Memorializing Mount Carmel Center east of Waco, Texas
photos, text, & video by Matthew Wittmer
Last updated May 20, 2013

See the Memorial Layout PDF on this site here for the name arrangement listing used for the placment of photos above.
Please email me if you have a photo of anyone above lacking an image and would like it added.

Memorial model of Mount Carmel, built by Matthew Wittmer in 1999.

"From start to finish, the unraveling of Waco would not be a work brought about by government and major institutions,
but by a handful of creative individualists who did their own thing."  

David Hardy and Rex Kimball, p. 110 from:

This Is Not An Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Incident

Philadelphia:Xlibris, 2001, ISBN: 0-7388-6342-4, LC# 2001116314

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                    

Photos of the property and memorials on this web page are, for the most part, organized in ascending
order, from oldest first to most recent last.  This is to honor how the property looked closest
to how it did when survivors Clive and Edna Doyle moved back on it in 1999.
The earlier photos reveal evidence that no longer exists on the property today.

         A Journey to Waco: Autobiography of A Branch Davidian by Clive Doyle. In print or kindle format. Catherine Wessinger and myself contributed to this book.

Below are links to material on this page for faster reference access.

        Traces of the Mount Carmel Community: Documentation and Access: PDF of my 2009 journal article in Nova Religio.
 
        Mount Carmel Center flag: my design of the center's flag based on comparative analysis of flag imagery.
 
        Mount Carmel Memorial model photos: images of the model I created for the Visitor's Center Museum.
 
        Visual introduction to Mt. Carmel property: video and photos of what it looks like going to the property.
 
        Chart A: my annotated timeline of events related to or that feed into the Mount Carmel property history.
 
        Historical Property Maps section: maps of Mt. Carmel property, where it is at, and floor layouts of the 1993 building.
 
        Summary of the events of 1993: a general overview of the events for those unfamiliar with events of spring of 1993.
 
         My Involvement: how and why I began my involvment.
 
        Reflecting on an American Tragedy: The Branch Davidians 20 Years later: Links & photos from this symposium.
 
        Photos from 2000: images of the old bus, the shelter before it collapsed, David's motorcycle and more.
 
        Photos from 2008: a couple of summer pictures when Trans-Texas Corridor project was impending the property.
 
        Photos from 2009: some of the last images of the memorial trees before their uprooting.
 
        Photos from 2010: a new kitchen on the back of the chapel is started and the shelter is flooded.
 
        Photos from 2011: new kitchen Pace has been building on the back of the chapel continues and shelter is washed out.
 
        Photos from 2012: swimming pool has been almost emptied, while stormshelter is flooded.
 
        Photos from 2013: a gate that locks at the front of the property has now been installed.
 
        April 19th Memorials: select images of memorials from recent years.
 
        Mount Carmel Memorial Tree & Stone Layout: story/pics about the memorial trees/stones and their repositioning.
 
        1995-2009 map of memorial trees and name stones: map of how the trees / stones were arranged from 1995-2003.
 
        Mount Carmel/Restland-Waco/Oakwood-Waco/Tyler Cemetery Burials: images of cemetery headstones burial sites.
 
        References: list of information sources I have consulted.

Matthew Wittmer on the Mount Carmel property.
April 21, 2013.

          




This design approximates the proportions
existing in the flat spacial dimensions of
shape in the flag's design.
June 2009.







  
I created the color woodcut above for the 2009 April 19th memorial service.
The woodcut technique and scale of the print restricted the amount of
detail I could display in this image of the flag's design.

Note the snake tail here is displayed as red in color.  This is because the snake
appears differently in photos of it during the siege depnding on the light
conditions and wind situation.  

The fabric used for the snake on the flag was reflictive silver, similar to
foil.  This material could have been sewn on top of  the blue material
used for the majority of the flag.  If this was the case, it would make
the snake tail appear darker if a source of light is behind the flag more
than in front of it, which could account for why it does appear dark
red to me in frames I've frozen from various raw news footage
taken throughout the duration of the siege.  
April 2009.
  

   
Front of my Mount Carmel memorial model in 2000.













This was the south side of the complex, the chapel is in the middle in front of the residential
tower and the gymnasium is on the photo's bottom right behind the chapel.
















The northeastern corner of the building area had a concrete swimming pool built in 1992.  
The central residential tower was four stories high. To the north of that tower was a room
used as a kitchen (sloped roof).














The front side of the building again.  Here you can see the gymnasium door on the right
which was actually a single door, not a double as depicted above.  

















The model on the stand I made for it for the Visitor's Center Museum
on the Mount Carmel property from 2001-2006.
December 2000.

Detailists might have noticed in some of my photos of the model on my web site, an
additional residential room window has been added. This was because after I made it,
 I discovered I had mistakenly left this window out (floor one, north end).

The actual building was less symmetrical than it appears upon closer study. For
instance, I put too much space between the second story windows above the
front door in this model.  In reality, those windows had much less space between them
when compared to the second story windows on the north end of the actual building.

                             








The chapel side with gymnasium from the back side view on the old model stand.
April 1999.
















Exhibition at the Sheldon Memorial Art Museum, Lincoln,
Nebraska.  My model was exhibited in two locations in Lincoln
prior to it's six year exhibit on the Mount Carmel property
east of Waco, Texas. The stand I created here ensured
that people saw the building at eye level so it would
appear similar to photos taken of the actual building.
Spring 2000.











Myself with the model.
November 1999.

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Visual introduction to the
Mount Carmel property east of Waco, Texas
photos and video by Matthew Wittmer

The videos and pictures below are presented to
show you to what it looks like traveling
to the Mount Carmel property.

The Mount Carmel property is behind this hill in the distance off of Farm Road 2491.
The new chapel can be seen slightly to the center right.
December of 2000.

August of 2008.




April of 2010.




April 18, 2011.





April 18, 2012.





April 20, 2013.

[Back to index near top of page]

Chart A: timeline of Mount Carmel event history
photos by Matthew Wittmer
Click the chart below to download the 8-page annotated timeline

Chart A: A mapping of events behind the history of the Mount Carmel property east of Waco, Texas.
Click chart above to download the readable, and annotated PDF file.

Location of Mount Carmel.  Click on map above for PDF of the map.

[Back to index near top of page]

Historical Property Map: Link to a fully annotated version of the map above by clicking on the map.

How Mount Carmel appeared in 1993. Click on map above for PDF download.

Ground and second floor layouts of Mount Carmel Center in 1993.
Click on map above for PDF download.

Mount Carmel: summary of the events of 1993
by Matthew Wittmer

A few miles east of Waco, Texas lies 77 acres of land that is owned by the General Association of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.  I refer to this land on this web page as the "Mount Carmel Property." On that land, there have been several buildings constructed since 1957 or possibly even 1945.  Those who have resided on the property over the decades have referred to the land by a few names, but a recurring title has been Mount Carmel or Mt. Carmel.  Those who resided and studied with David Koresh from the early 1980's onward refer to the property and the residential complex they built there as Mt. Carmel or Mount Carmel. It is also referred to as 'new Mt. Carmel' because the original Davidian property under Victor Houteff's leadership was in the city of Waco until the mid 1950s.
 
Those who built and lived in this particular residential complex east of Waco along with David Koresh became the focus of worldwide attention in 1993 when they were raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF or BATF), an agency of the Treasury Department.

The February raid in 1993 (later determined by many sources to have been conducted for publicity to gain the press coverage for the ATF prior to the then upcoming budget appropriation hearings that threatened to cut funding for the ATF) utilized significant gunfire from agents that resulted in the killing of several Mount Carmel residents.  Four ATF agents were also killed from gunfire that day.  Mount Carmel residents claim they fired in self defense to protect themselves from the agents gunfire and explosives deployed by the ATF agents that morning.  It was later determined at the criminal jury trial in San Antonio jury that the ATF agents in this raid had used "excessive force."  

After this initial raid, the FBI positioned themselves as negotiators and law enforcement on the Mount Carmel property by blocking off public access to the property by surrounding the perimeter and coordinating with various other agencies. Many residents refused to leave Mount Carmel for a variety of reasons, the primary being a distrust from being raided illegally with excessive force followed by a heavily biased media coverage that claimed residents had "murdered" or "ambushed" the ATF agents that morning. Residents also faced the threat of loosing their property if they left their building that day, as this would have broken a five-year residential agreement the group committed to in 1988 (see Chart A on this website, end note c43). On 19 April 1993 American government tanks demolished major sections of the complex while media coverage stated residents were still inside. The building caught fire around noon that day and burnt completely to the ground. The remains of at least 82 residents were recovered from the site which had been leveled by the fire. The FBI justified their tank demolition, as well as their gassing of the complex (both of which would have jeopardized the lives of children and infants living inside), as a tactic to scare the parents they said were inside the building in hopes it would convince parents to remove their children from the dangers the tanks and gas presented.  

While the government's official ruling since the day of the fire has been that the residents of Mount Carmel set the final fire, the eleven Mount Carmel survivors that were accused of murder and conspiracy to murder federal agents were each found not guilty in the 1994 San Antonio criminal jury trial. A significant degree of the public conscious continues to be grossly misinformed of the complexity of the events of the initial ATF raid, the events during the siege, the criminal trial, civil trial, the re-examination of the case by Special Counsel, and the history of Davidian and Branch Davidian movements on the Mount Carmel property.  This is because widespread awareness about the group's theology, history, and the survivors' perspectives have not been made as accessible for public consumption to an equal degree as the government's perspective of this group that has been fanned by mainstream media sources. Survivor and independent perspectives have not been privy to the widespread distribution channels the FBI utilized during the siege.  Thier perspective of the siege continues to live on in the documented coverage since that time. Coverage during the siege remained highly sensational in character and grossly simplified due to various factors that included the demand for new updates and stories every day during the 1993 siege by networks, the polarizing reliance on primarily the tactical and government agencies for progress reports throughout the siege. The lifestyle of the community that the government perspectives presented emphasized the differences this community had (and in some cases did not have) when compared to mainstream American cultural beliefs.  In the effort to encapsulate the events and aftermath, press coverage and documentaries frequently oversimplify the case cradeling the notion that the people inside Mount Carmel were a strange religious cult.  I created this web page to help provide information about the community from a less sensational point of view.

My involvement with Mount Carmel
by Matthew Wittmer


Visiting the Mount Carmel property with survivors.
April 18, 2010.
Photo courtesy of W. Taylor.

The catalyst that inspired me to begin getting more directly involved with the people, documents and work that all pertains to this community (and the continual research into the events of 1993) was seeing the director's cut of a documentary by Michael McNulty, called Waco: The Rules of Engagement (the red-jacket, director's cut) in 1998. That version, as well as the mass produced version by Somford Entertainment, galvanized me with its juxtapositions of survivor accounts and footage taken throughout the raid, siege, and events on 19 April 1993.

Initially I was very interested in understanding more about how and why the building the FBI and press referred to as a "compound" was constructed.  I began contacting survivors in 1999 and started visiting the property eight miles east of Waco.  As you can see from the photos on this web page, I have continued to revisit the property and survivors over the years. When I visited in December 2000 several artifacts from the siege (the bus, David's motorcycle, piled rubble) still remained.  From 1999 to 2006 was also when the memorial efforts on the property were primarily managed by survivors.

I began asking survivors Clive and Edna Doyle about the Mt. Carmel complex in 1999.  These inquiries interested me more in the lives of the survivors and in becoming more informed about what had happened at Mount Carmel, as well as what is being done (and not done) to preserve the history of this community and what happened.  Clive explained that the building at Mount Carmel was constructed from recycled lumber that had been re-used from smaller houses that had been constructed on the property after the property was acquired in 1957, however I have since come across aerial photographs of these structures that suggest those little houses could have been there as early as 1945.  These houses were dismantled (according to Clive Doyle and Sheila Martin's accounts) with the specific intent to reuse the lumber from them to construct a larger, communal residential facility to cut down on travel time between houses for the elderly and to create a more community environment for when religious study sessions were held. Oversight of the design and construction was primarily directed by David Koresh. The people who knew the most about the history behind that building's construction were those who had built it and most of them were killed between the raid on 28 February and the destruction on 19 April 1993. 

Many sections of the building were used for various functions according to the survivors and functions changed as the complex expanded.  The front lengthwise section accommodated men's and women's residential rooms. All other exterior structures were added for the growing needs of the community.  These included a kitchen, which was behind the living quarters on the northern end, a gymnasium structure located behind the chapel, a four-story residential tower to the south of the kitchen, and a swimming pool just behind the kitchen.

Through developing observational drawings from video footage and photos of the complex, I constructed a model of the building to better understand the layout and function it provided the community, which is the model pictured in these photos on this web page.  I also designed the model to serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the events of 1993.  The model was eventually installed on the Mount Carmel property in late 2000 in the Visitor’s Center Museum (created by Clive in 1998) that was in operation between 1998 and 2006. The Visitor's Center Museum was managed by Clive Doyle and a local supporter up until March of 2006. During that time it exhibited artifacts from the building, surviving photos of the life on the property prior to the siege, donated photos from family and friends of residents who belonged to the community, defense exhibit photographs of the property, events, and agents present throughout the 1993 raid and siege.  Tens of thousands of people traveling through the area have visited the property since 1993 and continue to visit to this day.  

Due to ongoing differences in religious theology between the survivors and Charles Pace, a man who had not been a part of David Koresh's community but who had visited the property ever since the 1960s, Clive decided to move off of the property in March 2006. He and others ceased going there to worship beginning in 2006 (others who stopped using it were Sheila Martin, Catherine Matteson, and Bonnie Haldeman).  The property since 2006 has been managed by Charles Pace. Original materials and the theme of preserving the memory of the community under the theology of Koresh at the Visitor's Center Museum was dismantled by Clive in the summer of 2006 as well.  Since 2006, and as of August 2012, that little center has remained vacant.

In September of 2006 I picked up the model in Waco from Clive Doyle to help him save on storage expenses.

In August of 2008 I received a fellowship to research material holdings (i.e. records/documents) pertaining to Waco Branch Davidian history as well as materials pertaining to the events of 1993.  These materials are cared for by the Texas Collection, an archival research center in Carroll Library on the Baylor University campus.  

The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos Alkek Library received a Texas Heritage Digitization Initiative grant around 2008 to digitize a portion of investigative author Dick Reavis's research materials they now hold, that he amassed for his book The Ashes of Waco in 1995.   In February of 2009, I introduced survivors Sheila Martin and Catherin Matteson to Joel Minor and Kurt Johnson from the Wittliff Collections as it was Joel and Kurt who were working diligently to digitize many Reavis materials now available on a website managed by the Alkek library (see references for the link).  

Archivists Kurt Johnson & Joel Minor of Texas State
University-San Marcos meet with survivors Catherine Matteson,
Sheila Martin, and artist/librarian Matthew Wittmer.
February 2009.

A photo of me is still featured on a blog that Texas State set up to follow the Waco digital project progress at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/2009/05/419-memorial-service.html

In October 2009, my model of Mount Carmel was graciously accessioned by the Wittliff Collections at Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos, where Dick J. Reavis research materials about Mount Carmel are located.  News of the accession can be found at the blog linked to the digital archive the repository created with a special grant to digitize various materials in the Reavis collection: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/2009/10/another-new-acquisition.html

Understanding the history behind the Mount Carmel property, the religious communities that have lived on it, and the events of 1993, for me, has involved critically and comparatively analyzing records about the 1993 events, both visual and textual.  It has involvedexamining critical perspective material produced about the 1993 events and aftermath; speaking, writing, and visiting with survivors; and visiting the Mount Carmel site and the Waco area. Ken Fawcett has been a tremendous resource of knowledge and deserves mention. I created Chart A on this website from various materials in order to juxtapose events and people who have lived on the property. Chart A is not set in stone; I update it periodically. In April of 2013 I interviewed Charles Pace and plan to provide a transcription of that interview on this site by the summer of 2013.

Although these events are complex, I've found every survivor that I have met, written, or spoken with, to be down to earth and extremely approachable.  It is my hope that more attention will continue to be devoted to their stories so that this multiracial congregation that was comprised of people from around the world can be seen for who they are and/or were, and not for who the mainstream press often presents them to be - cultists.  Catherine Wessinger of Loyola University in New Orleans has graciously assisted three survivors in the process of creating their own autobiographies that present very humanized perspectives about this small community that has been so sensationalized over the years. I assisted Cathy with producing Clive's autobiography. Bonnie Haldeman's autobiography was released in 2007 (Bonnie was tragically stabbed and killed by her sister on January 23, 2009).  Sheila Martin's autobiography was released in April of 2009 and Clive Doyle's book is now released in August of 2012. Cathy Wessinger also interviewed survivor Catherine Matteson, a long time community member who was Lois Roden's assistant (Ben Roden's wife), and created oral history transcripts of Matteson's interviews which have been donated to the Texas Collection at Baylor University.  Matteson passed away on October 6, 2009.

Please consider picking up a copy of these survivor accounts to learn more about their community and the events of 1993.

Matthew Wittmer
Updated May 2013

Gordon Melton of Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion organized a full day symposium dedicated to reflecting on Branch Davidian history and the events of 1993.  I was invited to present a pictorial history of the Mount Carmel property to kick off the presentations.  Other speakers included Phillip Arnold, Catherine Wessinger, Clive Doyle, Sheila Martin, Stuart Wright and Gary Noesner.  For more details see the documents and links below:

Composite photo of some presenters during the April 18th 2013 symposium.

The links to the videos of each speaker's presentation in this full day symposium will be posted below when made availabile by Baylor I.S.R.:
(links coming soon)

Click the image below for PDF of symposium program and biographies of all presenters:

Branch Davidian Sheila Martin, property documentarian Matthew Wittmer, and
Criminal Justice author Stuart Wright following the April 18th, 2013 symposium.

Former FBI Chief Negotiator (for the initial weeks of the 1993 siege)
Gary Noesner and Branch Davidian fire survivor Clive Doyle talk following the
symposium presentations on April 18, 2013.

Mount Carmel property: photos from December 2000
by Matthew Wittmer

Farm road sign just as you leave Waco heading for the property.
December 2000.










A new chapel was built with donations where the old one used
to exisit.  The white stucture closer to the camera is one of
Amo Roden's self-built monuments.  She was squatting on the
property when I took the photo and distributing her literature
from this monument.  Amo had a common-law marriage to
George Roden just before David's community came to the
property in the late 1980s.
December 2000.

                    

The new chapel (finished with volunteer efforts in 2000) rests approximately where the old chapel had existed.
December 2000.
.
.
.
          

    Building location markers were placed to commemorate
where parts of the building once stood.
December 2000.






             

This photo was taken from where the front doors of David's Mount Carmel
used to exist. The former Visitor's Center can be seen on the left and
the house the ATF used is visible across the street.  This house was
demolished in 2004. One of David Koresh's motorcycles can be seen
here but has since been moved.
December 2000.











This stone memorializes all the names of those killed in Mount Carmel
community in 1993. Charles Pace moved it to the front of the property
sometime after 2006 where he also stacked all of the
individual name stones from the memorial trees.
December 2000.

 
The pool foundation was intact and was full of water in 2000.
December 2000.

[Back to index near top of page]

Mount Carmel property: photos from 2008

by Matthew Wittmer

   
         The crape myrtle trees were still doing well.
August 2008.

Opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor project can be seen posted here,
as the sun sets at Mount Carmel. See Dina Raston's article in my
reference section for more information.
August 2008.




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Mount Carmel property: photos from 2009
by Matthew Wittmer



The property in February of 2009.





The 2001 chapel has been used by Charles Pace and his congregation
since 2006.  Charles was not a member of David's community.
Photo February 2009.







The crape myrtle trees were still growing strong in their
original 1995 positioning in February of 2009.
February of 2009.





The inside of the swimming pool did not hold as much water in
2009 as it once did.
February 2009.






The west end of the storm shelter begins to cave in.
February 2009.








Photo collage of the storm shelter.
February 2009.









Photo collage of the two underground rooms that extended south from the south east corner
of the main underground storm shelter.
February 2009.

Survivor Catherine Matteson in the city of Waco at the
back door of her apartment. Catherine
passed away the following October.
February of 2009.

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Mt. Carmel property: photos from 2010
by Matthew Wittmer




Survivor Sheila Martin talks about the property history
at Mount Carmel.  
April 18, 2010.






A new kitchen is being built on the back of the chapel
by current property resident Charles Pace.
April 18, 2010.







Charles talks about what he's been doing as Clive Doyle looks on.
April 18, 2010.








The remains of the underground storm shelter are
completely flooded out this year.
April 18, 2010.








Storm clouds gather as rain begins.
April 18, 2010.



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Mount Carmel property: photos from 2011
by Matthew Wittmer



Charles Pace has built new stone gates at the property's entrance.
April 18, 2011.








Approaching the chapel - the replanted memorial trees have taken root.
April 18, 2011.









The chapel has been painted a softer off-white color in the last year.
April 18, 2011.









Progress on the kitchen in the back has developed over the
last year.
April 18, 2011.











Walking atop the bare remains of the underground storm shelter.
April 18, 2011.

I walk across the remaining concrete wall of David's underground storm shelter.
This is where the ceiling once was - it has caved in since April of 2010.
April 19, 2011.

 






Sitting at the remains of the pool.
April 19, 2011.

   
The chapel from the lake side early in the morning.
April 20, 2011.

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Mount Carmel property: photos from 2012
by Matthew Wittmer





Looking north toward the chapel
April 21, 2012.








Simeon cutting the grass with a machete. Taken from the second
floor window of the chapel looking west toward Double EE.
April 21, 2012.








Storm shelter looking eastward.
April 21, 2012.








Uncovered end of the storm shelter, flooded, deteriorating.
April 21, 2012.









Walking the storm shelter dividing wall.
April 21, 2012.

Click above to see my walk across the dividing
wall of the storm shelter ruins.
April 21, 2012.









The swimming pool foundation has been emptied this 
past year by Charles Pace who has been watering a
garden just east of the pool (photo left). He told me
he has plans of creating an "aquaponic garden" in the pool.
April 21, 2012.








Deep end of the pool foundation and the chapel.
April 21, 2012.










Ruins of the swimming pool have been almost emptied
by Charles Pace.
April 21, 2012.








Author Cathy Wessinger and Matthew Wittmer stand in the remains of the
swimming pool foundation at Mount Carmel.
April 21, 2012.









Eastern end of the old dairy barn on the eastern most end of the property.
This is where the FBI positioned their forward looking observers
during the 1993 siege.
April 21, 2012.

 

 

[Back to index near top of page]

Mount Carmel property: photos from 2013
by Matthew Wittmer

 

A new metal gate that locks has been added to the front drive.  Neighbor across
the street, Mr. Morris, has shouted at me from across the street now three years
in a row when I arrive to visit in an effort to deter me from driving in.
April 20, 2013.

 

 

 

Chapel.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

 

South side looking north.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

 

Telephone pole present in 1993 still stand, looking about the land.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

 

Pool.
April 20, 2013.

 

 

 

Looking south, pool and chapel.  Beautiful colors.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

 

Storm shelter concrete remains.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

 

Walking the shelter ruin's dividing wall.
April 20, 2013.

 

 

April 20, 2013
Walking the dividing wall of the storm shelter at Mount Carmel.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video for higher resolution)

Where the vault once was; and, where 15 children and 5 women were found
killed (inside that vault) on April 19, 1993.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

The end of the Mount Carmel driveway looking toward Double EE Ranch Road.
April 21, 2013.

 

 

Gate from inside the driveway looking toward Double EE Ranch Road.
April 21, 2013.

[Back to index near top of page]

April 19th memorials
2009 - 2013
photos by Matthew Wittmer

Survivor Catherine Matteson speaks.
April 19, 2009.

Survivor Clive Doyle speaks at the memorial.
April 19, 2009.

 

 

 

People come in as Clive Doyle speaks.
April 19, 2010.

 

Survivors.
April 19, 2010.

 

 

Survivor Clive Doyle speaking at the April 19th memorial in 2011.

 

 

 

Clive Doyle speaking at the 2011 memorial.
April 19, 2011.

 

 

Sheila and Kathy at the luncheon that followed.
April 19, 2011.

April 19, 2011.

 

 

Survivors Kevin and Brad along with Clive Doyle at the
April 19th, 2012 memorial.

 

 

 

Author Cathy Wessinger presents recent findings
at the April 19th, 2012 memorial in Waco, Texas.

 

 

 

 

Ofelia and Kathy.
April 19, 2012

 

 

Author Dick Reavis speaks with Catherine Wessinger as videographer
Jon Roland looks on, before the April 19th 2013 memorial begins.

 

 

Survivor Clive Doyle speaks with Catherine Wessinger about this year's
list of names of everyone who was killed that Matthew Wittmer compiled
in a handout before Clive starts the April 19th, 2013 memorial.

 

 

 

Charles Pace speaks to Dick Reavis before the April 19th, 2013 memorial.

 

 

 

Matthew Wittmer and Charles pace before the April 19th, 2013 memorial.

 

 

 

 

Catherine Wessinger addresses the crowd at the April 19th, 2013 memorial.

 

 

 

Matthew Wittmer presents a composite image he created of the 82 Branch Davidians
killed in 1993 at the April 19th, 2013 memorial service while survivor Clive Doyle
and he listen to Helen Marie Taylor's address to the audience.
Photo by Catherine Wessinger.

 

 

Clive Doyle begins reading the names of all those killed in 1993 at the
April 19th, 2013 memorial service.

 

 

April 19, 2013
13 minutes of clips from the April 19th 2013 Mount Carmel Memorial
Branch Davidian Clive Doyle, author Dick Reavis and Branch Davidian Paul Fatta speak.
(I recommend clicking the "480p" button beneath the video for higher resolution)

 

Survivor Paul Fatta speaks at the April 19th, 2013 memorial
about his experiences following the fire in 1993.

 

 

Kathy and Paul at the April 19th, 2013 memorial lunch.

 

 

 

Rick Donaldson and Clive Doyle after the April 19th, 2013
memorial service.

 

 

 

The trial model of the Mount Carmel building is now on exhibit at the
Helen Marie Taylor Museum in Waco, Texas.
April 19, 2013.

 

 

 

Looking westward and a bit south towards the back of the trial model
of the Mount Carmel building now exhibited in the Taylor museum
in Waco, Texas.
April 19th, 2013.

 

 

 

Survivor Clive Doyle recounts details about the Mount Carmel
building over one of the trial model of the building now
exhibited in the Taylor museum.
April 19, 2013.

 

 

Matthew Wittmer stands in the Taylor Museum next to the composite photo he created
of the 82 Branch Davidians killed in 1993.  The museum acquired the image at the 
April 19th 2013 memorial service so it may be exhibited in the museum's permanent
display of artifacts in a room dedicated to reflecting on the 1993 events.
Photo by Catherine Wessinger

[Back to index near top of page]

Evolution of the Mount Carmel memorial tree & stone layout
beginning with survivor efforts at the
1995 April 19th Memorial.
by Matthew Wittmer

In 1995, memorial crape myrtle trees were planted on the Mount Carmel property directly in front of
where David's building once stood. They were planted by Rick Donaldson and the survivors
 during the April 19th 1995 memorial.

 

Memorial tree and stone for Star Howell.





Trees here are without blooms in the winter.
December of 2000.

Memorial trees.
August 2008.

These trees were later each fitted with memorial headstones that had the name, date of death,
age, and country of origin of every community member who was killed between February and
April of 1993.




  David's memorial headstone as it appeared on
the Mount Carmel property.
December of 2000. 



Charles Pace (property resident since at least 1996) moved all of these stones from the trees in
2006 (see Cindy Culp article in references for photo of the original uprooting - David's stone was
destroyed as well). In April 2009, the stones were stacked vertically in two piles under the tree
near the front gate.  In April of 2013, Pace explained to me reasoning for why he moved the stones.
I will transcribe the recording of his reasoning to post on this site by the summer of 2013.



Here you can see the name stones stacked
in two piles under the tree near the
property's front gate.
February of 2009.





Charlie Pace by the stones.
April 2010.




In April of 2009, Charles had the trees themselves each uprooted from their original 1995 location,
which has effectively erased the survivor's initial memorial layout of the trees and stones. The trees
were pruned and replanted along the drive that lead from Double EE ranch road to the chapel.  Look
for my transcription of his reasoning for moving these by late summer of 2013 on this web page.




This is how the trees appeared in April of 2009 - completely
removed from their original placement and pruned.




The trees in April 2010.





Sometime in 2010-11, Charles Pace cemented the name stones together into more permanant walls
and positioned atop one wall another marble header that is a timeline of "shepherds" related to
Davidian/Branch Davidian history.



Newly cemented memorial stones with platform.
April 18, 2011.




Flags representing the nationalities of those killed
in 1993 are now positioned in front of the stones.
April 19, 2011.





First stacked wall of memorial name stones.
April 18, 2011.





Second stacked wall of memorial name stones.
April 18, 2011.






 The replanted, repositioned trees.
April 18, 2011.




The memorial trees from the vantage point of the
second floor of the chapel.
April 21, 2012.





Stacked monument near the front gate by tree.
April 20, 2013.






Crape Myrtle Memorial Trees.
April 20, 2013.






Below is a map of how the survivors planted these trees in 1995 and how they fitted each one
with a stone name marker. I made this map, and rubbings from every name stone, in December
of 2000. Row one was the furthest from where Mount Carmel once stood and row nine was the
closest to where the front of the building once was.

Now that all stones and tress have been removed, my website is the only effort that has 
documented the layout of how the trees and stones were initially arranged by survivors.




[Back to index near top of page]



Original placement of the Mount Carmel 
memorial name stones and trees
coordinated by the survivors
(from 1995-2006)
Documented by Matthew Wittmer in December of 2000

Map of how the stones and trees were arranged from 1995-2006. 
Click chart above for readable PDF.

[Back to index near top of page]

 

Rubbings of Mount Carmel Memorial name stones
Rubbings made in December of 2000.
by Matthew Wittmer

I created the following rubbings of the name stones in 2000 to
preserve them should they ever be moved or destroyed.
David's stone has since been destroyed.

Row 1, the furthest from where Mount Carmel stood, south to east (6 stones)

Row 2, south to east (9 stones)

Row 3, south to east (11 stones)

Row 4, south to east (11 stones)

Row 5, south to east (11 stones)

Row 6, south to east (10 stones)

Row 7, south to east (9 stones)

Row 8, south to east (8 stones)

Row 9, closest to where Mount Carmel once stood, south to east (7 stones)

 

[Back to index near top of page]

 

 

Cemeteries/burial sites of Mount Carmel Community residents

Mount Carmel Cemetery Burials
(on the property)
Photos by Matthew Wittmer
April 20, 2010

Several people have been buried on the Mount Carmel property in a cemetery that barely has markers anymore.
As of April 2011, three markers remain on the graves. While the cemetery was overgrown with weeds in April 
of 2010, a year later it had been mowed and horse manure is evident in various spots within the area.  As of 
April 2013, Edna's stone has been moved and the area was mown and tidy.

The Mount Carmel cemetery as seen on April 18, 2010.  
It is located inside the start of the chain link fence near
the road at the south end of the property.

 

The video above is from a 2010 visit to the cemetery on the Mt. Carmel property with
Ken Fawcett when the grass was very high.

Here in 2011, you can see the cemetery has been mowed and is being
used as a pasture.
April 18, 2011.

Tillie Friesen's grave is closest to
the road inside the fence.
April 18, 2010.

April 18, 2010.

 

 

Tillie's marker has been mowed over.
April 18, 2011.

Edna Doyle's grave is the next one to
the east of Tillie Friesen's marker.
April 18, 2010.

April 18, 2010.





Edna Doyle's marker has been run over.
April 18, 2011.

Robert Arnold (aka Andrew X)'s marker is
just east of Edna Doyle's marker.
April 18, 2010.

April 18, 2010.





Edna Doyle's new grave marker.
April 18, 2012.





Metal fence now encloses the cemetery once known as Green Acres Cemetery.
April 21, 2013.

[Back to index near top of page].

 

 

McLennan County Restland Cemetery Burials
Waco, Texas
Photos by Matthew Wittmer
February of 2009 

February 2009.

The following photos are of all of the burial plot headstones located in the
McLennan County Restland Cemetery where several of the people who were killed
at Mount Carmel are buried.  The cemetery is referred to as a pauper's cemetery
by some of the local survivors. It is directly southeast of Oakwood Cemetery in the
city of Waco.  To access theses plots go to 9th street near the intersection of Martin
or Holt Avenue and you will see the gate pictured above. Floyd Houtman is in row 6.
Others who were killed in 1993 are in rows 7 and 8 in the order as arranged below.
Catherine Matteson, who died in 2009, is buried in row 18.

We miss you Catherine.  Rest in peace.



Oakwood Cemetery Burial
Waco, Texas
Photos by Matthew Wittmer
February 2009

Shari Doyle is buried on the north side of the south end of Oakwood Cemetery.

 

Tyler Memorial Cemetery
Tyler, Texas
Photos by Matthew Wittmer
April 2012

David Koresh, his mother Bonnie Haldeman, and her husband
Roy Haldeman are buried next to each other in the back part of the cemetery.

[Back to index near top of page]

 

Reference Sources

Baily, Brad and Bob Darden. 1993. Mad Man in Waco. Waco, Tex.: WRS Publishing.

Bresnahan, David M. 2000. Feds Accused of torturing babies: Waco lawsuit condemns FBI, Delta Force for gassing women, children for 6 hours. World Net Daily (26 January). http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=408 (accessed 30 June 2009). 

Brown, Peter J. 1993. On the trial in Texas. ONSTAT: America's Weekly Satellite Guide (May 24-30):C10-12.

Cole, Ron. 1993. Sinister Twilight: a tragedy near Waco, and a sinister twilight in America. Augie Enriquez: Portland, Oregon

Congressional Records. Congressional records are fully restricted for 50 years, however a listing for the Senate's records (ARC ID#657591 & #657590, both belonging to Record Group 46) and House of Representative records (ARC ID#1667879 belonging to Record Group 233) that each pertain to the congressional investigation into the events of 1993 at Mt. Carmel can be accessed via the National Archives & Records Administration's Archival Records Catalog (ARC) at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc.

CNN. April 17, 18, 2011. Waco: Faith, Fear, and Fire. Andy Segal, producer.

Culp, Cindy. 2006. Branch Davidians caught in another power struggle. Waco Tribune-Herald, (April 20):1A, 6A.

Day 51. 1994. VHS. Directed by Robert Mosley. UTV. Viewable on google videos at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6765270087708355283 (accessed 30 June 2009).

Department of the Treasury, Report of the. 1993. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Investigation of Vernon Wayne Howell also known as David Koresh (September). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. [524 pages approximately, including appendices.]

De Vault, Jack. 1994. The Waco Whitewash, San Antonio: Rescue Press.

Doyle, Clive. 2012. A Journey to Waco: Autobiography of a Branch Davidian. With Catherine Wessinger and Matthew Wittmer. Landham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

The F.L.I.R. Project. 2001. VHS. Produced, written, researched and directed by Michael McNulty. COPS Productions. This program shows how Danforth's re-examination of the forward looking infrared (taken on 19 April) is misleading and unreliable because basic details in reconstructing the use of the FLIR did not use the same weapons and was not conducted in the same enviornmental conditions that were present on 19 April 1993. This video also contains FBI footage of agents taking trophy shots of themselves next to charred victim corpses in the rubble immediately follwing the fire.

Frontline: Once upon a time in Arkansas. Vince Foster’s Journal. PBS Online. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/arkansas/etc/foster.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Haldeman, Bonnie. 2007. Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother. Catherine Wessinger, ed. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press.

Hancock, Lee. 1999. U.S. Warned to release Waco Siege Documents: Judge again threatens government with contempt. Dallas Morning News (03 November). A copy of this article has been posted on the Montgomery citizens for a safer Maryland website at: http://www.mcsm.org/waco24.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Hardy David T. and Rex Kimball. 2001. This Is Not An Assault: Penetrating the Web of Official Lies Regarding the Waco Incident. Tinicum, Pennsylvania: Xlibris Corporation.  Written by one of the three defense attorneys that has represented the survivors, this book is about how the governmental agencies involved in the debacle of 1993 reacted and continue to respond to this incident. It exposes the tragic accidents and cover-ups that have shielded the public from adequately seeing what happened during and after the siege. 

Houteff, Victor T. 1931. The Shepherd's Rod: The 144,000 of Revelation - Call for Reformation. Los Angeles: Universal Publishing Association.

Inside Mount Carmel. 1993. VHS. Video taken of Mt. Carmel residents made for the FBI during the 51 day siege inside Mt. Carmel. Waco, Tex.: Mount Carmel Visitor’s Center Museum, 2000.

Kopel, David B and Paul H. Blackman. 1997.  No More Wacos: What's Wrong with Federal Law Enforcement and How to Fix It. New York: Prometheus Books.

Lynch, Timothy. 2001. No Confidence: An unofficial account of the Waco incident. The CATO Institute:policy analysis no. 395. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-395es.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Martin, Sheila. 2009. When they were mine: memoirs of the Branch Davidian wife and mother. Catherine Wessinger, ed. Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press.

McLaughlin, Martin. 1999. Cover-up of Waco massacre unravels as new evidence exposes FBI lies. World Socialist Web Site (4 September) http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/sep1999/waco-s04.shtml (accessed 30 June 2009).

Mitchell, Douglas F. 2003-2009. General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. http://www.the-branch.org/ (accessed 30 June 2009).

Moore, Carol. 1995. The Davidian Massacre: disturbing questions about Waco which must be answered. Franklin, Tennessee: Legacy Communications. This book chronicles details about the ATF who were one of the central agencies involved in the initial raid as well as the FBI who were involved throughout the siege. It reveals how these agencies actions and press briefings lead to the massive misinterpretation of the Mt. Carmel community. 

Mount Carmel 911 Tape. 1993. Audiocassette, 1-13 hours condensed. Waco, TX: Mount Carmel Visitor’s Center Museum, 2000.

Nelson, Alan and Sandra Gines. 1988. Crying in the Wilderness: A religious commune sets up a dwelling in the woods amid a struggle between rival prophets. Waco Tribune-Herald (17 January).

Newport, Kenneth G. C. 2006. The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect. New York: Oxford University Press.

The Office of Special Counsel John C. Danforth. 2000. Final Report to the Deputy Attorney General: concerning the 1993 confrontation at the Mt. Carmel complex, Waco, Texas, Section (e), Pursuant to Order no. 2256-99. (8 November). PDF file with multiple appendices. [1604 pages including the appendices.]  Donated to the archive at Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos and The Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

Pace, Charles. Branch Davidian History Today.Net: setting the record straight. http://www.branch-davidianhistory.net/about-q10011-c10000-New_Mt_Carmel_Today_.aspx
          Pace's old web site, no longer active, was: The Branch: Our LORD Our Righteousness:welcome to our newly reorganized church and website.
          http://the2branches.org/index.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Pate, James L. 2000. Waco: A New Revelation—startling new video ignites investigations. Soldier of Fortune (February): 52-55, 72.

Raston, Dina Temple. 2007. Branch Davidians see conspiracy in highway project. All Things Considered (18 May), National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/
templates/story/story.php?storyId=10243823 (accessed 30 June 2009).

Reavis, Dick J. 1995. The Ashes of Waco. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Reporters Committe for Freedom of the Press, The. 2000. Waco secrecy damaged public trust, report finds (Summer). The News, Media and the Law 24 (3): 23. http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/24-3/foi-wacorept.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Robertson, J.J. 1996. Beyond the Flames: This is the true story of the massacre at Waco from a man who watched it happen. San Diego: ProMotion Publishing.

Roden, Amo. AMO RODEN HERSELF. http://www.amoroden.com (accessed 30 June 2009).

Shannon, Elaine. 1999. Feuding over Waco: Sects, files and videotape fuel the face-off between Justice and the FBI over the Branch Davidians. Time (13 September): 29-30.

Shappart, Sharlene. 2000. Take a moment to picture this. http://wizardsofaz.com/waco/picturethis.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Stone, Alan A. 1993. Report and Recommendations Concerning the Handling of Incidents Such As the Branch Davidian Standoff in Waco Texas (8 November). In The Bill Smith Collection, Texas Collection, Baylor University. A 10 November 1993 version of this report that is nearly identical is available through the PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/stonerpt.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Tabor, James. 1995. Why Waco?. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
This book was written by a professor who was initially called in as a religious studies consultant to provide central negotiation strategies to resolve the initial raid situation after the ATF attack. The FBI, ATF and directives from Washington did not agree with Tabor's suggestions. They dismissed his recommendations and called in other consultants who recommended forceful tactics to get Davidians to leave the property.

Taylor, Wendi. Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist (B.D.S.D.A.) Online Information. http://bdsda.com/default.aspx (accessed 30 June 2009).

The Texas Collection, Carroll Library, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.  Branch Davidian archival material holdings include the following series:
     The Mark Swett Collection
     The Joe Roberts Collection
     The Robert Darden Collection
     The Bill Smith Collection
     The Kirk T. Lyons Collection
     The Don Marion Collection
     The Amo Roden Collection
     The Matthew D. Wittmer Collection
(For a review of the contents of each of the collections above, please see my article listed under Wittmer, Matthew in this list or in the index at the beginning of this website).

Thibodeau, David and Leon Whiteson. 1999. A Place Called Waco: A Survivor’s Story, New York: Public Affairs.
A first hand account of the siege and fire written by survivor David Thibodeau. 

United States Department of Justice. 1993. Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Introduction (8 October). http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/waco/wacotocpg.htm#toc (accessed 30 June 2009).

Valentine, Carol A. 1996. Waco Electronic Holocaust Museum. Public Action Inc.. http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum/index.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Waco: A New Revelation. 1999. VHS. Produced, written and researched by Michael McNulty and directed by Jason Van Vleet. MGA Films.
This is the sequel to Waco: Rules of Engagement and focuses more on the aftermath, questions of wrongdoing, and has interviews of some persons not in the first documentary. It summarizes the siege quickly and has information about what was going on with the intelligence outside the building that the first documentary does not present. 

Waco: The Rules of Engagement. 1997. VHS: red jacket director’s cut. Produced, written and researched by Michael McNulty and directed by William Gazecki. This version was a joint production between Gazecki and McNulty and released before the version that went on to Sundance that was distributed by Somford Entertainment.
This documentary received two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert and began raising eyebrows at what was not covered by the media by showing footage taken from the air by the FBI. This documentary mixes interviews with survivors of the siege in with the actual footage of the siege and testimony from the 1995 Sub Committee Hearings on Crime investigation. The first version of this was released on VHS with a red jacket cover (only about 5000 copies exist) and is longer than the version that won awards and was distributed by Somford Entertainment. This documentary takes you through the entire 51-day siege and focuses on showing the actions of ATF and FBI agents. The red jacket version has a different narrator, different editing and different ending. The Somford version has material not in the red jacket version.

Wessinger, Catherine. Professor of Religious Studies, Loyola University, New Orleans. http://www.loyno.edu/~wessing/milpubs.htm (accessed 30 June 2009).

Wittliff Collections. Ashes of Waco: A blog about the digitization and online presentation of archival materials in the Dick J. Reavis Papers. Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos. http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/ (accessed 30 June 2009).

Wittliff Collections. Dick J. Reavis Papers. Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos. Collection #086, 103 boxes (51 linear feet). http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/archives/writers/reavis.html (accessed 30 June 2009).

Wittliff Collections. Lee Hancock Collection. Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos.

Wittliff Collections. Matthew Wittmer Collection. Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos. Wooden memorial model of the Mount Carmel building and 1604 page Danforth Investigation report.

The Wittliff Collections. Ashes of Waco: A Digitized Archive from the Wittliff Collections. Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos. http://ashesofwaco.library.txstate.edu/index.html (accessed 11 October 2009).
Photos of mine are featured on the sister blog to this site at the following three links:
http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/2009/02/miles-and-miles-of-texas.html
 
http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/2009/05/419-memorial-service.html
 
http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/ashesofwaco/2009/10/another-new-acquisition.html

Wittmer, Matthew. 2009. Traces of the Mount Carmel Community: Documentation and Access. Nova Religio: The Journal of New and Emergent Religions 13 (2):95-113. 

Wright, Stuart A, ed. 1995. Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Mount Carmel Memorial Postcard

MEMORIAL MODEL OF MOUNT CARMEL Created by Matthew Wittmer Postcards of the memorial model are available.  They have the address of the property printed on the them, though the Visitor's Center is no longer exhibiting the model, photos or artifacts since the survivors moved off of the property in 2006. Email any inquiries to me and write WACO POSTCARD in the subject heading. Cards are one dollar each and 100% goes to the survivors fund.