Revisiting Waco

REVISITING WACO

Not geographically, but in memory

by Les Govment

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It was a crisp autumn day in 1984 when I first met Jimmy Riddle outside the entrance to a church in Waco, Texas. As I approached the entrance, he greeted me and introduced himself. Shortly thereafter we found ourselves engaged in conversation. We had gotten so caught up in the conversation that by the time we were done, the church service inside was coming to an end.

Jimmy told me he was a member of the Branch Davidians, who were split into two groups at the time. One group-- which Jimmy was a part of-- followed David Koresh and were staying in a house in Waco. The other group was loyal to George Roden, son of the Davidians' founder. Roden controlled Mt Carmel Center, which was the Davidians’ residential and church property, just east of Waco. (For the record, I never met Koresh or Roden.)

I eventually visited Jimmy at the house in Waco. There I met several other Davidians, including a man about 60 named Perry Jones. Perry was loading things into the trunk of a car as we talked, and he said something kinda weird. He said, “Reagan and Falwell are setting up the Mark of the Beast.”

Hmm.

Jimmy later invited me to visit Mt Carmel Center. He and his mom met me outside of the entrance, and escorted me in. Roden’s son, seeing an unfamiliar vehicle coming in, rode his ATV to the entrance to check up on me. Since I was with Jimmy, Roden’s son let me pass (some of the Koresh faction was still being allowed into Mt Carmel). Jimmy, his mom and I were invited into one of the cottages on the property which were occupied by elderly Davidians. As I recall, we talked for about an hour. Jimmy told me more about the Davidians and their beliefs. When I was preparing to leave, I said to Jimmy, “Some of this stuff sounds kind of shaky to me. Be careful.” Jimmy appreciated my concern.

After I returned to my home in Florida, Jimmy and I started corresponding as pen pals, which lasted about four years. During that time, the rift between Koresh and Roden continued. That eventually resulted in a shootout at Mt Carmel Center, which Jimmy told me about in a letter.

I later lost interest in corresponding with Jimmy. We had gone about four years without writing to each other. And then IT happened.

On Sunday morning February 28, 1993, about 80 ATF agents launched an armed assault on Mt Carmel Center. Reportedly, David Koresh came to the front door to talk to the ATF, but to no avail. A shootout ensued. Koresh suffered a gunshot wound. Perry Jones was also shot right there near the front door and he died later that day. Four other Davidians were also killed in the raid.

Four of the ATF’s jackboots also died of gunshot wounds on that day.

In what was supposed to have been an attempt to serve an arrest warrant (for Koresh) and a search warrant (for weapons), the ATF did a raid instead. (Reportedly, the ATF didn’t even have the paper warrants with them. In any case, the warrants were never presented.)

What followed the raid, was the FBI’s infamous siege on Mt Carmel Center. During the 51-day siege, the FBI started harassing the Davidians by blasting various noises at the residence throughout the nights. The FBI also cut off the Davidians’ electrical and water supplies.

Finally, on April 19th, the FBI battered the walls of the residence with tanks and started injecting CS gas with a flammable agent into the building. Several hours later, fire erupted in the residence. Firefighters were prepared to rush in and put out the fires, but the FBI prevented the firefighters from going in.

Dozens of Davidians-- men, women and children-- perished in the fire. Several of them-- including Clive Doyle and David Thibodeau-- were able to escape the building (Doyle would later testify before Congress concerning the events at Mt Carmel).

And what happened to my pen pal Jimmy Riddle? At the time, I had no idea whether or not Jimmy was at Mt Carmel during the siege. It wasn’t until years later that I finally heard the news: Jimmy perished at Mt Carmel on the day of the fire. 

RIP, Jimmy. //

James Loye Riddle Jr. (1960-1993)  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213812724/james-loye-riddle

David Thibodeau talks about the raid and the siege https://youtu.be/yfoT6WTA57I   

© 2022 Les Govment

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