President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. And knew what they could do? A quarter of a century later, Williams can still vividly recall the chaotic scene following the explosion. Here is a local story from the 20 year anniversary (we are at the 29th year now), What's your side of the story? In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. I have no doubt about my friends witness testimonies - even though I saw or heard nothing such as they did. I believe a presence was entering the room at about that time. Sept. 21, 2010. On May 16, 1986, former town marshal David Young and his wife Doris Young took 167 children and adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. What should people know going into the film? Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. It is a touchy topic for us, and could come across the wrong way. 10 Years Later, Cokeville Just Says: Let Us Be 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 was perfect! She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. 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. Mark Junge: That's a record of all the people we've talked to! Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. AP file. Talking To Cokeville Survivor - LDS Blogs Anything? He was so open to their input, and feelings. In addition, national reporters began arriving within hours of the explosion. Rich Haskell: Yes, I did. 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 Meanwhile, police and parents gathered out of sight of the school room where hostages were gathered. But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. The couple corralled a large group of students and teachers into a single classroom. Rich Haskell: I am. The Cokeville Miracle - Was It Angels? | Light Force Network What is your assessment of these two people who did this? 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. Yeah. P. O. Mark Junge: to go through all this? They learned to trust in their God, the kids were healed for the most part, and they value life more now. This all happened about 8 months after the bombing. . First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville 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.". Associated Press. It brings back lots of memories but it doesn't hurt because actually it was a positive experience. I'd like to think so. Rich Haskell: Sure. That dead-man switch is a piece of string that goes around your wrist and it's hooked into a clothespin, the other end of it. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. 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. Mark Junge: With bombs? Lenita's father Rocky was a fifth grade teacher at Cokeville Elementary School at the time of the bombing, Lenita was a seventh grader. So I went to Huntsville, Ala., to Redstone Arsenal. 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. I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. Of course, I can imagine the noise that it made. I know that for a fact! It's a continuous training thing and years and years and years of continuous training with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, with the fire marshals and now that it has come into it with the hazardous materials and everything else. David had also sent a copy of the manifesto to Reagan. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. 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. So we took the tiles off and went up into the ceiling and crawled up into the upper space up there and found a .45 slug up embedded into the iron girders up in the wall, and thought, okay, where did that come from? 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. She tied the string around her wrist. Mark Junge: What do you want to do with the rest of your life? It was a great movie, very well directed and acted. And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. 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. On May 16, 1986, a man and his wife with a bomb took . 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." 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. You went back home? Chaos ensued. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Mark Junge: We were worried, Sue and I, that people would take offence, right? Rich Haskell: No. 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. Rich Haskell: I took pictures of it. And I think it's made me a stronger person. (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. On May 16, 1986, when former town marshal David Gary Young and his wife Doris Young took 154 children and thirteen teachers hostage at Cokeville Elementary school in Wyoming and kept them at bay with a shopping-cart sized bomb attached to five hairpin-trigger blast caps, it should have ended in great tragedy - one of the worst in American history. Cokeville Bombing. Undated scrapbook. When did Cokeville miracle happen? The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. May 24, 1986 12 AM PT. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. Best Episode | Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode - Facebook Rich Haskell: I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the 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. Mark Junge: Okay. This can, the aluminum powder, never went off. Used with thanks. The two died after the bomb. 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. I can understand that. Lota, Louinn. Mark Junge: What's been your experiences since then? Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? Eventually Doris lifted her arm sharply and the bomb went off prematurely, injuring Doris while David was out of the room. 'Amityville Horror' killer dies in prison at 69 - NBC News Mark Junge: So it would have gone upward, but would it have killed the kids? Rich Haskell: There was a reason I was there for some reason. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. Ahntastic Adventures in Silicon Valley May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. . They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. I mean, we're talking about from kindergarten kids up to 10-, 11-, 12-years old. May 12, 2011, 2:30am PDT. 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. It packed the brute force of twenty-five sticks of dynamite. We figured that he had dropped down on his knee, took his pistol and shot her to put her out of her misery, because when we went out and looked at her, there was a hole up through the bottom of her chin, and it came out the top of her head. (Laughs) Yeah, I understand what you're saying, but it was. Mark Junge: EOD. Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. David Young was the only police officer in Cokeville for six months in 1979. SHARE Cokeville recollects 'miracle' of 1986. In the tiny classroom, they watched movies, played games, prayed. The blasting cap in the gasoline jug functioned properly, initiating the explosion. Whenever they would come to Wyoming I would be part of their security team. Amy Bagaso Williams with her husband and four children. 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. Rich Haskell: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. Sue Castaneda: Carla said that some people were mad that we were there. May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. TC is one of my heroes. The only thing I bristle at is that TC has me suggesting that we say a prayer. From Tragedy To Triumph- Talking To A Cokeville Bombing Survivor. Upon entering the classroom, children saw an arsenal of weapons, a grocery cart and an unfamiliar manDavid Young. [2] Before leaving the room, David attached the bomb's detonation device to his wife's wrist. Weredo you think it had something to do with angels? David returned to the restroom and killed himself, ending the hostage crisis. And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light. Rich Haskell: Well, I did learn later that the kids saw the angels. Everything was blackened. And that's where the bomb sat and that's where they sat. This sub is dedicated to faithful discourse on church topics. Rich Haskell: Pretty sophisticated guy is what he was. Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. These are designed to just spread out the particles all over the air. 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. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. Welcome to /r/latterdaysaints, a sub for members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. Well, you know how fine that dust is. That much I know. It'sI'm still doing that kind of thing because whenever they hold General Conference in Salt Lake City I go to Salt Lake City to be part of the bomb team for the church while they have General Conference. That's what it was designed to do was to go out and be particles and that gasoline was gonna ignite it and blow it up. 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. But it still sent flames all over in the room and you can see where all the flames were in that room. 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. Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. He had tried this deviceand they were designed tothat it would be a delayed explosion.