“That’s how I spentmy 33 birthday, Lying in a ditch out at ” rd
mount carmel.
To the Davidians, the ATF’s raid on Feb. 28 fulfilled Howell’s prophecy. According to the “Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas,” Howell confirmed on March 2, 1993, that there were 43 men, 47 women and 20 children inside the compound. Before given this head count, ATF officers and other law enforcement agents on the scene knew there were innocent people inside the compound. Negotiations immediately followed the initial raid. “Our negotiators were working with the county’s negotiators trying to get those kids out,” Pessink said. “We stayed there for 24 hours. That’s how I spent my 33rd birthday, lying in a ditch out at Mount Carmel.” The ATF raid ended when FBI took over negotiations, but a 51-day standoff followed. Negotiators tried to compromise with Howell many times to get him to surrender peacefully. The FBI and Hostage Rescue Team used many tactics to force those inside the compound to come out – like playing loud noises to induce sleep deprivation. They also allowed Howell to record an hour-long audiotape where he preached about his special knowledge of the Seven Seals and the end of the world according to the Book of Revelation and his promise to surrender peacefully after the tape was broadcast. The tape was broadcast nationwide over the Christian Broadcast Network and in Texas over KRLD. Howell did not surrender as promised because he claimed God had spoken to him and told him to wait to surrender. Over the course of the standoff, 38 Davidians either escaped or were released by Howell. Some releases were part of the FBI’s negotiations. On April 19, FBI executed plans to end the standoff by inserting tear gas into the compound. The FBI attached aerosol canisters of tear gas to booms of their tank recovery vehicles. Before injecting the gas, the FBI called inside the compound and warned that gas was about to be introduced and it was not an assault so no one should fire any weapons. Two minutes after the gas plan was initiated the Davidians began shooting the vehicles. FBI then inserted gas into the entire compound. The compound caught fire shortly after. There are differing views on who started the fire. The “Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas,” says “the Davidians started fires at three separate locations within the compound.”
Pessink agrees. “Vernon Howell was going to make his prophecy come true. Regardless of the situation he had a prophecy of death by fire and he was going to make this happen,” Pessink said. “The conspiracy theorists tell us that FBI burned this place down, but they burned themselves up. There were recordings at one time from inside the building saying that ‘the fire is lit, the fire is lit, the fire is lit’ and that’s never been really made public for whatever reason, but that was provided in the intel briefings for law enforcement that was involved in this after the fact.” Nine Davidians survived the fire; Howell (Koresh) was among the dead. “Folks find it hard to believe that 78 people allowed themselves to be burned up in a building, but in Jonestown, Guyana, 900 either drank the Kool-Aid (poison), took an injection if they didn’t want the Kool-Aid or somebody shot and killed them,” Pessink said. On April 19, 1993, the compound burned. On this day, Pessink was 35 miles away securing a local hospital, but he could see the mushroom clouds go up from the explosives inside the compound. He explains that the Davidians had more than just grenades stockpiled because there is a difference in a fire plume and an explosive plume. He also says that most of the children who they found in the aftermath had bullet holes in their heads where somebody had shot them before the place burned. “It was a bad and long-winded deal,” Pessink said. “Before that happened no one knew where Waco, Texas, was. After it happened everyone knew where Waco was.” April 19, 2012, marked the 19th anniversary of the “Waco event.” For many, this day is a day of mixed emotions and remembrance. “I still get a little antsy when the anniversary comes around, especially on April 19. That seems like a rally day for things to happen,” Pessink said. “Even though Waco is a large city, it has a population of over 100,000, we always had that small town, rural, it can’t happen here, type of belief. I think the change with everybody is that anything is possible. Things like this are not isolated to other areas. Things like this can happen in your town too. Don’t get caught unaware. This probably changed everybody involved to some degree. The tragic loss of life that was involved in that situation, in both law enforcement and civilian–everything that took place out there–just makes you stop and reflect.” o b
Brittani Pfau contributed to this story
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