Glenn and Kathy Wilburn recognized very early on that there was something terribly wrong with the federal investigation into the terrorist attack that took the lives of their grandsons Chase and Colton. Astounded and angered at the government’s refusal to follow some of the most important leads and its repeated cover-up of important evidence and testimony, the Wilburns launched their own intensive investigation. Through their tireless efforts, many important witnesses and a great deal of vital evidence that had been previously suppressed has been brought to light. Tragically, after a heroic battle, Glenn Wilburn succumbed to cancer, on July 17, 1997. The following excerpt is taken from a tribute to Glenn that appeared in the August 18, 1997 issue of The New American.
Crusader for justice: Before his untimely death from cancer in 1997, Glenn Wilburn, dissatisfied with the government’s apparent cover-up in the bombing case, began his own investigation into the cowardly bombing of the Murrah building that took the life of his two young grandsons. Since his death, Glenn’s wife Kathy has continued the investigation.
Glenn Wilburn was a quiet man. He lived quietly. He spoke quietly. But he also possessed a quiet courage and strength of conviction that were unshakable and unyielding. He was a loving family man whose family had been brutally and literally blown apart. “Kathy and I didn’t play golf or go bowling or those kinds of things,” he told me one evening as we looked through family photographs. “We enjoyed spending most of our time with Chase and Colton, playing with them in the yard, working with them in the garden, taking walks. They lived with us and were a central part of our daily lives. So many people told us, ‘You have to get on with your lives.’ But when we buried those little boys, I promised them and myself and Edye [the boys’ mother] and Kathy that I wouldn’t rest until all those responsible were brought to justice. And we know that Timothy McVeigh was not alone; and we know that the government knows that, yet they keep insisting there was no one else. They’re willing to let these other killers go free in order to cover up their fumbling, or protect whatever secrets are involved here. They’re corrupt, they’re cowards. I don’t know how they live with themselves, but I have to be able to look myself in the eye in the mirror every day and know I did the right thing.”
Glenn Wilburn was faithful to his promise. He was an accountant, not a cop or a detective, but he didn’t allow his lack of sleuthing experience to deter him from the awful task. He possessed a keen mind with a formidable memory and an ample supply of common sense. He and Kathy began assembling everything they could on the bombing, the suspects, and the other victims. They interviewed hundreds of rescuers, survivors, family members, witnesses, officials, and other investigators. They traveled to Kansas, Wyoming, Texas, Colorado, and elsewhere following leads. They spoke out on countless radio and television programs, pointing out the wealth of documentation that refuted the official government line on the bombing. They stood their ground in the face of critics — and even friends — who charged that their “interference” might jeopardize the McVeigh trial. They did not let the jeers and sneers or being called “nuts and wackos” discourage them. Neither did they let threats and harassment intimidate them….
Glenn Wilburn was not a powerful public figure. He held no elective office. He was not politically “connected.” He was not wealthy or famous. He was still a young man — only 46 years old — when he died. He was an ordinary man, but the last two years of his life formed an extraordinary, heroic quest for truth and justice. He was buried near his beloved grandsons, Chase and Colton.
Following Glenn’s death, Kathy has continued their investigation. Over the past two years, she has also been working on a video documentary on the bombing with Rick and Jason Van Vleet of MGA Films, producers of the powerful 1999 documentary, Waco: A New Revelation. Entitled A Cry for Justice, it is scheduled for release later this year.