The two died after the bomb. This all happened about 8 months after the bombing. 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. You'd had experience? 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. 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. Go to school and learn how to do it." Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. Well, when I arrived and saw that body layin' on the front lawn, I was told that was Doris. The blasting cap in the gasoline jug functioned properly, initiating the explosion. Everyone else survived, and many who did recalled the tragedy with memories of the presence of angels. The photo of Rich Haskell is by Wyoming State Archives. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. Parentheses ( ) are used for incidental non-verbal sounds, like laughter. I've spent many, many hours and many days with the leaders of the Mormon church, with the Prophet of the Mormon church. 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. Healing will come Slowly From Within a Wounded Cokeville. Many recalled praying silently, forming prayer circles and seeing angels during the crisis. Mark Junge: Do you know the names and birthdates of all your grandchildren? Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. I do think the key is talking about it often and early. David Youngs journals and writings reveal that he was a troubled man who spent many years grappling with deep philosophical questionsabout mans existence, the afterlife and spirituality. Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? Mark Junge: Well, yes. Cokeville Recollects Miracle of 1986: Hostage Survivors, Town Residents Compile Book, ________. This wasn't a pipe bomb. So there's doubt in your mind that there was divine intervention? They increasingly spoke about their memories in public with professional psychologists, church officials and community counselors. David Young. He did deliver our salvation that day. I have no doubt about my friends witness testimonies - even though I saw or heard nothing such as they did. They forget about what happened in Cokeville with a lot more people and the potential of what was there. Rich Haskell: Not really that often, but every time I think about it I get very emotional. 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. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. The only two fatalities were David and Doris Young. You know this is going to sound morbid, but I always thought if the Muslims, the radical Muslims were smart, they would take their jihad to local communities because that would scare the hell out of 'em like it did in Cokeville. Now you are a bomb technician. Well, he had put wooden shelves for layers. Two of the three blasting caps on the bomb failed to detonate; the wires to each tuna can had been reportedly cut. That's my lucky miracle. Oral histories, memoirs and drawings began to reveal a narrative of fortune rather than misfortune. Unexplained Mysteries: Angel Files. Season 1, Episode 20. 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. There are several great resources out there. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Wyoming Horror: A Fiery Schoolhouse Bomb., A 1986 Hostage Event at a Cokeville, Wyoming Elementary School., Jarvik, Elaine. NOTE: Witness to Miracles was published in 2006 by Pronghorn Press, www.pronghornpress.org . So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. Sue Castaneda: Where did you get your training for that? Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. It was within the first few weeks that the Hartley boy was explaining his witness. I called back to my dispatcher and they did inform me that the school in Cokeville was being held hostage by two individuals and there was bombs involved. 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. Can you describe this? Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. ", Mark Junge: So it took you three days, three and a half days. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. When they asked pointed questions like "what did the angels look like?" A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. I think he went in the Marine Corps because of me and served 25 years and retired. AP file. 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. It was just shootin' everywhere. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. 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. One of 'em was in Cokeville and one was in the bus that he did the experiment with. I think I made it there in record timeI'm not sure. He knew it was a predominantly Mormon [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] community. So many of 'em thatI don't know. Doris had a migraine headache that day, in talking with the other folks, and she was complaining about that, and asked David if she could open the windows because the gas fumesevidently the gas was leaking from the incendiary and he finally consented to let 'em open the window. 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 . Rich Haskell: I'm Rich Haskell. I cannot explain it! 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. Davids writings reveal that he hoped life would be better for him and Cokevilles children in this imaginary place. 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. Rich Haskell: Approximately an hour and ten, hour and fifteen minutes. No, not at all. Maybe writing that up 2 years ago when this came along was more healing for me than for him, but I gave it all to him! Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. 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. The tuna fish cans, if you can imagine, here's two tuna fish cans sittin' here like this, and a gallon jug of gasoline sittin' above it. She was totally burned. I went from within two feet of the bomb to right near the door within ten minutes before the bomb went off. In the West? David Young had initially planned to involve longtime friends Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall, who had invested money with him in a get-rich-quick scheme that he had called "The Biggie. Mark Junge: Yeah, my brother-in-law worked in the Navy as a chief petty officer and he worked with what they called EOD. I was a little bit nervous, of course. So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. I know there's angels. David had also sent a copy of the manifesto to Reagan. Rich Haskell: Well, I did learn later that the kids saw the angels. As well as I can. Rich Haskell: Well, you know, that's a really good question. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. Rich Haskell: I was cookin' right along, yes I was! . Everything was blackened. We're in a conference room here on the main floor. But shortly after entering the school, Princess decided to rebel. Anything? They feel that it was a positive experience for them. And we allthere was three of us there. He just said just go do it. You know, the kids have forgot about it, let's let 'em move on. 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. ITT: people who want to pick a fight with someone who survived an incredible experience. On one hand people didn't want money to be made off of suffering, but on the other hand it felt ungrateful to not share it in the way that TC would or could. During the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis. 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. Mark Junge: And when you went into the classroom you saw holes in the walls? Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. One of the miracles that day was that not a single person was lost. Sept. 21, 2010. [4], Prior to the hostage crisis, David had tested a similar bomb in a sealed school bus in Arizona, destroying it.[5]. Box 37, Cokeville, Wyoming 83114. The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. The only thing I bristle at is that TC has me suggesting that we say a prayer. Vengeance for having been fired did not seem to have been the motive, but rather a philosophy recorded in journal entries referring to a Brave New World where he wanted to reign over intelligent children. What had happenedI can't explain it. There are some survivors that couldn't believe how accurate much of it was. [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. Young met his second wife, Doris Waters, while in Cokeville. But he knew the culture, he knew the type of people, and I'm not sayin' that Mormon people are better than anybody else, but their way of life is family is first. 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. I don't know. The story was also featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Unexplained Mysteries, and I Survived A movie about the incident, The Cokeville Miracle, was made by filmmaker T. C. Christensen and released on June 5, 2015. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. I mean, what it was supposed to do? 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." You can ask me anything about this today between 1-2pm. Had a gallon milk jug full of gasoline on one level, had aluminum powder, flour and those two components was in tuna fish cans directly under the gasoline bomb. . And they had practiced how to get out of that building. 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 David, who dared not risk their reporting him to the authorities, responded by holding them at gunpoint. I actually created a website knowing that people would wonder what was real and what wasn't. "The sadness that comes with the death of an 8-year-old, you can . Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. Mark Junge: What were they designed to do? In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. Survivors shared their stories with each other, investigators, family members, and hospital personnel. Is there a news article that I could read to get a better idea of what happened? Okay? The detonation didn't do it, it was cut. You could walk across the street and get run over as far as that's concerned, but I don't know if my wife has any more gray hairs because I've chosen this profession. In their minds they could start another world. And knew what they could do? Where's he running? 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. 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. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? I was up there as part of his protection team. 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! [6] With permission, the teachers brought in books, art supplies and a television to help keep the children occupied. [7][5] The reason for the wire cuts are so far unexplained. Once the wooden piece was removed, the two metal connectors completed the circuit, detonating the bomb. Because they refused to participate, Princess, Deppe, and Mendenhall were never charged in relation to this crime. Rich Haskell: No, I don't think it exited. 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: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. Rich Haskell: Okay, I'll buy that! 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. With fear that David might become unhinged, the teachers decided to make an ~8-foot square of masking tape for his own personal space. I just stayed right there and we processed the scene and did the scene. Rich? Rich Haskell: That's my oldest boy, Steven. She was a divorce who earned money working as a waitress and singer in a local bar. Contact us at editor@wyohistory.org for information on levels and types of available sponsorships. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. The device was set up on afor lack of a better word, I call it a shopping cart. I did open that briefcase remotely like I was taught in school to do. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. 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 . Rich Haskell: Absolutely! I remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. When the thing went off, when the bomb exploded, they just started chuckin' people out the windows. 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. "We could tell that he was becoming very nervous. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. Have there been any lingering psychological effects from going through something so traumatic while so young? Mark Junge: You think when we talk to you to bring this up againI know you're emotional about itbut does it hurt you to talk about this? Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. They messed with the kids and that brought a whole communityin fact, it brought the whole western half of the state all together. You can see what's happening in the world today. Mark Junge: But all of these holes were above the level of the children. My name is Mark Junge and I'm here at the Hiltonis it the Hilton Hotel? Mark Junge: Curious, Rich. From Tragedy To Triumph- Talking To A Cokeville Bombing Survivor. 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. I cannot tell you what happened. At that time all of the different agencies was pretty much on the same radio frequency and I was stayin' in touch with them, lettin' them know what my location was and they were in turn telling me what was taking place. I said, "What on earth happened there?" Which is hard to believe, but a positive experience in that they learned something. Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. One hostage observed a birthday on that day and songs were sung in his honor. Mark Junge: Which means you had to be doing over a hundred miles an hour! 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. Virginia Tech, it wasn't that way. who wins student body president riverdale. Totally destroyed it! Reporters from all the regional news outlets were on the scene by the time of the explosion or shortly thereafter. 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 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. The town has worked to be as respectful as possible to the multitude of experiences that day. I can't explain it. Recording and transcription by Wyoming State Archives. Mark Junge: Okay. As I sat there and watched him, I could feel he was becoming agitated. You know something about bombs. In the movie, it shows the tension building towards the prayer and then shortly after the bomb went off. 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. 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. Current students at Cokeville Elementary School aren't taught about the '86 bombing, but most know the general story. He instructed Doris and Princess, by now a young adult, to handcuff them inside his van. Rich Haskell: Yeah, there was some people ready to just shoot him right where he was sitting. I've been involved with law enforcement since 1977 in Sweetwater County. the children began describing things more specifically and that is when the mom was prompted to find the photograph of their grandmother. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Repanshek, Kurt J. It was there for a long time, all that support. Mark Junge: And the explosion went straight up? Mark Junge: That's a record of all the people we've talked to! The gasoline bottle was leaking. 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. I don't know. 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. She fled the building and drove the Youngs vanwith Deppe and Mendenhall still insideto the town hall, where she reported her fathers plan. Rich Haskell: Yes, absolutely. I mean, not everybody would do this. And I'm sure that that made him very nervous. Mark Junge: Well, and it burned some of the kids. 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. Don't go past this square. You can also read about it on [Wikipedia] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis). Im living proof.. One thing to mention is that the tension in real life seemed much more present at first, and then once prayers were said the mood really lifted. I'm proud of all my children. He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. While David and Doris Young were not involved in an organized religion, both were deeply spiritual. These are designed to just spread out the particles all over the air. The kids couldn't have done it. Were you portrayed in the movie at all? They just didn't let it die out. 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. Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? David went to the school office, handing out a manifesto titled "ZERO EQUALS INFINITY" and announcing "This is a revolution!" I contacted my sheriff, and that was Jim Stark at the time, and he said, "Definitely! 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. I don't know what. Rich Haskell: I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. As long as that piece of wood was in there to keep those separated, it would not detonate. This wasn't a simple bomb. Young was a former Cokeville town marshal who had been living in Arizona for several years. Encircled it. and detonated a bomb inside. COKEVILLE, Wyo. It was cut. [5] The leaking gasoline's fumes prompted teachers to open the classroom windows, unknowingly creating vents for the impending explosion. 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.