This is actually the first time I have heard of this. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. In the tiny classroom, they watched movies, played games, prayed. They forget about what happened in Cokeville with a lot more people and the potential of what was there. TC (the director) also worked incredibly hard to make this a story that can be widely appreciated by members of all faiths. Mark Junge: Curious, Rich. And you could see that she had been burning by just looking at her out on the front lawn. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. My name is Kamron Wixom, I was a 12 year old 6th grader in 1986 when a mad man took over my school (Cokeville Elementary) with a bomb and his guns. Mark Junge: How many actual bombs have you had experience with? Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. Thank you for doing this! 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. Now you've got problems. The explosion engulfed her in flames and burned many nearby children. 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 bomb did detonate and fire, thick black smoke and toxi fumes filled the room. Reporters from all the regional news outlets were on the scene by the time of the explosion or shortly thereafter. I can't explain it. Why? And I'm sure that that made him very nervous. They have a lot of first-person histories of the actual event, teachers, investigators and students. Also, how long was it before the kids started talking about seeing angels? You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. Mark Junge: They don't want it brought up again. No. 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. Mark Junge: Yeah, my brother-in-law worked in the Navy as a chief petty officer and he worked with what they called EOD. Mark Junge: And your great-grandkids? In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. David Young had initially planned to involve longtime friends Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall, who had invested money with him in a get-rich-quick scheme that he had called "The Biggie. I don't know. Rich Haskell: Yes, there was a briefcase in the hallway, and we were toldbefore I had gotten there they had gotten papers from his daughter. Rich Haskell: Yeah. The incident was detailed in the book The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene[12] by Hartt Wixom and his wife Judene, published by Cedar Fort, Inc., which formed the basis for a CBS made-for-TV movie titled To Save the Children. Now, 28 years later, Conger and more than a dozen other survivors are reliving . I don't know. 2 Recreation Board, Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West, http://news.google.com/newspapers/p/deseret_news?id=nz1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4165,3587249&dq=cokeville+bombing&hl=en, http://archive.org/details/SurvivorIsMyName-VoicesOfTheCokevilleElementarySchoolBombing, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNB_xdPiYE, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mz1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6656,2193766&dq=cokeville+trying+to+rebuild&hl=en, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oD1TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BYQDAAAAIBAJ&dq=cokeville&pg=7027%2C3851642, http://wyospcr.state.wy.us/MultiMedia/Display.aspx?ID=86&icon=1, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19870529&id=-AogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c2UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1067,6238243, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19870521&id=w4sfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zH4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4596,6209063, https://www.deseret.com/2006/5/15/19953524/cokeville-recollects-miracle-of-1986, http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18072820, http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article%E2%80%943077bf4a-a45e-5dad-ae3a-a99aa8fcf3aa.html, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19960515&id=Ke5LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fuwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5227,9406392, http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19940404&id=GoQwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iuwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2778,1992787, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705372484/Cokeville-miracle-marking-25-years.html, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe_ZX4Qbsi4, Emergency Management Coordinator Kathy Davison on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, EMT Glenna Walker, Mother of Three Young Children, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Public Works Director and Fireman Kevin Walker, Father of Three Young Children, on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Lead Investigator Ron Hartley, Father of Four Student Survivors, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Certified Bomb Technician Rich Haskell on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Secretary Tina Cook on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Second grade teacher Carol Petersen on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Rachel Walker Hollibaugh on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Third grade student Jamie Buckley King on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade teacher Kliss Sparks on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Fourth grade student LeaKae Roberts on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School, Law and Order in Cokeville: A Woman Mayor and Prohibition, Green River Historic Preservation Commission, Natrona County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Natrona County Recreation Joint Powers Board, Sublette County Historical Preservation Board, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, A Projectile Killed Doris Young, Not Bomb Blast, Police in Cokeville Say., Castaneda, Sue and Mark Junge. Edit: Also, were you at that early screening? The bomb was an improvised explosive device constructed in a small two-wheeled shopping cart with two baskets, one on top of the other. Below the jug in the bottom basket were two tuna fish cans filled with a mixture of aluminum powder and flour meant to aerosolize and deflagrate following detonation, each with its own blasting cap. David Young entered the school with his wife transporting a large gasoline-filled device that appeared to be a bomb. If I deleted an entire phrase, I have inserted ellipses . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Retro Report took a look back at this episode, with a focus on how Johnson & Johnson and . Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. During the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis. David became increasingly agitated, and decided to leave the room. This wasn't a pipe bomb. In 1986, 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. Trent Toone, Mormon Times. Okay? This significantly mitigated the explosive power of the bomb. He was in high fevers until the therapist allowed him to speak openly. 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. I called back to my dispatcher and they did inform me that the school in Cokeville was being held hostage by two individuals and there was bombs involved. And that's what we in this country have that these other fanatics or whatever is the family is the import factor. It's made me, I think, more open-minded to things and don't take so much for granted anymore. Well, when I arrived and saw that body layin' on the front lawn, I was told that was Doris. Rich Haskell: No. You'd had experience? 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. Shortly after their wedding, David and Doris left Cokeville and headed to Tucson, Ariz. During their time in Tucson, according to Doris daughter Bernie Petersen, David became increasingly reclusive, focusing on his philosophical readings and writings. COKEVILLE, Wyo. My husband and I are looking forward to seeing the movie, as we weren't around when it happened and have just recently learned about it. David, Doris and Princess proceeded to the elementary school and entered the building shortly after 1 p.m. that Friday. [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. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. That your life could change just at a blink of an eye. Sue Castaneda: Carla said that some people were mad that we were there. She is a beautiful example of turning tragedy into triumph. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Cheyenne. It was in their Tucson home that David came up with what he considered the Biggie, a plan to get rich quick and create a Brave New World. This plan involved Davids longtime friends, Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall, who believed by investing in Davids scheme they would get rich. Transcriber's notes: I have added some reference footnotes to this transcript where I thought appropriate. There was no give in the school bus. Rich Haskell: You know, with 33 years of law enforcement, I've seen a lot of things. "Move!" At about 9:30 a.m., the bomb disposal squad used a robotic device to shoot out the end caps of the device, remove the . So if it can happen there it can happen anywhere in the United States. Some of them believed the assembly was about weapons; others began realizing something was seriously wrong. I saw an early screening of the film and absolutely loved it. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. 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. So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. In the classroom, David held the gasoline bomb, with the triggering mechanism attached to a string tied around his wrist. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! I know it is real. I believe there was a hundred-and-sixty-plus people involved that was being held. You can check out [CokevilleMiracle.com] (http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html). Mark Junge: Did you find the bullet that killed him, too? "We could tell that he was becoming very nervous. For me, what has impressed me about the film is not necessarily the story of Angels (which are remarkable), but that the majority of the 154 hostages chose to see God's hand in their lives that day. Carbon County School District No. Mark Junge: With bombs? Rich Haskell: Yes. 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. Rich Haskell: Absolutely. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young entered Cokeville Elementary School with a gasoline bomb, a variety of rifles and handguns, David's philosophical writings and demands for $300 million in ransom. Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. 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. Sue Castaneda: Did you look at (unintelligible). Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light. I went from within two feet of the bomb to right near the door within ten minutes before the bomb went off. The windows had been knocked outhad been blown out. We didn't know if the blasting caps were in therejust exactly what was in there. The top basket contained a gallon milk jug of gasoline, wired with a blasting cap. The bomb did detonate and fire, thick black smoke and toxi fumes filled the room. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. 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. And, then, shortly after 4 p.m., the bomb exploded. Which is hard to believe, but a positive experience in that they learned something. No need to troll. Young was a former Cokeville town marshal who had been living in Arizona for several years. They just didn't let it die out. Did you see anything? And we allthere was three of us there. David was a diabetic. Welcome to /r/latterdaysaints, a sub for members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. The mood did not lift with the singing and teachers quickly negotiated with the hostage takers to get items from the library to help the kids get their minds off the siege,[8] and help to pass the time. He was asking large amounts of money. It was within the first few weeks that the Hartley boy was explaining his witness. They messed with the kids and that brought a whole communityin fact, it brought the whole western half of the state all together. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. David and Doris Young took 167 hostages (150 children, 17 adults and one unlucky UPS driver) at the elementary school. 96 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from J.Cano: Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode Carbon County School District No. And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. Mark Junge: Do you still think about this? I know there's angels. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Repanshek, Kurt J. Audio/Video Recording. She was totally burned. Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. And what happens if they trigger something accidently?" She was on fire! Rich Haskell: No. Mark Junge: And what happened? Press J to jump to the feed. Cokeville Miracle Marking 25 Years.. May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. [5] The wooden piece was tied to Doris' wrist by a string. Sue Castaneda: Which is the son who is also running for sheriff? In the West? . We're in a conference room here on the main floor. It is a touchy topic for us, and could come across the wrong way. Is that morbid thinking on my part? Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. 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. I've got a couple of questions. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. When Deppe and Mendenhall finally got wind of his plans moments before the hostage crisis unfolded, they refused to participate. I was literally blown out the door when the bomb went off , and i remember how time slowed down in those seconds. During the chaos, Doris' burnt body was expelled through a window, and left lying on the front lawn. I later learned he'd been shot in the back. Rich Haskell: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. And then he shot himself. As I got closer to it I could tell it was a body, and of course, you just start thinking about what took place. It was cut. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. I think you should know that it can be difficult to watch - but that it has a very rewarding outcome. Cokeville Public Library. Located in Lincoln County and nestled between the towns of Star Valley and Kemmerer on the Wyoming-Idaho border, Cokeville, many residents believed, was a safe place to rear children. I mean, what it was supposed to do? In Cokeville, Nowhere, Wyo. He came out of the bathroom, is what we figured. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. Cokeville had so little crime that many folks didn't bother to lock their doors. I remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. There are some survivors that couldn't believe how accurate much of it was. Lota, Louinn. Rich Haskell: Sure. I contacted my sheriff, and that was Jim Stark at the time, and he said, "Definitely! The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. 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 gasoline bottle was leaking. It killed her instantly. Cokeville Recollects Miracle of 1986: Hostage Survivors, Town Residents Compile Book, ________. David Youngs journals and writings reveal that he was a troubled man who spent many years grappling with deep philosophical questionsabout mans existence, the afterlife and spirituality. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. From Tragedy To Triumph- Talking To A Cokeville Bombing Survivor. The blasting cap in the gasoline jug functioned properly, initiating the explosion. There are several great resources out there. By Deseret News. [7][5] The reason for the wire cuts are so far unexplained. Rich Haskell: No, I don't think it exited. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. Where you find brackets [ ] I have added words for explanation or to complete an awkward sentence. While he was writing his philosophy, Zero Equals Infinity, Doris took part-time jobs including housekeeping and waitressing to support their meager lifestyle. David Young. He was the father of two, but was estranged from his elder daughter. Some of the children just sat right all around and just watched him. But it didn't. You know, the kids have forgot about it, let's let 'em move on. Mark Junge: But all of these holes were above the level of the children. 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. 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? What stands out in your mind the most, looking back? You just do whatever you have to do and get up there." Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. Rich Haskell: Yes, I did. On May 16, 1986, . After a stand-off lasting two and a half hours, the gasoline bomb the couple had brought into the school went off prematurely, badly burning Doris Young while David Young was out of the room. I didn't touch the body at all. He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. "[6] The two men eventually refused to participate in the event. The kids couldn't have cut it. Rich Haskell: No. This wasn't a simple bomb. Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? Returning to the scene, David shot his wife, a teacher, then himself. ITT: people who want to pick a fight with someone who survived an incredible experience. He still needed to tell it to his parents though, and that's basically what you see in the movie. Even though the majority of the townspeople are LDS, there are lots of people of a variety of faiths in the room that day. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the convicted killer whose 1974 murders spawned the "Amityville Horror" franchise, died last week while serving a 25 years-to-life prison term, officials said Monday . Associated Press. How did you determine how everything looked when this went up in smoke itself. And that was their whole intent of coming to Cokeville. results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. 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." 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. 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. Have you seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode that had a segment on this? (Laughs) Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but it was. What is the LDS population of the town and how big was your school? On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young entered Cokeville Elementary School with a gasoline bomb, a variety of rifles and handguns, David's philosophical writings and demands for $300 million in ransom. Then he went to the restroom, which was attached to the classroom. With the explosionwhat occurred? Mark Junge: Which means you had to be doing over a hundred miles an hour! One hostage observed a birthday on that day and songs were sung in his honor. In their minds they could start another world. After being fired for misconduct, he moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he married Doris Young. Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. Do you ever think about that? When they asked pointed questions like "what did the angels look like?" (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. But he knew the culture, he knew the type of people, and I'm not sayin' that Mormon people are better than anybody else, but their way of life is family is first. Mark Junge: You had some bullets in the ceiling that you had to investigate, too. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. Mark Junge: That's a record of all the people we've talked to! At 1:00 pm, they pulled up to the Cokeville Elementary School and unloaded a gasoline bomb, along with four rifles and nine handguns. 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. I mean, we're talking about from kindergarten kids up to 10-, 11-, 12-years old. 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 . It brings back lots of memories but it doesn't hurt because actually it was a positive experience.
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