History repeats itself in Boston on Patriots’ Day

For those who may not be students of American History, msnbc.com reminded us of Patriots’ Day’s History, which included Waco and Oklahoma City, Columbine, and now Boston. Monday, April 15, 2013, just before 3 PM EDT, as Boston Marathon runners moved towards the finish line two explosions rocked the nearby area of the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, killing 3 and wounding 176 others. Ironically, in attendance as well were family members from the Sandy Hook disaster as honored guests.

As disaster struck again, what seemed to be terrorist bombings took place at Copley Square on Boylston Street, as the City of Boston had celebrated Patriots Day with their annual Marathon as well as other events. Police Commissioner Edward Davis described the bombs as ″powerful devices″ which detonated within seconds of each other about 100 yards apart near the marathon′s finish line.

Barack Obama would not refer to the incident as a terrorist attack when he addressed the nation, but a ′senior White House official′ did tell reporters after that the incident was obviously terrorism. The Boston Marathon injury count currently stands at 176 wounded, with about 105 people still in hospitals. Of those, 17 are listed in critical condition and 25 in serious condition. Of the three known deaths, one was an 8-year old boy who had just hugged his father for completing the marathon before the carnage began.

“Today is a holiday in Massachusetts: Patriots’ Day,” President Obama said, addressing the nation on Monday evening. To Bostonians, Patriots’ Day is synonymous with Marathon Monday. But to anti-governments extremists, Patriots’ Day means something entirely different.

Patriots’ Day—a public holiday in Massachusetts and Maine held on the third Monday of April—marks the first shots fired in the Revolutionary War.

It was Patriots’ Day on April 19, 1993, when the Mount Carmel Center in Waco, Texas, went up in flames, allegedly on the orders of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh, or was it Clinton’s DOJ chief, Janet Reno? At least 72 people died. At the time of the fire, the group was locked in a stand-off with federal agents.

It was two days after Patriots’ Day, April 19, 1995, when Timothy McVeigh was said to detonate a bomb made of fertilizer, diesel fuel, and other chemicals outside a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. That is the popular story at least.

The truth is the yellow Ryder truck explosion that supposedly caused the tragedy was really a distraction for several other bombs that were planted and discovered inside the building. The first of those bombs was the one that detonated, shook the building and blew out the windows, taking the front of the building down with great force. The blast left a crater akin to but not as large as Ground Zero, destroying hundreds of cars and many surrounding buildings. Another bomb, meant for first responders, was discovered and taken away to be defused.

The fact that the windows blew outside and not inside proves the ANFO bomb truck was not the cause of the Murrah building’s demise. So it is fair here to introduce the all too familiar term “inside job.” America was being groomed to get used to terror events. Men wearing jump suits with government identification stenciled on the backs had been seen days before, working in the garage area of the building.

The next horror show was on the day after Patriots’ Day—April 20, 1999—when teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School before committing suicide.

And it was on Patriot’s Day Monday, April 15, 2013, when two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon left three dead and 176 injured. Officials said that the devices detonated were homemade, crudely assembled, and possibly had shrapnel added to them to tear through flesh, according to the physician who worked on the wounded.

Senators Susan Collins and Angus King of the Senate Intelligence Committee said the reports of improvised explosive devices at such a high-profile national event “bear the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.”

Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center told NBC News that his organization has no evidence that any of the militia groups that SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) monitors were involved with Boston, though he acknowledges that Patriots’ Day is an important day to militia groups.

Looking back to America’s beginnings

The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire. Many more battles followed, and in 1783 the colonists formally won their independence.

Paul Revere never shouted the legendary phrase later attributed to him (“The British are coming!”) as he passed from town to town during his midnight ride on April 18, 1775. The operation was meant to be conducted as discreetly as possible since scores of British troops were hiding out in the Massachusetts countryside. Furthermore, colonial Americans at that time still considered themselves British.

Returning to today

I came across a comment from someone who said, “Questions and damn, there are a boatload of questions. Boston PD is holding a ‘bomb squad drill’ on the day of the Marathon? Military types are pulled from the race. And the single questions that won’t leave me alone: where’s the security for the finish line? I mean, there are world class runners that compete in the Boston event. Olympic class security is an automatic. So, how in hell might two bombs go off with one right at the finish”?

Actually, there were police all over the place, including military men, and they were working together with first responders and medical personnel to ease the pain and shock of the wounded whose number kept rising. Sadly, again, one 8-year old boy died, and two adults, presumably from wounds from the explosions. Though the bombs were crudely-made, whoever made them was quite skillful in planting them. Too skillful to be an amateur.

Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer and life-long resident of New York City. An EBook version of his book of poems “State Of Shock,” on 9/11 and its after effects is now available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. He has also written hundreds of articles on politics and government as Associate Editor of Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal). Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.