Secrets Worth Dying For

Timothy James McVeigh provided the information contained within this book to us during the time he spent with us here on death row at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.  We engaged in various projects on Tim’s behalf, and at some risk to ourselves, in order to gain his trust or a semblance thereof, and his cooperation with the writing of this book.  Some might even say that we bartered with him.  Our associations were not always amiable, there were intense disputes and allegations of broken promises and even treachery, but in the end the necessity for cooperation won out.  This was needed to advance McVeigh''s agenda.

Our conversations took on many forms during the twenty-three months spent living together in a unit designed for the condemned.  These conversations and communications ranged from debates, arguments, chatter, gossip, idle conversation, explanations, question and answer sessions, and even confessions by McVeigh.

It stands to reason, given the segregation of those housed on this unit, that we spent more time with McVeigh, than anyone else, during the last two years of his life.  Some of the information revealed to us was previously provided to outside sources in February of 2000, by way of tape-recorded telephone calls.  Additionally, we provided information to reporters by way of letters in late 1999 and early 2000.  This all occurred just prior to the January 2000 face-to-face interviews between reporters Lou Michel, Dan Herbeck and McVeigh.  Those interviews were conducted here on January 14, 17 and 18, 2000.

It should be noted that Tim McVeigh was fully aware of our intentions to write this book about our interactions with him.  His agreement to assist us and to provide details was contingent upon our not writing about, or publishing the information in book form, prior to the publication of his “authorized biography,” which he wanted to be titled “American Patriot.”  That book, written by reporters Michel and Herbeck in early 2001, was instead titled, “American Terrorist.”  While it was not the exact biography McVeigh had hoped for, it did contain a version of events portraying him as a "lone wolf terrorist,” responsible for planning, financing, and carrying out the Oklahoma City bombing almost single-handedly.  That is the picture he wanted the public to believe while he was alive, for, in his mind, he would remain a true and loyal soldier until the very end.

We have honored all aspects of our agreement with Tim McVeigh.  That includes naming a chapter in this book "Blood Makes the Grass Grow.”  This title comes from the cadence uttered by his platoon, during basic training at Fort Banning, Georgia.  We have elected to leave out the “Kill, Kill, Kill!” line of that cadence.

Wherever possible, the authors have attempted to verify the information provided to us by McVeigh.  We have done so via our contacts on the outside.  Because of our incarceration and the slow process of verification, this book has taken almost three years to write.  We offer this version of events relating to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 19, 1995, because the public has just as much right to know McVeigh''s secrets as they have to know his so-called “authorized lone wolf version.”  We offer his accounts only for what they are worth, that value is left up to you, the reader, to decide.

                                                                                                David Paul Hammer

                                                                                                Jeffrey William Paul

                                                                                                Federal Death Row