Either way, right after my joke is about when David excused himself from the room. I believe there was a hundred-and-sixty-plus people involved that was being held. [8] This unintentionally activated the triggering mechanism and the bomb exploded, severely injuring Doris, and filling the room with black smoke and pockets of fire. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. How has that experience shaped your life? David had the makeshift bomb attached to his body and housed inside a grocery cart, while Doris and Princess carried an arsenal of rifles, handguns and ammunition, as well as the Zero Equals Infinity handouts. The Cokeville Town Hall is located at 110 Pine St. For more information, visit the website of the Cokeville Chamber of Commerce at http://www.cokevillewy.com or call (307) 459-4195. Returning to the scene, David shot his wife, a teacher, then himself. Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? Well, after interviewing some of the people, what had happened, the bombDavid Young had set the bomb to have what they call a dead-man switch. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. Rich Haskell: I think it could be a spiritual experience that I have with church, or being around the kids, I don't know. Only the man and his wife, who accidentally detonated the bomb, died that day in 1986. I had the chance to watch the pre-screening of the film and it was very emotional. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. When Deppe and Mendenhall finally got wind of his plans moments before the hostage crisis unfolded, they refused to participate. Mark Junge: Curious, Rich. Rich Haskell: Yeah. Mark Junge: And that's the lesson we learn. Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. I actually created a website knowing that people would wonder what was real and what wasn't. David was a diabetic. The Cokeville Elementary School was the site of a horrific hostage situation on May 16, 1986 when David and Dorris Young took a homemade bomb inside the school. Sue Castaneda: Did you look at (unintelligible). Virginia Tech, it wasn't that way. She's an avid genealogist, so maybe get involved with that, and maybe go on a mission for the church. Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a married couple with a bomb. You should also know that TC basically just wove a storyline into and between the facts and witness testimonies. Then when I became a deputy, Sheriff Stark says, "You know, we're going to start finding a bunch of old explosives, dynamite and things. Mark Junge: Did you find the bullet that killed him, too? I later learned he'd been shot in the back. During my years here in Wyoming I have refereed both basketball and football on the high school and the junior high school level, and I was watching the ball game at that time. Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. Rich Haskell: Well, as we were talking before we started recording, because of my knowledge with the explosives and with the law enforcement and everything else, I've had many opportunitiesbecause of the explosivesI've been with Vice President Cheney when he was here in Wyoming up in Pinedale. They attempted to crowd 154 people into one of the two first grade classrooms, a room with a total capacity of 30 students and a teacher. TC, I think, saw it the same way. Mark Junge: And you know, in Sue and I's conversation with these dozen people we've talked to now, seems like they also feel the same way you do. The tuna fish cans, if you can imagine, here's two tuna fish cans sittin' here like this, and a gallon jug of gasoline sittin' above it. Mark Junge: They weren't big enough, in a way. Thus, when David and Doris Young entered the towns only elementary school with an arsenal of weapons and a gasoline bomb in a grocery cart, no one saw it coming. Were you portrayed in the movie at all? In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. I've spent many, many hours and many days with the leaders of the Mormon church, with the Prophet of the Mormon church. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. This narrative was perpetuated in many publications and productions. They forget about what happened in Cokeville with a lot more people and the potential of what was there. You can check out [CokevilleMiracle.com] (http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html). Rich Haskell: Well, by none of the kids bein' hurt that was supposed to be hurt. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Used with thanks. Personally I gave him 17 pages of journal notes! On May the 16th , 1986, 1 was in Rock Springs at a basketball game. I have no doubt about my friends witness testimonies - even though I saw or heard nothing such as they did. Rich Haskell: No. And that's where the bomb sat and that's where they sat. In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. [7] The mechanism was triggered by a dead man's switch, consisting of a wooden piece separating two metal connectors within the jaws of a clothespin, forming an incomplete circuit. She was on fire! [5] The wooden piece was tied to Doris' wrist by a string. [6] With permission, the teachers brought in books, art supplies and a television to help keep the children occupied. He was the father of two, but was estranged from his elder daughter. I was up there as part of his protection team. [2] Before leaving the room, David attached the bomb's detonation device to his wife's wrist. Rich Haskell: There was a reason I was there for some reason. How did it affect your family long-term? Survivors began to tell their stories through a spiritual lens. Everybody that was inside that room, they just started throwin' them out the windows, out the doors, just anyand she happened to be one they threw out the window. But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. She lured them by telling them there was either an emergency, a surprise, or an assembly there. Immediately following the detonation, the teachers started to shove children into the hallway, and through two open windows onto the grass outside the school, causing chaos as panicked parents tried to break through police lines. But it still sent flames all over in the room and you can see where all the flames were in that room. Nobody come inside this circle." Students, teachers, staff and visitors frantically exited the building, with teachers helping many of the children escape through the windows. Once all the hostages were contained in the first grade classroom, David Young informed them that they were leading a revolution and distributed copies of his philosophy Zero Equals Infinity to everyone present. He used to work in Cokeville. So I went to Huntsville, Ala., to Redstone Arsenal. AP file. According to survivor accounts, Doris enticed many into the first grade room by announcing that their presence was required for a school assembly. When you say what cut the wire? Even though the majority of the townspeople are LDS, there are lots of people of a variety of faiths in the room that day. COKEVILLE, Wyo. I wondered what that was, but then immediately noticed my friends over by the door talking to Doris. Mark Junge: Do you think David or Doris would have cut it? On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. During the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis. On May 16, 1986, . I don't know what. Students, teachers, visitors, staff who survived the ordeal and bystanders began recounting their memories of this event as it was still unfolding. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. Rich Haskell: It's a combustible. . She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. [10][2][3] The injured were triaged to several area hospitals in Wyoming and Idaho.[2][3][11]. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville www.wyohistory.org 25 years after school bombing, Wyoming town remembers the . Have you seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode that had a segment on this? Rich Haskell: Okay, I'll buy that! You know something about bombs. When I arrived I could see out on the lawn, there was a black object laying out on the grass. One teacher was shot when he tried to flee,. Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. It was there for a long time, all that support. But I walked up to the window and looked inside the window and didn't hardly see anything out of the ordinary except it was all black inside. It killed her instantly. I know that for a fact! [5][10][8], When the bomb detonated, the majority of the explosive force was channeled through loose ceiling tiles into the roof, and open windows acting as vents. You could walk across the street and get run over as far as that's concerned, but I don't know if my wife has any more gray hairs because I've chosen this profession. David Young was the only police officer in Cokeville for six months in 1979. Everyone else survived, and many who did recalled the tragedy with memories of the presence of angels. People who had guns! Twenty-five years ago on Monday, a man and his wife pushed a homemade gasoline bomb into Cokeville's sole elementary school and demanded $300 million in ransom. She is a beautiful example of turning tragedy into triumph. I never did get to see that untilI think it was two days lateractually what they had taken as far as the paperwork was concerned. She tied the string around her wrist. Rich Haskell: Absolutely. On May 16, 1986, former town marshal David Young and his wife Doris Young took 167 children and adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. They messed with the kids and that brought a whole communityin fact, it brought the whole western half of the state all together. Mark Junge: So it would have gone upward, but would it have killed the kids? Wyoming Town Still Healing a Year After School Bombing., Schoolhouse Blast Still Felt a Year Later., Survivor is My Name: Cokeville Elementary School Bombing1986 News Report Audio. Audio Recording. Kind of a synopsis of what they were going to do and what their plans were and the whole thing. I certainly enjoy my grandkids a lot more. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. He had just big rings of perspiration. 1 of 7. Mark Junge: Are you one of the most experienced people in the area? I've got to get back to work now! One of the miracles that day was that not a single person was lost. I didn't touch the body at all. Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. He hadn't had anything to eat and she finally convinced him to get something to eat, and he let her be in charge of that bomb. Also, how long was it before the kids started talking about seeing angels? I knew fairly quickly that he would be the best chance we had at this. Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. Interview by Mark Junge. . Rich Haskell: I was cookin' right along, yes I was! The basket, the shelves. He demanded a ransom of two million dollars per hostage ($308 million, $720 million adjusted for inflation), and an audience with President Ronald Reagan. Mark Junge: Do you know the names and birthdates of all your grandchildren? Can you describe this? Now, 28 years later, Conger and more than a dozen other survivors are reliving . In the tiny classroom, they watched movies, played games, prayed. Cokeville Bombing. Undated scrapbook. When I walked inside of the classroomit was a kindergarten classroom which meant that the desks were smaller, everything was smaller because of the smaller children. Well, when I arrived and saw that body layin' on the front lawn, I was told that was Doris. Cokeville Recollects Miracle of 1986: Hostage Survivors, Town Residents Compile Book, ________. So we decided to take some masking tape, and we tapedI think it was an eight-foot square in the middle of the room, right here, and he pushed the cart, the homemade bomb into this, and we told the children this was the magic square. The miraculous events that followed transformed the lives of hundreds of people, including many who witnessed angels or received heavenly help from deceased ancestors. I mean, not everybody would do this. You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. "The sadness that comes with the death of an 8-year-old, you can . They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. You can see what's happening in the world today. Davids friends did not know that the Biggie was a plan to take over Cokeville Elementary School, hold each of the children hostage for $2 million dollars apiece and then detonate the bomb, transporting the money and children to his Brave New World, where he would be God. Don't go past this square. Read more Certified Bomb Technician. Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. The woman who died with her husband as they held an elementary school hostage with a gasoline bomb last week was not killed by the . . David had also sent a copy of the manifesto to Reagan. Davids writings reveal that he hoped life would be better for him and Cokevilles children in this imaginary place. I was literally blown out the door when the bomb went off , and i remember how time slowed down in those seconds. Current students at Cokeville Elementary School aren't taught about the '86 bombing, but most know the general story. On one hand people didn't want money to be made off of suffering, but on the other hand it felt ungrateful to not share it in the way that TC would or could. So we took the tiles off and went up into the ceiling and crawled up into the upper space up there and found a .45 slug up embedded into the iron girders up in the wall, and thought, okay, where did that come from? She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. Eventually Doris lifted her arm sharply and the bomb went off prematurely, injuring Doris while David was out of the room. Rich Haskell: I don't know. Guys like you have to go and search every corner. Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. SHARE Cokeville miracle marking 25 years. Carbon County School District No. 96 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from J.Cano: Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode Rich Haskell: I don't know the birthdates but I know the names. As time progressed, however, a different story emerged in this highly religious and largely Mormon community. Anything? You know their names but not their birthdays. Rich Haskell: Well, after I arrived it took probably three to four hours to make sure everything was neutral and everything was not going to be a threat any longer. Did this shake the faith of some people, or would you say it strengthened it in most? Flipboard. I do think the key is talking about it often and early. Is there a news article that I could read to get a better idea of what happened? She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. I mean, okay, you lose the Twin Towers, you might get the Pentagon damaged, but if somebody's town hall or school is blown up in Star Valley [Wyo.] . Because they weren't in a gun, the pressure wasn't chambered enough to where you could direct it. No need to troll. No. (before I see Hollywood's version). You see the bag ladies pullin' them around behind them when they go to the store and they can put their groceries in or whatever else. They did a good job telling this story. At that time, about 500 people lived in Cokeville, and there were slightly more than 100 students attending the elementary school. On May 16, 1986, when former town marshal David Gary Young and his wife Doris Young took 154 children and thirteen teachers hostage at Cokeville Elementary school in Wyoming and kept them at bay with a shopping-cart sized bomb attached to five hairpin-trigger blast caps, it should have ended in great tragedy - one of the worst in American history. Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. That's what David Young forgot to realize just how important families were. They lived in a mobile home with Princess, Davids youngest daughter from his first marriage. With the explosionwhat occurred? Here is a local story from the 20 year anniversary (we are at the 29th year now), What's your side of the story? What should people know going into the film? Survivor is my Name: Voices of the Cokeville Elementary School Bombing. Produced by Wyoming State Archives for Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, the package includes interviews with 14 people about the events of May 16, 1986. I think I made it there in record timeI'm not sure. By Deseret News. You start messing with the kids, now you're going to have yourself a war. over there. On that Friday afternoon in their quiet, rural town, a deranged couple entered the community's elementary school, took those inside hostage and detonated a bomb in a first grade classroom. Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. The two died after the bomb. By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. Maybe writing that up 2 years ago when this came along was more healing for me than for him, but I gave it all to him! The tuna fish cans with the two floury would be spread out in the air likehave you ever seen a grain elevator explosion? Rich Haskell: Yes. http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis. Hey, I am not the survivor, but I spent my summers in Cokeville, my family is from there, and I have been helping on publicity for the film. Upon entering the classroom, children saw an arsenal of weapons, a grocery cart and an unfamiliar manDavid Young. Both hostage takers died, while 79 hostages were wounded. A compilation project by the Cokeville Miracle Foundation, a 501(c) (3) charity. Weredo you think it had something to do with angels? By Jamie Armstrong May 22, 2015 09:35 AM MDT. And we allthere was three of us there. Rich Haskell: Pretty sophisticated guy is what he was. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. Mark Junge: And you're sheriff in Sweetwater? David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" I gathered up some of the equipment that I would need and a change of clothes and proceeded to Cokeville. Cokeville Children Held Hostage by Bomber., Cokeville Elementary School Bombing: 25-Years Later. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Fagg, Ellen. There's a piece of wood in there that separates the jaws of a clothespin and in that clothespin there are two metal connections that the wires were hooked to which made the electrical connection with the bomb. I know there's angels. David Young. The story was also featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Unexplained Mysteries, and I Survived A movie about the incident, The Cokeville Miracle, was made by filmmaker T. C. Christensen and released on June 5, 2015. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were later hospitalized with burns and injuries, the majority of which were severe.[3][2]. I did open that briefcase remotely like I was taught in school to do. Princess, Deppe, and Mendenhall were never charged in relation to this crime because of their refusal to participate.[6]. Im living proof.. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. Hi, I am working on publicity for the film, and I will chime in if anyone needs it, or has other questions. David and Doris both returned to Cokeville on May 16, 1986. I'm proud of all my children. He instructed Doris and Princess, by now a young adult, to handcuff them inside his van. Because of the experience and the different classes that I've attended, I know what bombs do to people, to buildings and to all kinds of structures. It was within the first few weeks that the Hartley boy was explaining his witness. She is one of the survivors whose story has become a part of The Cokeville Miracle. Mark Junge: With bombs? I said, "What on earth happened there?" There are a select number of people that would do this, so thank you. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on Friday, May 16, 1986 in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young, 43, and his wife Doris Young, 47, [1] took 136 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Oral histories, memoirs and drawings began to reveal a narrative of fortune rather than misfortune. The bomb did detonate and fire, thick black smoke and toxi fumes filled the room. The Wyoming History one may be the best. The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. Well, he had went into the bathroom and she was out with the bomb, and they said she was complaining of a migraine headache. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. And that's what we in this country have that these other fanatics or whatever is the family is the import factor. Debbie Sparks and Steven Moore, both EMTs, discuss on May 9 the elementary school bombing. Mark Junge: What's been your experiences since then? President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. It was a great movie, very well directed and acted. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. For more information about our sponsors and the people behind WyoHistory.org, visit our About Us page: Hostage crisis at the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyo. Throughout both baskets were chain links, gunpowder, and boxes of ammunition acting as shrapnel. They just didn't let it die out. He was in high fevers until the therapist allowed him to speak openly. I cannot explain it! Mark Junge: You also mention in your written article in Witness to Miracles [See Note] , the book, that you found a briefcase and you had to open it remotely? ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. Meanwhile, Doris went from classroom to classroom, luring 136 children, six faculty, nine teachers, and three other adults, including a job applicant and a UPS driver, into a first-grade classroom for a total of 154 hostages. No, we can't do this. Everyone else survived, including the injured John Miller. Mark Junge: EOD. In 1986, 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. We figured that he had dropped down on his knee, took his pistol and shot her to put her out of her misery, because when we went out and looked at her, there was a hole up through the bottom of her chin, and it came out the top of her head. The kids couldn't have done it. I think it was still in his body. In the West? What is the LDS population of the town and how big was your school? This is actually the first time I have heard of this. Well, with the window being open, with the ceiling tiles being able to lift up and down, I think that absorbed a lot of the explosion of the gasoline bottle. They were sitting out across the fence with scopes on their rifles just ready to shoot until the sheriff went out and said, "No. Cokeville Public Library. There was no give in the school bus. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? Welcome to /r/latterdaysaints, a sub for members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). Mark Junge: Had you seen anything like what took place in this classroom before? I really did not even want to walk inside that building because I was just afraid that I'd see kids all over the place. It became a story of a miracle rather than a tragedy. Young met his second wife, Doris Waters, while in Cokeville. I was, and I still am, a certified bomb technician at the time, and I was, as far as I know, the only bomb technician in the southern half of the state of Wyoming. [7][5] The reason for the wire cuts are so far unexplained. Mark Junge: What were they designed to do? They do now - ever since the Youngs barged in on the Cokeville Elementary School with guns and a bomb to demand . Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? And you could see that she had been burning by just looking at her out on the front lawn. It brings back lots of memories but it doesn't hurt because actually it was a positive experience. Cokeville Trying to Rebuild A Normal and Secure Life.. I remember watching that when I was a younger kid, and when they were interviewing the witnesses, I remember several of them referencing "Heavenly Father " instead of "God," and I knew immediately they were LDS. Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. His fever broke within minutes of getting it off his chest. Because of the tiles and the window? Details: At 1:20pm on Friday, May 16, 1986, forty-three-year-old David Young and his forty-seven-year-old wife, Doris, wheeled a shopping cart containing a homemade gasoline-filled bomb into Cokeville Elementary School in Cokeville, Wyoming, just after the lunch hour recess. And they had trouble keeping people away from the building. I cannot tell you what happened. The town has worked to be as respectful as possible to the multitude of experiences that day. In what many have since labeled a miracle, all of the 154 children and educators held hostage for three hours at their Cokeville, Wyoming, school lived, though many were injured. There are several great resources out there. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. I walked into the bathroom and there was the suspect that had started this whole mess, layin' there on the floor with ahe had a pistol in his hand and you could tell he had shot himself in the head. That's a true line in the movie. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. In the movie, it shows the tension building towards the prayer and then shortly after the bomb went off. Rich Haskell: You walk into the door, and I don't know if you got to go into the classroom, but you walk into that door and it opens up into the whole thing. A new movie is coming out on Friday called "The Cokeville Miracle" that depicts not just this terrible event, but the various miraculous stories that emerged afterward. It was suggested we say a group prayer and I thought it was a great idea, so I helped gather a group of us together. Doris tried numerous times to calm the children by telling them to "think of it as an adventure movie," or that they "would have a great story to tell their grandchildren." Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. I actually hadn't thought of doing that, yet. David, who dared not risk their reporting him to the authorities, responded by holding them at gunpoint. Cokeville had so little crime that many folks didn't bother to lock their doors. Rich Haskell: Well, I didn't know a lot about 'em and I still don't know a lot about 'em. The hostage takers took part in the singing. When the thing went off, when the bomb exploded, they just started chuckin' people out the windows. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." This significantly mitigated the explosive power of the bomb. Doris developed a headache from the gasoline fumes, and raised her hand to her forehead. Rich Haskell: Well, I did learn later that the kids saw the angels. TC is one of my heroes. I don't know. In the meantime, David and Doris Young gathered children, teachers, staff and visitors in the elementary school into one central location.
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