Mark Junge: And what happened? It was a great movie, very well directed and acted. 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. Young was a former Cokeville town marshal who had been living in Arizona for several years. And my children. Did you see anything? Mark Junge: to go through all this? 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. Too many of 'em to try to remember their birthdays. 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. He had been aware of above-average achievement scores from Cokeville's education system. Rich Haskell: No, it's not. Edit: Thank you so much for your questions! First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School Published: November 8, 2014 Janel Dayton, Wyoming State Archives photo. 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. We know he built two of 'em. Of course, I can imagine the noise that it made. 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. Hi, I am working on publicity for the film, and I will chime in if anyone needs it, or has other questions. As long as that piece of wood was in there to keep those separated, it would not detonate. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. The couple corralled a large group of students and teachers into a single classroom. Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? 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. 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. Teachers were confused and baffled by Young's nonsensical, strange writing. I contacted my sheriff, and that was Jim Stark at the time, and he said, "Definitely! 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. You know, the kids have forgot about it, let's let 'em move on. And I'm sure that that made him very nervous. He did it right. She is a beautiful example of turning tragedy into triumph. Lenita's father Rocky was a fifth grade teacher at Cokeville Elementary School at the time of the bombing, Lenita was a seventh grader. I cannot tell you what happened. In addition, national reporters began arriving within hours of the explosion. 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. I remember seeing the wide eyes on my band teacher as he collapsed with the EMTs afterward. 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? When I arrived I could see out on the lawn, there was a black object laying out on the grass. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! I think it was still in his body. She acknowledges these students for assisting her in researching her contributions to the WyoHistory.org web site. There are some survivors that couldn't believe how accurate much of it was. So he did try that device. Well, when I arrived at Cokeville, of course they had the roads all blocked off and there was not a lot of people around the school at the time. Rich Haskell: Not really that often, but every time I think about it I get very emotional. President Hinkley, President Monson, and President Faust. Read more The wire was cut. 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. 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: I sometimes do, but you can't let yourself think about it. TC is one of my heroes. Kind of a synopsis of what they were going to do and what their plans were and the whole thing. 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. We know for a fact that he had tried that device because he did it in Arizona and totally destroyed a school bus. Although many were burned, some severely, only the perpetrators of this horrible incident died. Several other survivors were there. Cokeville Elementary School is located at 205 N. Sage St. in Cokeville. A Project of the Wyoming Historical Society. Mark Junge: In fact, didn't you say you burned up your engine? Rich Haskell: Pretty sophisticated guy is what he was. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. This can, the aluminum powder, never went off. (Laughs) But as I was passing through Kemmerer I stayed in radio contact. This wasn't a simple bomb. David saw John Miller, the music teacher, trying to escape and shot him in the back. Mark Junge: But all of these holes were above the level of the children. When did Cokeville miracle happen? In 2006, the Cokeville Miracle Foundation compiled a book of recollections about the day from parents, emergency workers and former hostages. [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. Because of the experience and the different classes that I've attended, I know what bombs do to people, to buildings and to all kinds of structures. Box 37, Cokeville, Wyoming 83114. 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. Mark Junge: No? Rich Haskell: I think it could be a spiritual experience that I have with church, or being around the kids, I don't know. Lota, Louinn. It's just something that you just have to stay on top of. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. Doris developed a headache from the gasoline fumes, and raised her hand to her forehead. I actually hadn't thought of doing that, yet. Mark Junge: And when you went into the classroom you saw holes in the walls? How did it affect your family long-term? In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. Over the course of time he did various things to get our input from script readings early on, to being there on set, etc. In 1986, 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. It was within the first few weeks that the Hartley boy was explaining his witness. Rich Haskell: Well, I like to think I'm a better person because of it. I know it is real. 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. Yeah. Mark Junge: Today is the 23rd of September, 2010. SHARE Cokeville miracle marking 25 years. Virginia Tech, it wasn't that way. 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. And he didn't even ask me if I wanted to do that. Dr. Clark is the faculty advisor of the Sweet Memories: Research Group at Western. http://www.cokevillemiracle.com/movie.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cokeville_Elementary_School_hostage_crisis. It became a story of a miracle rather than a tragedy. Mark Junge: Did you help bring the body out? But it didn't. 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. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. His fever broke within minutes of getting it off his chest. 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. Well, you know how fine that dust is. Cokeville Public Library. Recording and transcription by Wyoming State Archives. [5] The wooden piece was tied to Doris' wrist by a string. Have you seen the Unsolved Mysteries episode that had a segment on this? 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. 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." Cokeville Children Held Hostage by Bomber., Cokeville Elementary School Bombing: 25-Years Later. Accessed May 17, 2013, at, Fagg, Ellen. No, we can't do this. On May 16, 1986, . 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. ITT: people who want to pick a fight with someone who survived an incredible experience. Rich Haskell: I am. I saw an early screening of the film and absolutely loved it. Now you are a bomb technician. There were plenty who opposed this from Cokeville, not a majority, maybe, but they were vocal and raw with feelings. Rich Haskell: Yeah, I think I did. Welcome to /r/latterdaysaints, a sub for members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly known as Mormons). Amy Bagaso Williams was a fifth-grader when a couple used a bomb while taking hostages at her Wyoming school on May 16, 1986. [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. That your life could change just at a blink of an eye. I certainly enjoy my grandkids a lot more. She is one of the survivors whose story has become a part of The Cokeville Miracle. May 24, 1986 12 AM PT. Rich Haskell: Approximately three and a half days. Some of the children just sat right all around and just watched him. That's a true line in the movie. Rich Haskell: Well, I did learn later that the kids saw the angels. This wasn't a pipe bomb. 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! Sue Castaneda: Where did you get your training for that? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. What did you find out about them? The windows had been knocked outhad been blown out. 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. Two of the three blasting caps on the bomb failed to detonate; the wires to each tuna can had been reportedly cut. I had the chance to watch the pre-screening of the film and it was very emotional. Mark Junge: What's been your experiences since then? She lifted her hand up to rub her forehead and when she did that pulled the pin out and detonated the bomb. Do you think this is a historical event? The kids couldn't have done it. Now, 28 years later, Conger and more than a dozen other survivors are reliving . Mark Junge: Well, what do you think would cause two people like this to do this? Mark Junge: Why do you think that God chose Cokeville to save? There was no give in the school bus. During the chaos, Doris' burnt body was expelled through a window, and left lying on the front lawn. The children and adults escaped after the bomb exploded. In a May 16, 1986 photo, the body of Doris Young is removed by officials after the Cokeville Elementary hostage situation in Cokeville, Wyo. ", All told, 79 of the hostages suffered injuries, mostly second-degree burns, smoke inhalation, and other injuries from the exploding bomb. I went from within two feet of the bomb to right near the door within ten minutes before the bomb went off. After being fired for misconduct, he moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he married Doris Young. This is not a Mormon film it is more of an inspirational film. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. WyoHistory.org welcomes the support of the following sponsors. I believe there was a hundred-and-sixty-plus people involved that was being held. In their minds they could start another world. You just do whatever you have to do and get up there." David, Doris and Princess proceeded to the elementary school and entered the building shortly after 1 p.m. that Friday. David, who dared not risk their reporting him to the authorities, responded by holding them at gunpoint. 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. Rich Haskell: Absolutely! So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. [5], "You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. David Young. 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 wondered what that was, but then immediately noticed my friends over by the door talking to Doris. So if the state didn't pay him, he figured the Mormon church would pay him because the Mormon church has money also. They lived in a mobile home with Princess, Davids youngest daughter from his first marriage. I mean, not everybody would do this. And knew what they could do? That's my lucky miracle. AN EXPLOSION of vapors, resultLing from a combination of circumstances at the Kearney, N. J., plant of the Koppers Coke Company, on May 17, 1948, resulted in the death of ten men and started a . Cokeville seems like a pretty small town. Excerpt from the book "On This Day In Wyoming History": David young You know their names but not their birthdays. 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. What is the LDS population of the town and how big was your school? And screaming, I can't imagine the screams that she was making. She lured them by telling them there was either an emergency, a surprise, or an assembly there. 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. By the people that was the bad folks, they're the only ones that got really hurt. He was asking large amounts of money. You could see that the roof tiles had been lifted out of their brackets. I think I made it there in record timeI'm not sure. Certified Bomb Technician. Interesting stuff to me! So you got that and you got the flour and the gasoline and that's what it was all designed to do in millisecond delays. Because they refused to participate, Princess, Deppe, and Mendenhall were never charged in relation to this crime. But David refused to reveal his plans entirely until moments before they unfolded. Cokeville Elementary School is located at 205 N. Sage St. in Cokeville. When the children became increasingly loud, Doris Young began begging the teachers to settle the group down. He listened so well, so patiently. where there's only a limited population, that's going to throw the fear of God into everybody. If I deleted an entire phrase, I have inserted ellipses . . 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: Had you seen anything like what took place in this classroom before? In 1986 , 154 children and teachers survived the bombing of Cokeville Elementary School. In the movie, it shows the tension building towards the prayer and then shortly after the bomb went off. Because in the bus, everything was solid in the school bus. Witnesses later testified that just before the explosion David Young had connected the explosive to his wife. 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? 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 . And the bathroom was off to the side of it because it was the kindergarten class. Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. Well, he had put wooden shelves for layers. According to survivor accounts, Doris enticed many into the first grade room by announcing that their presence was required for a school assembly. No, not at all. 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. If you are interested in seeing the film, theaters are listed here. In the West? Mark Junge: You had some bullets in the ceiling that you had to investigate, too. 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. We're in a conference room here on the main floor. There was nobody killed but the perpetrators. [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 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. It has shaped me to know that God is real. At that time, about 500 people lived in Cokeville, and there were slightly more than 100 students attending the elementary school. Mark Junge: That's a record of all the people we've talked to! Mark Junge: Do you still think about this? COKEVILLE, Wyo. Trent Toone, Mormon Times. Young met his second wife, Doris Waters, while in Cokeville. it is VERY LDS, and yet there are at least 3 other churches in town: Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist (and sometimes a non-denominational church). results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. And that's what we in this country have that these other fanatics or whatever is the family is the import factor. Rich Haskell: I'm Rich Haskell. And you could see that she had been burning by just looking at her out on the front lawn. I later learned he'd been shot in the back. Immediately following the detonation, the teachers started to shove children into the hallway, and through two open windows onto the grass outside the school, causing chaos as panicked parents tried to break through police lines. I'd like to think so. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Repanshek, Kurt J. Rich Haskell: No. 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. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. I don't think that they were planningor David was planning on the ceiling tiles in the school. We didn't know if the blasting caps were in therejust exactly what was in there. But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. Also, what do you want us to know about it that isn't covered in the film? They messed with the kids and that brought a whole communityin fact, it brought the whole western half of the state all together. A compilation project by the Cokeville Miracle Foundation, a 501(c) (3) charity. Edit: Also, were you at that early screening? Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. [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. David's youngest daughter from his first marriage, Princess, entered the elementary school with David and Doris, but refused to carry out the plan, leaving to report the incident at the town hall. She acknowledges these students for assisting her in researching her contributions to the WyoHistory.org web site. 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.