I doubt if anyone here hasn’t heard the story about David Koresh and the Branch Davidian compound at Mt. Carmel a few miles from Waco, Texas. He thought he was an angel, the FBI thought he was a criminal and the violent end to the 51 day standoff left nearly 80 dead.
I don’t have any actual new news about the site or anything to add to the story but I do travel to the area frequently and this past Easter was one of those times. We had company with us from out of state and after they inquired about the current state of the site, we decided to drop by and see what it was like now.
Back when the siege was still ongoing, the best vantage point was from a hillside where CNN and all the other media types had strung their cameras along a barbed wire fence. That was several miles from the actual site, hence the way the image of the compound would bounce so much every time the wind blew. Nowdays, you can drive right in to where the buildings used to be.
It’s hard to tell, at least to an uneducated observer, just what the previous structural configuration used to be. There’s nothing left of any original building so any guess is pure speculation on my part. A new building is on the property. It appears to be a small church and is set back behind the center of the property. A woman standing there looked ready to talk to us given the opportunity but fearing her discourse might be lengthy we declined and slowly inched past. In front of it is a large planting of regularly spaced trees confined within a large rectangle. My guess is that’s where the main compound once was. It would at first appear that one tree was planted for each of the victims. Sure enough, as we got closer we saw that small granite markers sit at the base of each tree and they all would appear to have individual names engraved.
The road in ends between the chapel and the tree assemblage. As you turn around, you’re presented with a larger granite marker. It says something to the effect that this is where the ATF and FBI carried out their illegal assault on the compound, resulting in the deaths of nearly 80 innocent men, women and children. I can’t remember all it said but it did mention at the bottom it was donated by, and I think this is close, the North Texas Militia or something, with so and so as it’s Commander.
In front of the trees and to the west, closer to the road, there’s a small pond. It would appear that this was where the Davidians had buried the bus to use as a bunker. It’s likely still not a place you’d ever encourage anyone to fish from.
Another burned out bus, this one above ground bears a handwritten placard saying it had been torched by vandals sometime in the mid 90’s. Next to is is a dusty trailerhome where whoever maintains the property must reside.
Again, no news but it was interesting and poignant driving through and thought someone might be curious about whatever happened to the place. I’d seen the smoke rise from my apartment 10 or so miles away that day and will probably continue to stop in every few years just to see what’s going on.