Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. But David refused to reveal his plans entirely until moments before they unfolded. Mark Junge: With bombs? 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. When Columbine took place, it was such a big deal, and I mentioned to a couple people, "You know, Columbine wasn't the first school to have anything happen." Now you are a bomb technician. 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. The bomb was an improvised explosive device constructed in a small two-wheeled shopping cart with two baskets, one on top of the other. This narrative was perpetuated in many publications and productions. 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. Here is a local story from the 20 year anniversary (we are at the 29th year now), What's your side of the story? And, then, shortly after 4 p.m., the bomb exploded. Yeah, we didn't get a lot of sleep. Rich Haskell: I don't know. 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. Current students at Cokeville Elementary School aren't taught about the '86 bombing, but most know the general story. That's why I have a computer. Mark Junge: You had some bullets in the ceiling that you had to investigate, too. One of the unique things that I noticed when I went into that room and I don't know if any of the other people have told you about it or whatever else, but when I walked into that room you could see the outline on the whiteboard of an angel. 1 of 7. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. 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. And I'm sure that that made him very nervous. Mark Junge: What were they designed to do? Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. Students, teachers, staff and visitors frantically exited the building, with teachers helping many of the children escape through the windows. This is actually the first time I have heard of this. The two died after the bomb. [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. When I looked up to see if David had heard me (which he had, and scowled down at me) I noticed that the florescent white light overhead was not white, but a yellow hazy light. At that time all of the different agencies was pretty much on the same radio frequency and I was stayin' in touch with them, lettin' them know what my location was and they were in turn telling me what was taking place. I didn't touch the body at all. Mark Junge: Oh, really! Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. I think you should know that it can be difficult to watch - but that it has a very rewarding outcome. Edit: Also, were you at that early screening? Dozens. Rich Haskell: Yes. He listened so well, so patiently. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. The kids could just go to the bathroom right from their classroom. 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. Do you ever think about that? Mark Junge: You think when we talk to you to bring this up againI know you're emotional about itbut does it hurt you to talk about this? There was no give in the school bus. I don't know. She was on fire! He just said just go do it. It has shaped me to know that God is real. She acknowledges these students for assisting her in researching her contributions to the WyoHistory.org web site. Now this is just for my own information and it doesn't have anything to do with this case, but whenever I read about a bomb threat in the paper, I think to myself, "Oh, no! They lived in a mobile home with Princess, Davids youngest daughter from his first marriage. How did you determine how everything looked when this went up in smoke itself. 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. David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" I'd like to think so. And they had practiced how to get out of that building. The windows had been knocked outhad been blown out. She was a total torch! Mark Junge: That's a mighty powerful gun! Rich Haskell: I'm Rich Haskell. One thing to mention is that the tension in real life seemed much more present at first, and then once prayers were said the mood really lifted. As I got closer to it I could tell it was a body, and of course, you just start thinking about what took place. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a married couple with a bomb. She was a divorce who earned money working as a waitress and singer in a local bar. Thank you for doing this! All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. Im living proof.. Educated at Chadron State College in Nebraska, he had earned a degree in criminal justice, and was hired as Cokevilles town marshal in the 1970s. Whenever they would come to Wyoming I would be part of their security team. They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. AP file. 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. She tied the string around her wrist. 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 . Go to school and learn how to do it." Rich Haskell: There was a reason I was there for some reason. They have a lot of first-person histories of the actual event, teachers, investigators and students. The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. 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. Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? People who had guns! On that Friday afternoon in their quiet, rural town, a deranged couple entered the communitys elementary school, took those inside hostage and detonated a bomb in a first grade classroom. Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. I wondered what that was, but then immediately noticed my friends over by the door talking to Doris. Rich Haskell: No. It was perfect! Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. 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. Rich Haskell: It's a combustible. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. They're the ones that died from the whole thing. 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? The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, when David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. Hi, I am working on publicity for the film, and I will chime in if anyone needs it, or has other questions. When I looked at everyone looking at me (as if I should call on someone to say it) I realized I should call on Allyson Cornia - literally because she was the smartest kid in the class! I've got a couple of questions. Now you've got problems. And I think it's made me a stronger person. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. Rich Haskell: Yes. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. 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. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. 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. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. Carbon County School District No. Rich Haskell: Approximately three and a half days. Kameron Wixom, son of Hartt and Judene Wixom, writes a childlike faith saved us. In his contribution to the Witness to Miracles book, Kameron writes: I didnt have to see angels, hear them, or even think that their presence might be required that day. Rich Haskell: Well, I got a lot of it while I was in the Marine Corps and in the Army National Guard. Trauma is trauma and everyone deals with it differently. Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. I absolutely have. Guys like you have to go and search every corner. Lota, Louinn. Number one, that's where he worked. 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. By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. It's just something that you just have to stay on top of. over there. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. 2 Recreation Board, Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West, 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, Lead Investigator Ron Hartley, Father of Four Student Survivors, 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, 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, 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, Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. What is your assessment of these two people who did this? In 2006, the Cokeville Miracle Foundation compiled a book of recollections about the day from parents, emergency workers and former hostages. That's my lucky miracle. While he was writing his philosophy, Zero Equals Infinity, Doris took part-time jobs including housekeeping and waitressing to support their meager lifestyle. So you got that and you got the flour and the gasoline and that's what it was all designed to do in millisecond delays. They increasingly spoke about their memories in public with professional psychologists, church officials and community counselors. Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. Trent Toone, Mormon Times. But we knew what our story was, and that it could help offer hope. I have given that some thought. P. O. 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. The subsequent police report states that David opened the door from the connecting bathroom, shot his injured wife in the head and killed her,[9] shot and wounded John Miller, a music teacher who was trying to flee, then closed the bathroom door and killed himself with a shot from a .45 pistol to the head. Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? . And that's where the bomb sat and that's where they sat. He shot and killed her. ", About 2 1/2 hours into the standoff, David transferred the triggering mechanism of the bomb to Doris' wrist, and went to a small bathroom that connected the first and second grade rooms. You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. Welcome to /r/latterdaysaints, a sub for members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). I don't know. and detonated a bomb inside.
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