230 years after British troops launched their boats, Tim McVeigh and his pal Terry Nichols were assembling a bomb in the back of a rental truck in the Kansas outback. It was a big bomb--a really big bomb. Later that day McVeigh and Nichols would drive in tandem to Oklahoma City so he could drop off a getaway car in an alley near the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. Once the escape car was deposited near what was then the central branch of the YMCA both men high tailed it back to Kansas and the truck.
On the morning of April 19th, 1775, 700 British regulars were on their way toward Concord where they believed the colonial militias had stored weapons, artillery, and ammunition. They were under strict orders from General Thomas Gates to destroy the supplies, but not to loot, burn, or do unnecessary harm to the locals. In today's terms it was an order not to fire, unless fired upon.
Down in Waco, FBI agents were also ordered not to open fire, unless fired upon by members of the Branch Davidians--something the G-Men knew they were quite capable of. Back in February during the initial attempt to search the compound that month four ATF agents were killed and 20 wounded.
Unlike the British, and the FBI, Tim McVeigh was under no such constraints as he drove back to Oklahoma City. It is reasonable to assume that other than successfully getting away afterward the only thing on his mind was, as Big Bill Shakespeare might say, "murder most foul."
Shortly after dawn the British column reached the Lexington town green. They were met there by a small militia force. There was a moment of silent tension as the two groups faced each other. Then a shot was fired. To this day no one knows who pulled the trigger first, or if someone's musket had simply discharged by accident. The battle of Lexington didn't take long. Five American militiaman were killed and one British soldier was wounded. The militia took flight, and all the King's men marched on to Concord.
By the time they arrived local militia forces were pouring into the area from surrounding towns. As they destroyed what few military supplies they could find the British troops found themselves in a dicey situation. Pissed of colonials seemed to be appearing out of thin air. Both sides began to take casualties. The British were forced to retreat. When they got back to Lexington a relief column of 1000 additional troops was there to greet them., Despite this dramatic show of force, the colonists continued to grow in number and the fight intensified. A tactical retreat was ordered and the British troops withdrew back to Boston, under constant harassing fire the whole way.
In Waco the FBI came under fire from members of the Branch Davidians who, as children of Christ, had armed themselves to the teeth with semi-automatic assault style weapons. Using an armored vehicle the agents launched tear gas into the main building. It didn't take long for multiple fires to break out. The FBI claimed then and still does the members of Koresh's group set the fires themselves in order to go out in a blaze of glory. It was certainly a blaze alright, but there wasn't any glory to it. 70 plus members of the commune, including women and children and ol' Vern himself perished.
Before he got to the Murrah building Tim Mc Veigh literally lit the fuse to the barrels of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil mixture. By his own account he sweated out a traffic light while the fuse burned down. He parked the Ryder rental truck in a loading zone in front of the federal building, only a few feet away from the day care center located inside. He abandoned the truck, ran across the street and walked quickly toward the YMCA not a block away. The bomb blew before he got to his stashed car.
The blast killed 168 people.(although it might be 169 since they found a single leg that didn't readily fit any of the other bodies) 19 of them were children.
Within a year of the battles of Lexington and Concord the 13 American colonies declared their independence from Great Britian. A few years later, thanks in large part to the French, the revolution was won and The United States of America came into existence.
The nightmare in Waco remains a source of controversy. What could have been done and what should have been done will be debated for years to come.
McVeigh was popped by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol the same day of the bombing. He was stopped for not having a license tag on his escape vehicle. (to this day it remains unclear whether the car never had one, or it was stolen overnight parked in that alley.) He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon during the stop. On April 21, 1995, minutes before he was to be released from a county jail on bond he was arrested by the FBI.As he was being taken away the local Bail bondsman told a reporter, "That boy needs a lawyer worse than anyone I've ever seen."
He got one, but it didn't help. Tim McVeigh was executed a few years later. His buddy, Terry Nichols is currently doing life in a federal prison.
So here we are once again, April 18th, by an ongoing act of fate which has stretched out over two centuries, has served as the eve of something monumental, something horribly tragic, and something inhumanly murderous.
Who says God doesn't have a sense of irony?
4-18-25
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