Timothy McVeigh's Father Thinks About the Victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing Every Day
"The people in Oklahoma City, they know how I feel. I have no enemies there," said Timothy McVeigh's father.
Published April 3 2025, 2:56 p.m. ET
The father of Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh spoke with the Lima News about son's state of mind leading up to the terrorist attack. He spent a lot of time ranting and raving about gun control. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, and walked away. Inside it was a bomb made out of a "deadly cocktail of agricultural fertilizer, diesel fuel, and other chemicals," per the FBI.
After it exploded, a third of the building was destroyed, 300 nearby buildings were damaged, and dozens of cars were reduced to ashes. All told, 168 people died, 19 of which were children. McVeigh was caught two days later and in June 2001, he was executed. Because McVeigh was only 27 at the time of the bombing, people looked to his parents for answers. They were devastated but with time, processed the tragedy differently. Here's what we know.
Timothy McVeigh's parents were divorced. His mother moved to Florida.
Four years after the bombing, Mildred Hill spoke with The Oklahoman from her home in Pensacola, Fla. She had just changed her last name back to her maiden name eight months prior and has never been to Oklahoma. She and McVeigh's father had been divorced for quite some time, and in November 1998, Mildred, who goes by Mickey, suddenly dumped her boyfriend and left New York for Florida. "I got a feeling he was set up there to get information from me," she said about her ex.
In the years since the attack, Mickey was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital three times. She told the outlet that after going to a hospital for stress, the doctors would send her to a psychiatric facility. "I'm not paranoid," she said, while referencing a recent television interview she did. During the appearance, Mickey suggested the victims of the attack should get over it. She did it again while speaking with The Oklahoman and said they could benefit from counseling.
According to a post on Find a Grave, Mickey passed away on March 25, 2007, at the age of 62. She was described as a "travel agent and a loving mother of three," who is "survived by two daughters, two grandchildren, a sister, a brother, and many caring friends."
Bill McVeigh is often stopped by strangers who want to shake his hand.
Bill McVeigh still lives in Pendleton, N.Y., in the same house that was searched by an FBI SWAT team following the bombing. In April 2020, the 80-year-old spoke with Lima News about the 25 years that have passed since his son killed 168 people in the largest terrorist attack in the United States until 9/11.
He told the outlet that a few times a year, someone will stop him on the street and ask if he's Mr. McVeigh. "I tell them, 'Yes, I am,' and they’ll put their hand out and shake my hand," he said. "They usually ask me if I’m all right and tell me that they are thinking about me or praying for me. Some of these people, I’ve met in the past. Some, I’ve never seen before in my life." Although Bill doesn't advertise who he is, he has never tried to hide it.
When it comes to the bombing, he said it's something he wishes he could change. "I think about that bombing all the time, not just on the anniversaries … Pretty much every day," said Bill. "The people in Oklahoma City, they know how I feel. I have no enemies there." He also thinks about his son, who has no grave he can visit. McVeigh's last wishes were that his ashes would be scattered in an undisclosed location.