Story: Witness who ran toward marathon bomb 'saw bodies flying' "The death of any child shatters us all,'' Barnicle said. That's what David Young forgot to realize just how important families were. It's made me, I think, more open-minded to things and don't take so much for granted anymore. Seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. Because of the tiles and the window? You know, the kids have forgot about it, let's let 'em move on. There was nobody killed but the perpetrators. They learned to trust in their God, the kids were healed for the most part, and they value life more now. Rich Haskell: Uh, I can understand that. It was within the first few weeks that the Hartley boy was explaining his witness. I walked into the bathroom and there was the suspect that had started this whole mess, layin' there on the floor with ahe had a pistol in his hand and you could tell he had shot himself in the head. On May 16, 1986, David and Doris Young took 154 people hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. On May 16, 1986, . Retro Report took a look back at this episode, with a focus on how Johnson & Johnson and . 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. 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. I later learned he'd been shot in the back. 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. Can you describe this? Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. No need to troll. Students, teachers, visitors, staff who survived the ordeal and bystanders began recounting their memories of this event as it was still unfolding. David emerged from the bathroom to find his wife in excruciating pain. He did it right. The kids could just go to the bathroom right from their classroom. Then, several years later, Jennie Sorensen identified what she thought was a teacher who led her out of the building after the blast. Bomber's body removed - Billings Gazette Rich Haskell: It's a combustible. Yeah, we didn't get a lot of sleep. Rich Haskell: That's my oldest boy, Steven. This sub is dedicated to faithful discourse on church topics. Best Episode | Law & Order: SVU - Best Episode - Facebook By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Today In History: The Cokeville Elementary School Bombing The jug of gasoline had a pinhole-sized leak on its bottom. I got a chance to talk to Jennie Sorensen Johnson, who was seven when David Young rolled a bomb into her first grade classroom. May 24, 1986 12 AM PT. Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. And afteryou look in there and you could see little pockmarks all through on the walls, and after we finished with our investigationit took us three days to totally do the whole entire sceneyou could tell where those pockmarks were bullets from the heat had gone off. Mark Junge: And what happened? 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. 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. Mark Junge: Do you think you've taken more joy out of life because of it? Cook, the school's secretary and the first person taken hostage, could tell Young's threats were serious. Mark Junge: Well, and it burned some of the kids. 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. The only thing I bristle at is that TC has me suggesting that we say a prayer. Sue Castaneda: Where did you get your training for that? I didn't look at the speedometer, I was just kind of watchin' for animals and everything else. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? 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. They had a circle of tape around the device itself and they said, "Do not come inside of this circle. Rich Haskell: Because of the response and because of the emails and everything that took place. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. I actually created a website knowing that people would wonder what was real and what wasn't. Encircled it. And if I had been a little less of a jokester I may have seen something in that strange light. In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. While David and Doris Young were not involved in an organized religion, both were deeply spiritual. On May 16, 1986, former town marshal David Young and his wife Doris Young took 167 children and adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? Learn from Cokeville's miracle of '86 - The Spectrum All the kids were saved. How did it affect your family long-term? 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. They just didn't let it die out. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! When were you satisfied that there were no more bombs? Survivors shared their stories with each other, investigators, family members, and hospital personnel. David set himself near the center of the room with the grocery cart bomb nearby, as Doris went from room to room rounding up people. TC is one of my heroes. In addition, national reporters began arriving within hours of the explosion. By Jamie Armstrong May 22, 2015 09:35 AM MDT. I know there's angels. over there. Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. 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 hostage takers took part in the singing. A quarter of a century later, Williams can still vividly recall the chaotic scene following the explosion. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! Go to their hands and knees and crawl out. 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. During the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis. 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. At 1:00 pm, they pulled up to the Cokeville Elementary School and unloaded a gasoline bomb, along with four rifles and nine handguns. Hi MadreDeUnMono! Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. 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. What stands out in your mind the most, looking back? 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. It brings back lots of memories but it doesn't hurt because actually it was a positive experience. I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. Everything was blackened. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. Carbon County School District No. He was so open to their input, and feelings. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. He had just big rings of perspiration. 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. This narrative was perpetuated in many publications and productions. Go to school and learn how to do it." Mark Junge: Well, you've been blessed in a lot of ways. From Tragedy To Triumph- Talking To A Cokeville Bombing Survivor. 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. 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. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a couple with a bomb. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. Used with thanks. What did you find out about them? She lured them by telling them there was either an emergency, a surprise, or an assembly there. At that time, about 500 people lived in Cokeville, and there were slightly more than 100 students attending the elementary school. Rich Haskell: Approximately an hour and ten, hour and fifteen minutes. She was totally burned. And I'm sure that that made him very nervous. 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? And he didn't even ask me if I wanted to do that. ITT: people who want to pick a fight with someone who survived an incredible experience. And he had to defuse bombs. SHARE Cokeville miracle marking 25 years. 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. There are some survivors that couldn't believe how accurate much of it was. Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? Just like with a pair of pliers, pair of snips. Where's he running? "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 . This allowed gasoline to drip into the tuna fish cans, turning the aluminum-flour mixture into paste, unable to aerosolize. Cokeville survivors relive school bombing for film One of 'em was in Cokeville and one was in the bus that he did the experiment with. Rich Haskell: And fourteen and a half great-grandchildren. 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." 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. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. David and Doris both returned to Cokeville on May 16, 1986. She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. As long as that piece of wood was in there to keep those separated, it would not detonate. When they asked pointed questions like "what did the angels look like?" When I arrived I could see out on the lawn, there was a black object laying out on the grass. That much I know. 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! And that's exactly what took place in Cokeville. ", About 2 1/2 hours into the standoff, David transferred the triggering mechanism of the bomb to Doris' wrist, and went to a small bathroom that connected the first and second grade rooms. Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. I did open that briefcase remotely like I was taught in school to do. 1 of 7. Mark Junge: What do you want to do with the rest of your life? When the thing went off, when the bomb exploded, they just started chuckin' people out the windows. Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. Mark Junge: Did you find the bullet that killed him, too? 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 Miracle Marking 25 Years.. . David saw John Miller, the music teacher, trying to escape and shot him in the back. 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. The miraculous events that followed have changed many people foreverespecially survivor Amy Bagaso Williams. It would have killed them. He had tried this deviceand they were designed tothat it would be a delayed explosion. 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 remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. Talking To Cokeville Survivor - LDS Blogs Rich Haskell: Well, run fordo another term as sheriff and then retire, and my wife and I are going to doshe loves genealogy. And then he shot himself. Rich Haskell: Oh my goodness! Guys like you have to go and search every corner. 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. Rich Haskell: Well, I didn't know a lot about 'em and I still don't know a lot about 'em. Rich Haskell: Were above the level of the kids, yeah. Rich Haskell: No. I cannot explain it! [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. 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. He knew what the community was all about. Reporters from all the regional news outlets were on the scene by the time of the explosion or shortly thereafter. I think I made it there in record timeI'm not sure. School Bombing Survivor Converted after Priesthood Blessing In the classroom, David held the gasoline bomb, with the triggering mechanism attached to a string tied around his wrist. Amy Bagaso Williams with her husband and four children. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. [6] With permission, the teachers brought in books, art supplies and a television to help keep the children occupied. Rich Haskell: No. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News. 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 . (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. I'm not saying all of 'em were bombs, but why did God cut out Cokeville and say nobody's going to get hurt in this? All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. The only two fatalities were David and Doris Young. Rich Haskell: Well, I got a lot of it while I was in the Marine Corps and in the Army National Guard. Dozens. Others miracles were reported and some of those are recorded in this compilation.." [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. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. It became a story of a miracle rather than a tragedy. Mark Junge: Yeah, my brother-in-law worked in the Navy as a chief petty officer and he worked with what they called EOD. Interesting stuff to me! 'Amityville Horror' killer dies in prison at 69 - NBC News The kids couldn't have done it. No. As I sat there and watched him, I could feel he was becoming agitated. 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. I absolutely have. And I think that these people actually thought that they could start another world. How much interaction did you have with the director/producers of the movie? 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.

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