I guess I should say I am only speaking as a child, the adults were probably tense the entire time! The miraculous events that followed transformed the lives of hundreds of people, including many who witnessed angels or received heavenly help from deceased ancestors. 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. Both men were handcuffed in a van outside the school.[1]. Have you seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode that had a segment on this? Cokeville Trying to Rebuild A Normal and Secure Life.. You'd had experience? Because they weren't in a gun, the pressure wasn't chambered enough to where you could direct it. You should also know that TC basically just wove a storyline into and between the facts and witness testimonies. She lured them by telling them there was either an emergency, a surprise, or an assembly there. 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. She was a divorce who earned money working as a waitress and singer in a local bar. Mark Junge: Did you find the bullet that killed him, too? Learn from Cokeville's miracle of '86 - The Spectrum where there's only a limited population, that's going to throw the fear of God into everybody. When you say what cut the wire? Do you think this is a historical event? Cokeville Bombing - Wyoming Mark Junge: So it would have gone upward, but would it have killed the kids? Many recalled praying silently, forming prayer circles and seeing angels during the crisis. No. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Mark Junge: EOD. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. So many of 'em thatI don't know. [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. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. 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. May 16, 1986, will never be forgotten by the residents of Cokeville, Wyo. [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. I can understand that. Current students at Cokeville Elementary School aren't taught about the '86 bombing, but most know the general story. Lota, Louinn. Cokeville, Wyoming - Wikipedia Don't go past this square. Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? Mark Junge: Oh, really! By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. I gathered up some of the equipment that I would need and a change of clothes and proceeded to Cokeville. Rich Haskell: No, it's not. Have there been any lingering psychological effects from going through something so traumatic while so young? Used with permission and thanks. I don't know. I really did not even want to walk inside that building because I was just afraid that I'd see kids all over the place. Many children showed signs of distress with sobs, complaining of headaches from the smell of gasoline from the bomb, or simply wanting to go home. Rich Haskell: Yes. 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. 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. Story: Witness who ran toward marathon bomb 'saw bodies flying' "The death of any child shatters us all,'' Barnicle said. Cokeville recollects 'miracle' of 1986 - Deseret News And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. I remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. This can, the aluminum powder, never went off. The bomb was an improvised explosive device constructed in a small two-wheeled shopping cart with two baskets, one on top of the other. Interview by Mark Junge. 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. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. The Power of Faith: 25 Years After School Bombing, Town Remembers Story of Survival., Mitchell, Ruth Ann. http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. Because it was sittin' low enough and the kids were low enough that it would have done it. And knew what they could do? This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. 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: Okay. During the chaos, Doris' burnt body was expelled through a window, and left lying on the front lawn. 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. That's what David Young forgot to realize just how important families were. 154 of us were held hostage for almost 3 hours in a 30x32 room when the bomb actually detonated - all 154 hostages survived. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. Windows were opened to rid the room of gasoline fumes, and prayers were offered in small groups among the children. And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light. Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. 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. The hostage takers took part in the singing. 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." 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. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News. Unexplained Mysteries: Angel Files. Season 1, Episode 20. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." The two died after the bomb. [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. [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. And it burned some children. So there's doubt in your mind that there was divine intervention? I don't know. You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. Students, teachers, staff and visitors frantically exited the building, with teachers helping many of the children escape through the windows. Flipboard. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. 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. Just like with a pair of pliers, pair of snips. Davids writings reveal that he hoped life would be better for him and Cokevilles children in this imaginary place. 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. 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. ", Mark Junge: So it took you three days, three and a half days. [10][2][3] The injured were triaged to several area hospitals in Wyoming and Idaho.[2][3][11]. She was on fire! Cokeville Elementary School is located at 205 N. Sage St. in Cokeville. 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. 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. Cokeville Recollects Miracle of 1986: Hostage Survivors, Town Residents Compile Book, ________. Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. This all happened about 8 months after the bombing. Mark Junge: They weren't big enough, in a way. In 2006, the Cokeville Miracle Foundation compiled a book of recollections about the day from parents, emergency workers and former hostages. 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. Now you've got problems. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. Two of the three blasting caps on the bomb failed to detonate; the wires to each tuna can had been reportedly cut. Both hostage takers died, while 79 hostages were wounded. Throughout the standoff, David grew increasingly agitated and irritable. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. Rich Haskell: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. (before I see Hollywood's version). I actually have a pretty clear memory of the events that day, being 12 years old. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. But David refused to reveal his plans entirely until moments before they unfolded. You start messing with the kids, now you're going to have yourself a war. Rich Haskell: Okay, I'll buy that! We know he built two of 'em. 1 of 7. Cokeville Elementary School teachers and staff tried to keep kindergarteners through sixth graders calm and entertained. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." Several other survivors were there. They do now - ever since the Youngs barged in on the Cokeville Elementary School with guns and a bomb to demand . Did you see anything? Sept. 21, 2010. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. Box 37, Cokeville, Wyoming 83114. Anything? Sue Castaneda: Did you look at (unintelligible). Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. "The sadness that comes with the death of an 8-year-old, you can . In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. How has that experience shaped your life? They learned to trust in their God, the kids were healed for the most part, and they value life more now. Mark Junge: Do you think David or Doris would have cut it? This significantly mitigated the explosive power of the bomb. Too many of 'em to try to remember their birthdays. I did not have to imagine how God would move that day when I said my little prayer just hours before, I simply knew he would. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. The kids could just go to the bathroom right from their classroom. Also, how long was it before the kids started talking about seeing angels? And you could see that she had been burning by just looking at her out on the front lawn. I think you should know that it can be difficult to watch - but that it has a very rewarding outcome. Either way, right after my joke is about when David excused himself from the room. After a two-and-a-half hour standoff, the children were becoming restless, so the teachers preoccupied the kids in the form of movies, games, prayer, and books. Rich Haskell: Well, you know, that's a really good question. Mark Junge: How many actual bombs have you had experience with? Mark Junge: Which means you had to be doing over a hundred miles an hour! Mark Junge: Okay. who wins student body president riverdale. David attached the bomb trigger to his wrist and threatened the group that he might, at any time, move his arm and ignite the bomb. 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. Personally I gave him 17 pages of journal notes! She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. The Cokeville Miracle - The American Tragedy That Never Happened I was literally blown out the door when the bomb went off , and i remember how time slowed down in those seconds. The tuna fish cans with the two floury would be spread out in the air likehave you ever seen a grain elevator explosion? Trent Toone, Mormon Times. And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. Rich Haskell: I did not. The bomb did detonate and fire, thick black smoke and toxi fumes filled the room. I think it's because of the ages of the kids, to start with. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. I'm proud of all my children. Whenever they would come to Wyoming I would be part of their security team. If I deleted an entire phrase, I have inserted ellipses . Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. Cokeville officially has only536 people in it and two LDS wards that meet in the same chapel. Of course, I can imagine the noise that it made. Parentheses ( ) are used for incidental non-verbal sounds, like laughter. To my right is Sue Castaneda who is the Wyoming Oral History Project Director, and across the table from me is Rich Haskell, who is a certified bomb technician. In the movie, it shows the tension building towards the prayer and then shortly after the bomb went off. I actually hadn't thought of doing that, yet. With the explosionwhat occurred? Young was a former Cokeville town marshal who had been living in Arizona for several years. He did it right. He knew what the community was all about. 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. 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. They did a good job telling this story. Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. Carbon County School District No. I cannot tell you what happened. Rich Haskell: There was a reason I was there for some reason. "If you can see the bomb, the bomb can see you," an officer shouted. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! Is there a news article that I could read to get a better idea of what happened? While he was writing his philosophy, Zero Equals Infinity, Doris took part-time jobs including housekeeping and waitressing to support their meager lifestyle. Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? Where to watch cokeville miracle? Explained by Sharing Culture Rich Haskell: I don't know. 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 Well, you know how fine that dust is. 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 . David was a diabetic. 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. Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? Cokeville survivors relive school bombing for film But I know that, well, I'll just be quite frank. 96 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from J.Cano: Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode Did this shake the faith of some people, or would you say it strengthened it in most? I know there's angels. When I arrived I could see out on the lawn, there was a black object laying out on the grass. There was nobody killed but the perpetrators. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. This is actually the first time I have heard of this. Rich Haskell: Well, I like to think I'm a better person because of it. Rich Haskell: I took pictures of it. 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. In the West? As well as I can. 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. results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. There are some survivors that couldn't believe how accurate much of it was. Well, he had put wooden shelves for layers. Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. They forget about what happened in Cokeville with a lot more people and the potential of what was there. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. Because of the tiles and the window? On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. Mark Junge: You had some bullets in the ceiling that you had to investigate, too. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? It said in there that they had brought blasting caps, ammunition, those types of things in and there was a sealed briefcase that was in the hallway. Rich Haskell: Yes. 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? Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? 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. He was so open to their input, and feelings. She's an avid genealogist, so maybe get involved with that, and maybe go on a mission for the church. You went back home? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The woman who died with her husband as they held an elementary school hostage with a gasoline bomb last week was not killed by the . "We could tell that he was becoming very nervous. I didn't touch the body at all. She was totally burned. The Cokeville Town Hall is located at 110 Pine St. For more information, visit the website of the Cokeville Chamber of Commerce at http://www.cokevillewy.com or call (307) 459-4195. Bomber's body removed - Billings Gazette Mark Junge: You'd been tested, though. 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. 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. What had happenedI can't explain it. Oral histories, memoirs and drawings began to reveal a narrative of fortune rather than misfortune. With fear that David might become unhinged, the teachers decided to make an ~8-foot square of masking tape for his own personal space. [7][5] The reason for the wire cuts are so far unexplained. 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. 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. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. I don't know ifI just felt an emptyactually I could just see a hundred-sixty people dead! I did see the lighting had changed in the room, and it was right in the same timeline as everyone else's witness. Rich Haskell: No, I don't think it exited. To go off to the side? P. O. He came out of the bathroom, is what we figured. First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School Published: November 8, 2014 Janel Dayton, Wyoming State Archives photo.
