All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. [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. Number one, that's where he worked. Amy Bagaso Williams with her husband and four children. Cokeville Elementary School is located at 205 N. Sage St. in Cokeville. David, who dared not risk their reporting him to the authorities, responded by holding them at gunpoint. All the kids were saved. 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. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. 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. Family is the most important thing in a Mormon family. It became a story of a miracle rather than a tragedy. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. I was frightened and felt that we needed to do something to try to calm down or to be careful, because he was so agitated. It was cut. He listened so well, so patiently. [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. 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. They just didn't let it die out. 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. Rich Haskell: Yep. This is not a Mormon film it is more of an inspirational film. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. No, this is something that people need to know about. You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. Returning to the scene, David shot his wife, a teacher, then himself. I've got to get back to work now! He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. One hostage observed a birthday on that day and songs were sung in his honor. David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" Mark Junge: This was a life-changing event. I know there's angels. The blasting cap in the gasoline jug functioned properly, initiating the explosion. He demanded a ransom of two million dollars per hostage ($308 million, $720 million adjusted for inflation), and an audience with President Ronald Reagan. I've got a couple of questions. Mark Junge: Curious, Rich. I didn't look at the speedometer, I was just kind of watchin' for animals and everything else. I don't know. So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. 10 Years Later, Cokeville Just Says: Let Us Be., Pierce, Scott D. Save the Children is Shallow, Exploitative: Focus is on Wacko Bomber Instead of 167 Cokeville Students and Teachers., Troone, Trent. [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. Virginia Tech, it wasn't that way. Too many of 'em to try to remember their birthdays. Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? I had the chance to watch the pre-screening of the film and it was very emotional. Do you ever think about that? I saw an early screening of the film and absolutely loved it. They did a good job telling this story. Why? She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Mark Junge: Where at? 96 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from J.Cano: Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode When you say what cut the wire? 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. I don't know what. The kids could just go to the bathroom right from their classroom. They learned to trust in their God, the kids were healed for the most part, and they value life more now. It was a great movie, very well directed and acted. 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. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. David Young. Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. Mark Junge: Okay. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? Now you've got problems. Guys like you have to go and search every corner. What did you find out about them? Recording and transcription by Wyoming State Archives. How did it affect your family long-term? How did you determine how everything looked when this went up in smoke itself. Once the wooden piece was removed, the two metal connectors completed the circuit, detonating the bomb. He was the father of two, but was estranged from his elder daughter. And I think that these people actually thought that they could start another world. David Young was the only police officer in Cokeville for six months in 1979. David emerged from the bathroom to find his wife in excruciating pain. Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. He knew it was a predominantly Mormon [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] community. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Also, how long was it before the kids started talking about seeing angels? 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Rich Haskell: No, I don't think it exited. Rich Haskell: Oh my goodness! Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. No need to troll. 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 Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on May 16, 1986, in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young 44, and his wife Doris Young 47, took 136 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School . Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. Davids writings reveal that he hoped life would be better for him and Cokevilles children in this imaginary place. Oral histories, memoirs and drawings began to reveal a narrative of fortune rather than misfortune. Mark Junge: So it would have gone upward, but would it have killed the kids? In their minds they could start another world. Dozens. Sept. 21, 2010. On May 16, 1986, when former town marshal David Gary Young and his wife Doris Young took 154 children and 13 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. Rich Haskell: No, it's not. They lived in a mobile home with Princess, Davids youngest daughter from his first marriage. Over the course of time he did various things to get our input from script readings early on, to being there on set, etc. Nobody come inside this circle." In Cokeville, Nowhere, Wyo. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. He came out of the bathroom, is what we figured. Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. On May 16, 1986, David Young, Cokeville's former town marshal, and his wife, Doris, carried five rifles, five handguns and a "dead man's bomb" into the elementary school. We had people from ATFAlcohol, Tobacco and Firearmsand there was another bomb technician that came up from Evanstonhe was studying to be a bomb technicianand we all looked at that and said, "That wire's been cut." Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. 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. Many recalled praying silently, forming prayer circles and seeing angels during the crisis. Mark Junge: You'd been tested, though. http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis. We're in a conference room here on the main floor. No. Mark Junge: Did you find the bullet that killed him, too? During the chaos, Doris' burnt body was expelled through a window, and left lying on the front lawn. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Cheyenne. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. Mark Junge: Okay. Mark Junge: Well, and it burned some of the kids. Rich Haskell: Pretty sophisticated guy is what he was. Press J to jump to the feed. This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. Mark Junge: Which means you had to be doing over a hundred miles an hour! Rich Haskell: If it would have went off like it was supposed to have gone off, it would have lifted the roof off of that school. 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. They do now - ever since the Youngs barged in on the Cokeville Elementary School with guns and a bomb to demand . Mark Junge: You had some bullets in the ceiling that you had to investigate, too. 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. 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." No, we can't do this. (Laughs) Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but it was. This wasn't a pipe bomb. Mark Junge: to go through all this? You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. The basket, the shelves. The two died after the bomb. Weredo you think it had something to do with angels? It would have killed them. There was nobody killed but the perpetrators. In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. But it didn't. 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. They had written the manuscript, ready for publication, when the Walkers contacted them as family friends and said you may want to come ask our daughters some questions. Mark Junge: EOD. Whenever they would come to Wyoming I would be part of their security team. I'd like to think so. Encircled it. David became increasingly agitated, and decided to leave the room. Cokeville Trying to Rebuild A Normal and Secure Life.. Yeah, we didn't get a lot of sleep. Rich Haskell: Yeah. Lenita's father Rocky was a fifth grade teacher at Cokeville Elementary School at the time of the bombing, Lenita was a seventh grader. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. The detonation didn't do it, it was cut. On May 16, 1986, former town marshal David Young and his wife Doris Young took 167 children and adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. "The sadness that comes with the death of an 8-year-old, you can . She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Everyone else survived, including the injured John Miller. A compilation project by the Cokeville Miracle Foundation, a 501(c) (3) charity. And then he shot himself. [7] Geography [ edit] You went back home? 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. Parentheses ( ) are used for incidental non-verbal sounds, like laughter. And that was their whole intent of coming to Cokeville. Rich Haskell: I think it could be a spiritual experience that I have with church, or being around the kids, I don't know. 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. Students, teachers, visitors, staff who survived the ordeal and bystanders began recounting their memories of this event as it was still unfolding. It has shaped me to know that God is real. 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. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? Students, teachers, staff and visitors frantically exited the building, with teachers helping many of the children escape through the windows. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Is there a news article that I could read to get a better idea of what happened? So there's doubt in your mind that there was divine intervention? But shortly after entering the school, Princess decided to rebel. In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. and detonated a bomb inside. Many of the children who stated they saw angels were of various faiths. Sue Castaneda: Where did you get your training for that? In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. 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! Rich Haskell: Yes. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. The man and woman who took an elementary school here hostage Friday, injuring 70 children when their homemade gasoline bomb exploded, had ties to the Posse Comitatus and other white supremacist. But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. 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 he had to defuse bombs. 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. Rich Haskell: I took pictures of it. Several other survivors were there. Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis, "Radical Right Link Suggested in Hostage Case", "Cokeville Elementary School Bombing | WyoHistory.org", "Couple take over school but die after bomb blast", "Couple in School Blast Linked to Extremist Group", "Certified Bomb Technician Rich Haskell on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School | WyoHistory.org", "Lead Investigator Ron Hartley, Father of Four Student Survivors, on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School | WyoHistory.org", "Secretary Tina Cook on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School | WyoHistory.org", "A projectile killed Dorris Young, not bomb blast, police in Cokeville say", "In 1986, 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School", "Emergency Management Coordinator Kathy Davison on the 1986 Bombing of Cokeville Elementary School | WyoHistory.org", University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Liberty Point International Middle School, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, "'No Way to Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens", List of school shootings in the United States by death toll, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis&oldid=1139490391, Improvised explosive device bombings in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 11:55. Rich Haskell: That's my oldest boy, Steven. I received a telephone call from my dispatcher informing me that an incident had taken place up in Cokeville and they were requesting me to drive to Cokeville for assistance. First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School Published: November 8, 2014 Janel Dayton, Wyoming State Archives photo. Sue Castaneda: Carla said that some people were mad that we were there. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. Mark Junge: They weren't big enough, in a way. the children began describing things more specifically and that is when the mom was prompted to find the photograph of their grandmother. I know that for a fact! A quarter of a century later, Williams can still vividly recall the chaotic scene following the explosion. It was just shootin' everywhere. People who had guns! And we allthere was three of us there. So many of 'em thatI don't know. Mark Junge: That's a mighty powerful gun! They feel that it was a positive experience for them. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. Mark Junge: What's been your experiences since then? Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Repanshek, Kurt J. 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. He had tried this deviceand they were designed tothat it would be a delayed explosion. Trauma is trauma and everyone deals with it differently. What is the LDS population of the town and how big was your school? SHARE Cokeville recollects 'miracle' of 1986. #TodayInHistory: Today in 1986, The Cokeville Elementary School crises happened. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. 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: But all of these holes were above the level of the children. I was a little bit nervous, of course. [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. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. But David refused to reveal his plans entirely until moments before they unfolded. Rich Haskell: I don't know the birthdates but I know the names. I remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. SHARE Cokeville miracle marking 25 years. Cokeville officially has only536 people in it and two LDS wards that meet in the same chapel. To go off to the side? Where's he running? What should people know going into the film? who wins student body president riverdale. The device was set up on afor lack of a better word, I call it a shopping cart. Mark Junge: Are you one of the most experienced people in the area? Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? 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. I absolutely have. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. 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. 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. Read more Mark Junge: And when you went into the classroom you saw holes in the walls? [T]rust is big here youngsters grow up knowing they can turn to many other members of the community with confidence, write Hartt and Judene Wixom in Trial by Terror: The Child-hostage Crisis in Cokeville, Wyoming. David returned to the restroom and killed himself, ending the hostage crisis. Hi, I am working on publicity for the film, and I will chime in if anyone needs it, or has other questions. He did deliver our salvation that day. I was later told that everybody had been taken to different hospitals, ambulance services from all over, from Utah, from Idaho, from Wyoming was transporting people all over the place and there was only two fatalities. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? Is that morbid thinking on my part? David was a diabetic. AN EXPLOSION of vapors, resultLing from a combination of circumstances at the Kearney, N. J., plant of the Koppers Coke Company, on May 17, 1948, resulted in the death of ten men and started a . The circuit was powered by a 9-volt lantern battery. May 24, 1986 12 AM PT. Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. 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. Did you see anything? In the tiny classroom, they watched movies, played games, prayed. I immediately went into rendering safehe had brought in several devices with him to place in different places in the room, and there was a lot of ammunition, a lot of guns out in the hallway, and I immediately started rendering all those safe, making sure that those were safe and they could move them out of the building. Whether or not you believe in God or miracles, show some respect. [13], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}420457N 1105719W / 42.08250N 110.95528W / 42.08250; -110.95528. He still needed to tell it to his parents though, and that's basically what you see in the movie. Certified Bomb Technician. I believe a presence was entering the room at about that time. Just like with a pair of pliers, pair of snips. We know for a fact that he had tried that device because he did it in Arizona and totally destroyed a school bus. That's my lucky miracle. The wire was cut. Healing will come Slowly From Within a Wounded Cokeville. On May 16, 1986, . Mark Junge: Had you seen anything like what took place in this classroom before? Okay? Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? 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. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? Rich Haskell: Yeah, I think I did. 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 . Two of the three blasting caps on the bomb failed to detonate; the wires to each tuna can had been reportedly cut. Some of them believed the assembly was about weapons; others began realizing something was seriously wrong. Rich Haskell: I did not. . 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. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Everyone else survived, and many who did recalled the tragedy with memories of the presence of angels. 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. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Lota, Louinn. They're the ones that died from the whole thing. (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. Don't go past this square. She was a divorce who earned money working as a waitress and singer in a local bar. Throughout both baskets were chain links, gunpowder, and boxes of ammunition acting as shrapnel. Rich Haskell: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. I can't explain it. The gasoline bottle was leaking. In the classroom, David held the gasoline bomb, with the triggering mechanism attached to a string tied around his wrist. Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. Flipboard. You can see what's happening in the world today. Of what you would picture an angel, with the wings and, Mark Junge: Well, if I'm a skeptic, I could say, "Well, that's just the way the flames shot up.". Used with permission and thanks. Rich Haskell: Were above the level of the kids, yeah. At least 74 people, most of them children, suffered second-degree burns when the bomb went off at about 4 P.M. at the Cokeville Elementary School. At that time, about 500 people lived in Cokeville, and there were slightly more than 100 students attending the elementary school. But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. Now you are a bomb technician. As I sat there and watched him, I could feel he was becoming agitated. She was a total torch! 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. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young 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. And that's what we in this country have that these other fanatics or whatever is the family is the import factor. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. There was no give in the school bus. 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. Throughout the standoff, David grew increasingly agitated and irritable. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. 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. As I got closer to it I could tell it was a body, and of course, you just start thinking about what took place. The town has worked to be as respectful as possible to the multitude of experiences that day. For instance, The Cokeville Miracle Foundations 2005 book Witness to Miracles: Remembering the Cokeville Elementary School Bombing and the Wyoming State Archives oral history project called Survivor is My Name both focused on the reconstructing of this narrative as a miracle instead of a tragedy.
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