Throughout the standoff, David grew increasingly agitated and irritable. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Box 37, Cokeville, Wyoming 83114. Do you think this is a historical event? I got a chance to talk to Jennie Sorensen Johnson, who was seven when David Young rolled a bomb into her first grade classroom. Mark Junge: But all of these holes were above the level of the children. I had just cracked a little joke with a toy tank of legos as I drove it "across the death line" or the masking tape square on the floor. The detonation didn't do it, it was cut. COKEVILLE, Wyo. The Youngs both died that day. 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. Mark Junge: And what happened? Rich Haskell: Yes, I did. I've spent many, many hours and many days with the leaders of the Mormon church, with the Prophet of the Mormon church. She was a total torch! As long as that piece of wood was in there to keep those separated, it would not detonate. In the meantime, David and Doris Young gathered children, teachers, staff and visitors in the elementary school into one central location. They're the ones that died from the whole thing. No need to troll. Mark Junge: We were worried, Sue and I, that people would take offence, right? I actually created a website knowing that people would wonder what was real and what wasn't. Okay? 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. 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. We're in a conference room here on the main floor. This significantly mitigated the explosive power of the bomb. The windows had been knocked outhad been blown out. Mark Junge: Are you one of the most experienced people in the area? One of the miracles that day was that not a single person was lost. And we allthere was three of us there. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. He was the father of two, but was estranged from his elder daughter. Rich? And he didn't even ask me if I wanted to do that. 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." 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. 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. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. Yeah, we didn't get a lot of sleep. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! She was on fire! Both David and Doris had ties to white supremacist groups, including the Posse Comitatus and the Aryan Nations. where there's only a limited population, that's going to throw the fear of God into everybody. Edit: Also, were you at that early screening? That's what David Young forgot to realize just how important families were. 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. [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. No, not at all. 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. Which is hard to believe, but a positive experience in that they learned something. Did this shake the faith of some people, or would you say it strengthened it in most? 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. And knew what they could do? David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" David became increasingly agitated, and decided to leave the room. Ahntastic Adventures in Silicon Valley But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. Well, you know how fine that dust is. results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. "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 . As time progressed, however, a different story emerged in this highly religious and largely Mormon community. May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. By Deseret News. 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. 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. What had happenedI can't explain it. Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. I was still trying to make sense of it all! So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. On May the 16th , 1986, 1 was in Rock Springs at a basketball game. The explosion engulfed her in flames and burned many nearby children. Rich Haskell: Yeah, there was some people ready to just shoot him right where he was sitting. We know for a fact that he had tried that device because he did it in Arizona and totally destroyed a school bus. Sept. 21, 2010. During the chaos, Doris' burnt body was expelled through a window, and left lying on the front lawn. Retro Report took a look back at this episode, with a focus on how Johnson & Johnson and . 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. 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. But David refused to reveal his plans entirely until moments before they unfolded. Kind of a synopsis of what they were going to do and what their plans were and the whole thing. Doris developed a headache from the gasoline fumes, and raised her hand to her forehead. He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. 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. Cokeville Public Library. By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. So there's doubt in your mind that there was divine intervention? 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. Totally destroyed it! First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School Published: November 8, 2014 Janel Dayton, Wyoming State Archives photo. 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. Have there been any lingering psychological effects from going through something so traumatic while so young? 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. 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. Read more Mark Junge: How many actual bombs have you had experience with? Lota, Louinn. They do now - ever since the Youngs barged in on the Cokeville Elementary School with guns and a bomb to demand . Meanwhile, police and parents gathered out of sight of the school room where hostages were gathered. We know he built two of 'em. 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. She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. I'm portrayed as the little red haired kid with glasses that asks about the AK-47. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. David and Doris Young took 167 hostages (150 children, 17 adults and one unlucky UPS driver) at the elementary school. 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. Mark Junge: Where at? You should also know that TC basically just wove a storyline into and between the facts and witness testimonies. 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. I gathered up some of the equipment that I would need and a change of clothes and proceeded to Cokeville. That much I know. [7] Geography [ edit] Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. Debbie Sparks and Steven Moore, both EMTs, discuss on May 9 the elementary school bombing. It would have killed them. And my children. He shot and killed her. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis. "If you can see the bomb, the bomb can see you," an officer shouted. I'm currently the Sheriff of Sweetwater County. How did it affect your family long-term? I think you should know that it can be difficult to watch - but that it has a very rewarding outcome. He had tried this deviceand they were designed tothat it would be a delayed explosion. 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. I did see the lighting had changed in the room, and it was right in the same timeline as everyone else's witness. 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. Mark Junge: EOD. 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 think it was still in his body. 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 knew it was a predominantly Mormon [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] community. 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! Flipboard. Mark Junge: This was a life-changing event. Rich Haskell: Were above the level of the kids, yeah. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young My name is Mark Junge and I'm here at the Hiltonis it the Hilton Hotel? We didn't know if the blasting caps were in therejust exactly what was in there. Rich Haskell: Well, I got a lot of it while I was in the Marine Corps and in the Army National Guard. Once the wooden piece was removed, the two metal connectors completed the circuit, detonating the bomb. 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 . In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. David was a diabetic. Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? Rich Haskell: Well, you know, that's a really good question. TC (the director) also worked incredibly hard to make this a story that can be widely appreciated by members of all faiths. And it was a perfect trajectory up into the ceiling where that bullet was. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. 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? I've got a couple of questions. Here is a local story from the 20 year anniversary (we are at the 29th year now), What's your side of the story? 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. This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. Parentheses ( ) are used for incidental non-verbal sounds, like laughter. The Wyoming History one may be the best. I said, "What on earth happened there?" Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. There was no give in the school bus. 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. Hi MadreDeUnMono! In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. Rich Haskell: Sure. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. Mark Junge: Do you think David or Doris would have cut it? Rich Haskell: Absolutely! As well as I can. What is your assessment of these two people who did this? At 1:00 pm, they pulled up to the Cokeville Elementary School and unloaded a gasoline bomb, along with four rifles and nine handguns. Everyone else survived, including the injured John Miller. He still needed to tell it to his parents though, and that's basically what you see in the movie. over there. Mark Junge: Do you think you've taken more joy out of life because of it? They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? Trauma is trauma and everyone deals with it differently. Survivors began to tell their stories through a spiritual lens. Who died in the Cokeville bombing? Associated Press. Upon entering the classroom, children saw an arsenal of weapons, a grocery cart and an unfamiliar manDavid Young. 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. And I think that these people actually thought that they could start another world. 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. Mark Junge: Okay. David Young entered the school with his wife transporting a large gasoline-filled device that appeared to be a bomb. 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. Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? I don't know what. It killed her instantly. I contacted the dispatch up in Kemmerer to get firsthand information as to having second- and third-hand information and they informed me that the school indeed had been taken hostage. His fever broke within minutes of getting it off his chest. 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. It's just something that you just have to stay on top of. She's an avid genealogist, so maybe get involved with that, and maybe go on a mission for the church. Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. I was up there as part of his protection team. Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. Cokeville had so little crime that many folks didn't bother to lock their doors. They feel that it was a positive experience for them. Mark Junge: With bombs? So many of 'em thatI don't know. I have given that some thought. You can check out [CokevilleMiracle.com] (http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html). What stands out in your mind the most, looking back? She is one of the survivors whose story has become a part of The Cokeville Miracle. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. I don't know ifI just felt an emptyactually I could just see a hundred-sixty people dead! When did Cokeville miracle happen? [2] Before leaving the room, David attached the bomb's detonation device to his wife's wrist. 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. Mark Junge: No? I was a little bit nervous, of course. Encircled it. 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." Interesting stuff to me! He demanded a ransom of two million dollars per hostage ($308 million, $720 million adjusted for inflation), and an audience with President Ronald Reagan. And then he shot himself. It's made me, I think, more open-minded to things and don't take so much for granted anymore. 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. To go off to the side? The timelines of some events are fuzzy Its hard to nail down what stands out the most, there were a LOT of crazy things I'd never seen before then, or since really. One hostage observed a birthday on that day and songs were sung in his honor. That's my lucky miracle. In their minds they could start another world. 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. You can see what's happening in the world today. As I come to the junctionI'm sorry, I don't know what the road is that goes over to Bear Lakebut as I was passing that intersection, they did inform me that the bomb had exploded. Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. One of 'em was in Cokeville and one was in the bus that he did the experiment with. In the movie, it shows the tension building towards the prayer and then shortly after the bomb went off. 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. . No, this is something that people need to know about. 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. Throughout both baskets were chain links, gunpowder, and boxes of ammunition acting as shrapnel. The two died after the bomb. David and Doris both returned to Cokeville on May 16, 1986. Rich Haskell: Yeah, I think I did. The Hartley story didn't come out publicly until my parents (who wrote the book in the year after the bombing) began asking questions about this kind of thing. Mark Junge: Had you seen anything like what took place in this classroom before? It packed the brute force of twenty-five sticks of dynamite. Don't go past this square. Rich Haskell: Okay, I'll buy that! Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? Just before implementing the Biggie, David Young had also sent a copy of the document to President Ronald Reagan, the president of Chadron State College and numerous media outlets. The miraculous events that followed have changed many people foreverespecially survivor Amy Bagaso Williams. 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. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. 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. Chaos ensued. Used with permission and thanks. 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. 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. . And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light. Rich Haskell: No. The only two fatalities were David and Doris Young. Cokeville Bombing. Undated scrapbook. TC is one of my heroes. And he had to defuse bombs. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle.
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