Having done a report on this year's memorial service, I thought I would go back and talk about the service two years ago.
On Saturday, April 19 of that year, about 120 to 150 people came out to Mt. Carmel, not including media. I was determined to make my own estimate, not just out of curiousity, but because of accusations I'd heard that the media deliberately undercounted attendance at the first anniversary. (The only estimate I heard about 1997, on NBC News, put the number at 100, which was definitely too low.)
Speaking of the media, there was a large media presence, and also a satellite dish present. I was told that there was a lot more media than the year before.
The event was held not just on the property, but out by the ruins themselves. The chairs had been set out on the concrete slab that had been the floor of the building's gymnasium.
I got to the event late, and did not catch the first speaker. To the best of my recollection, the other speakers included, not necessarily in this order:
Jack Zimmerman, the lawyer for Steve Schneider, had also spoken
at previous events.
Dick DeGuerin, David's lawyer, described the surrender plan
and read the letter David had sent out to him outlining his intention to
write his manuscript on the Seven Seals and come out. That day was the
first time he had come back to Mt. Carmel since the fire- the memories
were just too painful- and he was there with his wife.
Ramsey Clark, the former Attorney General, spoke extensively
about the FLIR tape, and a recent Washington Post article detailing their
efforts to determine if the tape showed gunshots.
Kirk Lyons, controversial attorney for the CAUSE Foundation,
recommended that everyone put a photo of a dead Davidian where they would
see it regularly, to remind them of why they had to keep struggling.
Clive Doyle, one of the survivors, gave an emotional speech
about the friends he had lost. He also described the physical abuse Livingstone
Fagan and Brad Branch were suffering in prison.
Afterwards, a fellowship lunch was held at the Elite Cafe. A room had been rented there, and attendees enjoyed a catered meal. I have been told that David's mother, Bonnie Haldeman, paid for it with the proceeds she had gotten from one of the tabloid shows for an interview.
During the course of the lunch, survivor Sheila Martin led a caravan
from the Cafe to the East Waco cemetery where many of the Davidian dead
are buried.
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