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. I want to really live and make a positive difference in the lives of others.". And he had to defuse bombs. I remember watching that when I was a younger kid, and when they were interviewing the witnesses, I remember several of them referencing "Heavenly Father " instead of "God," and I knew immediately they were LDS. Chaos ensued. Sue Castaneda: Which is the son who is also running for sheriff? Wheeling in a high-powered shrapnel bomb and a full arsenal of guns, they terrorized a school of 154 kids and their teachers, demanding a $300 million ransom. In Cokeville, Nowhere, Wyo. Thank you for sharing your witness that God is real and that He knows about tiny wounds in mortal souls that need a balm of healing. Rich? In addition, national reporters began arriving within hours of the explosion. Also, what do you want us to know about it that isn't covered in the film? What should people know going into the film? He was asking large amounts of money. We just focused on being grateful. You can't think, well, maybe something could happen, because yes it could. Students, teachers, visitors, staff who survived the ordeal and bystanders began recounting their memories of this event as it was still unfolding. They increasingly spoke about their memories in public with professional psychologists, church officials and community counselors. "I don't experience too many panic attacks anymore because I have learned to breathe through the anxiety and focus, but the thing that distinctively changed my PTSD is when my own children began elementary school as first graders. The kids couldn't have done it. Interesting stuff to me! At the same time, parents and authorities gathered on the opposite side of the school. Used with permission and thanks. Rich Haskell: There was also ayou look through the ceiling and there was a bigger hole up there. Mark Junge: Do you think David or Doris would have cut it? At that time, about 500 people lived in Cokeville, and there were slightly more than 100 students attending the elementary school. 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. I mean, Columbine, it wasn't that way. Soon enough, though, he was dismissed from the position after a 6-month probationary period. I felt compression and heat and I heard teachers screaming and yelling to get down.". 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. 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. Used with thanks. Audio/Video Recording. The bomb went off and no one died, except the perpetrators. Have there been any lingering psychological effects from going through something so traumatic while so young? Rich Haskell: I took pictures of it. I don't know. Mark Junge: Do you think he took up thatwanted to take that up because of you? Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized.~Transcribed by Russ Sherwin, Feb. 27, 2011. Investigators found that the bomb had been perhaps miraculously broken. Rich Haskell: Absolutely. I've got a couple of questions. As a result, the blast, which should have leveled the entire wing, had gone straight up and so minimized human harm. Part of HuffPost Impact. Encircled it. Have you had anything like this, anything close to this happen? He instructed Doris and Princess, by now a young adult, to handcuff them inside his van. TC (the director) also worked incredibly hard to make this a story that can be widely appreciated by members of all faiths. 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. But shortly after entering the school, Princess decided to rebel. But everything was black, like you had gone in there with a flamethrower and just torched everything inside there. Sue Castaneda: Where did you get your training for that? I would peer through the windows, sit outside and watch over them during recess like a creeper just to make sure nothing was happening to them. Returning to the Church, but a bit confused. Frantic parents, gathered behind police barricades, cried out for their children as police officers ran toward the school. Cokeville Bombing. Undated scrapbook. In short, what could have been a tragedy had become a miracle. 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. This school is being taken hostage! One listener took the time to write an incredibly thoughtful response to the presentation. Too many of 'em to try to remember their birthdays. Would like LDS Architecture Controversy in Connecticut, Press J to jump to the feed. And I think it's made me a stronger person. Rich Haskell: Yeah. Rich Haskell: Absolutely! 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. The first chapter is titled A Town of Trust.. Rich Haskell: The bullet in him was in the bathroom. Young, on the other hand, suddenly retreated into the bathroom and shot himself dead. Accessed May 28, 2013 at. 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. And my children. Lori says that God truly is all-powerful, that "His ways are higher then our ways," and that He can and will intervene in behalf of His children. You can ask me anything about this today between 1-2pm. In the days and weeks immediately after this event, most accounts focused on the horrors of the day. Little something my husband drew during church today. You know their names but not their birthdays. I have no doubt about my friends witness testimonies - even though I saw or heard nothing such as they did. She was totally burned. Mark Junge: One of the things that Sue and I found out is that people don't regret doing this because they think it's important for history. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. I mean, we're talking about from kindergarten kids up to 10-, 11-, 12-years old. Many recalled praying silently, forming prayer circles and seeing angels during the crisis. Mark Junge: They weren't big enough, in a way. results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. 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. Returning, David Young shot his wife, then himself. I mean, not everybody would do this. To go off to the side? Mark Junge: What were they designed to do? Where you find brackets [ ] I have added words for explanation or to complete an awkward sentence. They forget about what happened in Cokeville with a lot more people and the potential of what was there. Outside, parents surged at police lines to reach their children and shouted their names. 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, took 96 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. Following the explosion, 79 children were taken to area hospitals, most of which were located more than an hours drive from Cokeville, for treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. 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. Cokeville Trying to Rebuild A Normal and Secure Life.. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. They're the ones that died from the whole thing. Mark Junge: Okay. cokeville miracle debunked. This can, the aluminum powder, never went off. The experience was especially intense for those who had prayed. 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. 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. So timelines and characters may be switched up, but the overall spirit of it and the facts are laid out true to witness testimonies. It is a touchy topic for us, and could come across the wrong way. She is a trained rural historian who specializes in oral history, childhood history and memory studies. I can't explain it. Here is a local story from the 20 year anniversary (we are at the 29th year now), What's your side of the story? Meanwhile, at the school, David set up the bomb at the center of Classroom #4. Gratitude is a great healer. Is This The Most Sinister Ghost Picture Ever Taken? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. 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. He came out of the bathroom, is what we figured. As a society we tend to talk around or mock prayer and having faith in God. You'd had experience? "That day was terrifying, but so was learning how to live with the aftermath in my life. As Davids youngest child, Penny, still lived with them, they quickly sought a new home in a trailer park. Chalkboards andwhat do they call those?whiteboards, I think they are, along the walls. From film and book adaptations to the Wyoming State Archives oral history project, Survivor Is My Name, what is clear is that this reprehensible attack only made the community all the stronger. Then he went to the restroom, which was attached to the classroom. Rich Haskell: Well, I did learn later that the kids saw the angels. As a society we tend to talk around or mock prayer and having faith in God. Jessica Clark, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of history and political science at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo. Rich Haskell: No, it's not. With the explosionwhat occurred? He just said just go do it. It was there for a long time, all that support. 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. It depends on your focus. It became a story of a miracle rather than a tragedy. It was not a teacher, but her ancestor. All the hostages escaped, though 79 were hospitalized with burns and injuries. What is sacred to some, is smeared by others - even after we hear eye-witness accounts of miracles. People who had guns! David Young entered the school with his wife transporting a large gasoline-filled device that appeared to be a bomb. As reporters converged on Cokeville, another story emerged. These are designed to just spread out the particles all over the air. Now you are a bomb technician. They believed in reincarnation, which probably led, in part, to the creation of Davids Brave New World idea. Play trailer 2:15 1 Video 6 Photos Drama Family History Children who were held hostage in their elementary school tell stories of miraculous things, but many adults are skeptical that the Cokeville Miracle ever truly happened. This did, in fact, happen in Wyoming! ", "When my last son reached the end of first grade, I had the opportunity to tell them about the traumatic event in my life. 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. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Also, how long was it before the kids started talking about seeing angels? I had the chance to watch the pre-screening of the film and it was very emotional. And they had trouble keeping people away from the building. How the Historic Persecution of Witches Led to the Infamous Salem Horrifying Old Hag Ghost Caught on Camera at Fort Worth Museum, Nightmare Fuel: 7 Strange and Creepy Demons From Around the World, In the Blood: 19 People Confess their Deepest and Darkest Family Secrets, 10 Strange and Sinister Sance Pictures from the Turn of the 20th Century, 6 Strange Supernatural Events Witnessed by Police Officers. The couple corralled a large group of students and teachers into a single classroom. If I cant get answers I'll probably leave the church. 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. In most cases I have deleted redundant ands, ers, uhs, buts, false starts, etc. There are several great resources out there. I cannot tell you what happened. This all happened about 8 months after the bombing. And I didn't know about the angel thing comin' to the kids until many days later. Rich Haskell: Well, as we were talking before we started recording, because of my knowledge with the explosives and with the law enforcement and everything else, I've had many opportunitiesbecause of the explosivesI've been with Vice President Cheney when he was here in Wyoming up in Pinedale. Of course, most children were elated by the prospects of an assembly. I think it was still in his body. Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Repanshek, Kurt J. The Cokeville hostage crisis began the afternoon of May 16, 1986, when David and Doris Young took 154 children and adults hostage at the Cokeville Elementary School in tiny Cokeville, Wyo. His latest, The Cokeville Miracle (read my review), portrays the events of a 1986 elementary school bombing, in which multiple children witnessed angels protecting them. . But it still sent flames all over in the room and you can see where all the flames were in that room. Lota, Louinn. There are a select number of people that would do this, so thank you. The miraculous events that followed transformed the lives of hundreds of people, including many who witnessed angels or received heavenly help from deceased ancestors. Mark Junge: Do you think you were cut out to do this job? 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." When they refused to participate, David held them at gunpoint while his daughter and wife handcuffed them inside their van. Mark Junge: This bomb was designed to do what? It sounds like surefire fodder for a faith-based film, which is exactly what "The Cokeville Miracle" is. Box 37, Cokeville, Wyoming 83114. Do you ever think about them? I contacted the dispatch up in Kemmerer to get firsthand information as to having second- and third-hand information and they informed me that the school indeed had been taken hostage. It's a little basket that has different layers on it. What is sacred to some, is smeared by others - even after we hear eye-witness accounts of miracles. He still needed to tell it to his parents though, and that's basically what you see in the movie. I guess I should say I am only speaking as a child, the adults were probably tense the entire time! You HAVE to find the positives or the negatives can eat you up the rest of your life. The basket, the shelves. Katie has always . . results in the deaths of perpetrators David and Doris Young; 154 hostages survive. Family is the most important thing in a Mormon family. In Davids writings, he explained that the imaginary world of Zero Equals Infinity felt like his and the Cokeville childrens last resort. ", Kam's lessons from Cokeville are profound:1.Bad things can happen anywhere, anytime.2.Not all men in beards are bad, but the eyes can tell you.3.God does intervene when men use their freedom to ask for His help.4.I need to pray.5.Miracles are real.6.Angels are real, and evidently our relatives are among them.7.Being super intellectual is not necessarily an advantage, but children praying with childlike faith is a super power.8.God lives. Carbon County School District No. I believe a presence was entering the room at about that time. Guys like you have to go and search every corner. Either way, right after my joke is about when David excused himself from the room. Rich Haskell: Approximately an hour and ten, hour and fifteen minutes. They had both been married before and had children one daughter for Doris and two for David. She's an avid genealogist, so maybe get involved with that, and maybe go on a mission for the church. . Go to their hands and knees and crawl out. 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