Armored Vengeance: The Story of America's Last Hero. An armored bulldozer destroyed an entire city in the USA A man on a bulldozer destroyed a city

Marvin Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American welder who owned a muffler repair shop in Granby, Colorado. The town is microscopic, 2200 inhabitants. He officially bought his land plot for a workshop and a shop for pretty decent money at an auction (something about $ 15,000, for this he sold his share in a large car service in Denver).
He also built snowmobiles as a hobby and used them to drive newlyweds around Granby during the winter. Like in a limousine. He even had an appropriate license (I never suspected that such activities could be licensed at all). In my opinion, the uncle was quite good-natured and extremely cool. However, "While many people described Heemeyer as a likeable guy, others said he was not someone to cross." He served at one time in the Air Force, as an airfield technician, and since then he has been working steadily in the engineering and technical part. He lived to be fifty-two years old, unmarried (some kind of sad love story happened to him at one time).

Heemeyer, a 52-year-old welder, has lived in Granby for several years fixing car mufflers. His small workshop was closely adjacent to the Mountain Park cement plant. To the annoyance of Heemeyer and the plant's other neighbors, Mountain Park decided to expand, forcing them to sell their land.

Sooner or later, all the neighbors of the plant surrendered, but not Heemeyer. The manufacturers were never able to acquire his land, although they tried to do it by hook or by crook. In general, having despaired of culturally resolving the issue, the peasant began to persecute. Since all the land around the workshop already belonged to the plant, all communications and the entrance to the house were blocked. Marvin decided to build another road, and even bought a decommissioned "Komatsu D355A-3" bulldozer for this purpose, restoring the engine on it in his workshop.
The city administration refused permission to build a new road. The bank found fault with the registration of a mortgage loan and threatened to take away the house.

Heemeyer tried to restore justice by suing Mountain Park, but lost the lawsuit.

The retail tax office, the fire inspectorate, and sanitary and epidemiological supervision ran over several times, the latter issued a fine of $ 2,500 for the enchanting "junk cars on the property and not being hooked up to the sewer line" (in general, in his workshop "there was a reservoir, not meeting sanitary standards.”), let me remind you, it was about a car repair shop. Marvin could not connect to the sewer, because the land on which the ditch was to be dug also belonged to the plant and the plant was in no hurry to give him such permission. Marvin paid. By attaching to the receipt when sending a short note - "Cowards". Some time later, his father died (31-Mar-2004), Marvin went to bury him, and while he was away, the electricity and water were cut off for him and the workshop was sealed. After that, he closed himself in the workshop. Almost no one saw him.

It took about two months, according to some reports, and about a year and a half, according to others, to create the Armored Bulldozer .. Sheathed it with twelve-millimeter steel sheets laid with a centimeter layer of cement. Equipped with TV cameras with image output to monitors inside the cabin. Equipped cameras with lens cleaning systems in case they were blinded by dust and debris. Prudent Marvin stocked up on food, water, ammunition and a gas mask. (Two Ruger-223s and one Remington-306 with cartridges.) With the help of a remote control, he lowered an armor box onto the chassis, locking himself inside. To lower this shell onto the cab of a bulldozer, Heemeyer used a makeshift crane. “Lowering it, Heemeyer knew that after that he would not get out of the car,” police experts said. And at 14:30 left the garage.

It looked like this:

Heemeyer returned fire from two semi-automatic rifles of the twenty-third and one semi-automatic rifle of the fiftieth caliber through the loopholes specially made in the armor on the left, right and front, respectively. However, according to experts, he did everything to ensure that no one was hurt, shooting more to intimidate and not letting the police stick their noses out from behind their cars. None of the policemen received a scratch.

To begin with, he drove through the territory of the plant, carefully demolishing the plant administration building, production workshops and, in general, everything down to the last shed. Then he moved through the town. He removed the facades from the houses of the members of the city council. Demolished the building of the bank, which tried to press him through the early return of the mortgage loan. He destroyed the buildings of the Ixel Energy gas company, which refused to fill his kitchen gas cylinders after a fine, the building of the city hall, the office of the city council, the fire department, a warehouse, several residential buildings belonging to the mayor of the city. He tore down the editorial office of the local newspaper and the public library. In short, he demolished everything that had at least some relation to the local authorities, including their private houses. Moreover, he showed good awareness of who owns what.

They tried to stop Himayer. First, the local sheriff with deputies. Let me remind you that the bulldozer was equipped with centimeter spaced armor. The local police used revolvers-nines and shotguns. With clear results. Zero. The local SWAT team was alerted. Then forest rangers. SWAT had grenades, rangers had assault rifles. Some particularly dashing sergeant jumped from the roof onto the hood of a bulldozer and tried to throw a stun grenade down the exhaust pipe. It's hard to say what he wanted to achieve - the son of a bitch Heemeyer, as it turned out, welded a grate into it, so the only thing that the bulldozer lost as a result was the actual pipes. The sergeant, of course, also survived. The teardrop did not take the driver - the monitors were visible even in a gas mask.

Himayer actively fired back through loopholes cut in the armor. Not a single person was hurt by his fire. Because he shot significantly higher than the goals. In other words, to the sky. However, the police did not dare to approach him any more. In total, counting the huntsmen, by that time about 40 people had gathered. The bulldozer took more than 200 hits from everything from service revolvers to M-16s and grenades. They tried to stop him with a hefty scraper. "Komatsu D355A" without much difficulty shoved the scraper backwards into the front of the store and left it there. The car stuffed with explosives on the path of Himayer also did not give the desired result. The only achievement was a radiator pierced by a ricochet - however, as mining experience shows, such bulldozers do not immediately pay attention even to a complete failure of the cooling system.

All that the police could actually do in the end was to evacuate 1.5 thousand residents and block all roads, including federal highway No. 40 leading to Denver (the blocking of the federal highway was especially shocking for everyone).

To the heap, Marvin decided to tear down the small wholesale store "Gambles". In my opinion, there was simply nothing more to demolish there, there was still a station for refueling liquefied gas, but its explosion would have smashed half the town without making out where the mayor's house was and where the scavenger was.

The bulldozer stopped, ironing the ruins of the Gambles department store. In the sudden deathly silence, steam escaping from a broken radiator whistled furiously, it was filled up with roof debris, it got stuck and died out.

At first, the police were afraid for a long time to approach Heemeyer's bulldozer, and then they made a hole in the armor for a long time, trying to get the welder out of his caterpillar fortress (three plastic charges did not give the desired effect). They feared the last trap that Marvin might lay for them. When the armor was finally pierced with an autogen, he had already been dead for half a day. Marvin kept the last cartridge for himself. He was not going to give himself alive into the clutches of his enemies.

As the governor of Colorado so aptly put it, "the city looks like it's been tornadoed through." The city was indeed damaged by $5,000,000, the factory by $2,000,000. On the scale of a small town, this meant almost complete destruction. The plant never recovered from the attack and sold the area along with the ruins.

They wanted to put the bulldozer on a pedestal and make it a landmark, but the majority insisted on melting it down. For the inhabitants of the town, this incident causes, as you might guess, extremely mixed emotions.

Then the investigation began. It turned out that “Heemeyer’s creation was so reliable that it could withstand not only a grenade explosion, but also a not very powerful artillery shell: it was completely covered with armored plates, each of which consisted of two sheets of half-inch (about 1.3 cm) steel, fastened together with a cement pad.

“He was a nice guy,” recall people who knew Heemeyer closely.

"You shouldn't have pissed him off." “If he was your friend, then he was your best friend. Well, if the enemy is the most dangerous, ”Marvin's comrades say.

This act was admired by many people in the US and around the world. Marvin Heemeyer began to be called "the last American hero." Now this case is assessed as a spontaneous anti-globalist action.

While fans and opponents of Leviathan are arguing about whether the author has denigrated Russia with his picture, the fact that the story that happened in the United States served as the reason for the creation of the film is in the shade.

“An acquaintance told me a story about a man who lived in Colorado and who rebelled against a powerful company. This man first destroyed the buildings, and then committed suicide. This story could have happened anywhere. We moved it to Russia, ”said during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival Andrey Zvyagintsev.

The story that formed the basis of the idea of the Leviathan film shocked America at the time and turned the protagonist into a real anti-globalization icon.

Marvin John Heemeyer for the time being could be considered almost an exemplary American. The Vietnam War veteran, who served in the US Air Force as an airfield technician, retired from the army and ran a successful business and owned a stake in a large auto repair shop in Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Heemeyer's personal life did not work out. As his friends said, in his youth he experienced an unhappy love and did not make new attempts to start a family.

Land conflict

In the early 1990s, Heemeyer, then in his early 40s, sold his interest in the auto repair shop and purchased 2 acres of land in the town of Granby. After moving to a town located 140 kilometers from Denver, Marvin Heemeyer opened a workshop with a store on his land.

For several years, Heemeyer faithfully repaired and sold car mufflers. The man had an undoubted talent as an engineer - as a hobby, he assembled snowmobiles, on which he rode newlyweds at weddings in winter.

The population of the town of Granby by the end of the 1990s did not exceed 2,200 people, and the Mountain Park cement plant was a kind of "city-forming enterprise" in it.

Docheff family, which owned the plant, decided to build a new production line, received the approval of the city administration and began to buy the necessary land plots from private owners. Among those whose land Mountain Park needed was Marvin Heemeyer.

As the owners of the plant later claimed, Heemeyer was offered $250,000 for the site - more than a decent price, considering that he bought the land for $42,000. Heemeyer, again, according to the Docheff family, at first agreed, but then demanded 375 thousand, and then completely brought the amount of compensation to a million.

It is impossible to find out the version of Heemeyer himself today, but his friends assured that the owners of the plant were telling lies and did not offer any large sums to Heemeyer, and he himself did not demand them. On the contrary, they assure that the greedy Docheff family decided to take over the site for almost a nominal fee.

Marvin John Heemeyer. Frame youtube.com

How they "press" in America

What can be said with confidence is that the parties have not reached a compromise. And Heemeyer got into trouble.

For the authorities of the city, whose well-being rested solely on the generosity of the owners of the cement plant, the stubborn owner of the workshop became a bone in the throat.

And against Heemeyer they turned on “pressure”. Since all the lands around already belonged to the owners of the plant, the obstinate was blocked from entering his own territory. Heemeyer did not despair and decided to build another road to his site, for which he purchased a decommissioned Komatsu D355A-3 heavy bulldozer. However, the Granby administration imposed a ban on the construction of the road.

Heemeyer challenged in court the permission to build a new plant line, but lost the suit. At the bank, he was presented with claims for improper registration of a mortgage loan and threatened to take away the house. This was followed by numerous claims from firefighters, tax authorities, sanitary inspection - city services wrote Himeyer a fine after a fine.

The longer the confrontation lasted, the more actively they pressed on Heemeyer. According to the owners of the plant and local authorities, the man had two options - either go broke or sell the land.

Frame youtube.com

Engineer's Revenge

Heemeyer found a third. The fact that it will not be possible to defeat the system, he understood long ago. Investigators later found his diaries, which contained the following phrase: “I wonder how I haven't been caught yet. The project took up part of my time for over a year and a half."

A talented engineer hatched a plan for revenge, for which he undertook a complete re-equipment of a bulldozer, originally purchased for peaceful purposes. Heemeyer sheathed it with twelve millimeter steel sheets, laid with a centimeter layer of cement. Equipped with TV cameras with image output to monitors inside the cabin. Equipped cameras with lens cleaning systems. Even a refrigerator with a small supply of food, water and beer was placed inside the cabin.

On June 4, 2004, 52-year-old Marvin Heemeyer decided that the hour of redemption had come. Armed with a rifle, a carbine, a revolver, grabbing a gas mask, the man climbed into the cockpit of his armored monster. Then, with the help of a remote control, he lowered another armor box onto the chassis, finally locking himself inside.

At 14:30 local time, the device, which was later given the name "Killdozer", drove into the streets of Granby.

Heemeyer did not act in a fit of anger, but according to a well-developed plan. His list included the homes and offices of everyone who managed to poison his life during the conflict with Mountain Park.

Having entered the territory of the hated plant, he demolished the plant management building, and then the production premises. Then the facades of the houses of the members of the city council were demolished, the building of the same bank that threatened to take away the house from Heemeyer, the building of the local administration, the office of the local newspaper, the house of the widow of the former judge ... In short, the avenger went through his "Killdozer" through the homes and offices of absolutely everyone who was involved in his problems.

The local sheriff and his deputies fired at the "iron monster" with revolvers and shotguns, but, of course, they did not succeed. Failed to stop Himeyer and the special forces detachment. The Killdozer took 200 hits from various weapons, but never stopped.

In order to besiege the ardor of law enforcement officers, the avenger fired from his weapon through the loopholes left for this purpose, so the police preferred to retreat to a safe distance. Attempts to smoke Heemeyer with gas also failed - foreseeing this, the man used a gas mask.

In the end, the police evacuated the residents of the town and waited for the Killdozer to stop itself.

It happened at 4:30 pm. During the demolition of a small-scale wholesale store, the bulldozer was covered with debris from the roof, it got stuck and stalled.

Frame youtube.com

Consign to oblivion

The police did not dare approach the Killdozer for another two hours. Then, for several hours, law enforcement officers pierced the armor in order to get to the “tractor driver”. It only worked out the next morning.

Marvin Heemeyer was dead. After completing the raid on Granby, he committed suicide. The creator of the Killdozer was the only casualty of what the media called the "Marvin Heemeyer War" - no other people were hurt.

The total damage to the city was $5 million and the Mountain Park plant was $2 million.

The state governor, who arrived at the scene, said that the city looks like it was hit by a tornado.

They tried to forget about the "enemy of the state" in the United States as soon as possible. The central media of the country gave the story of Marvin Heemeyer a minimum of attention, without going into details of what happened. The city began to actively restore.

However, its population continues to decline, as in many other such small towns in America.

And "Marvin Heemeyer's War" is by far the only reason why Granby is still remembered in the rest of the world.

A non-standard post for me, copy-paste very rarely slips through the blog. But I couldn't share it. This is a story about an incredibly cool American dude who could not bear the insults and took revenge on the offenders for 7 million bucks. Even though he lost his life. This story deserves the coolest adaptation ever! I highly recommend reading this story and looking at the handmade tank

He also built snowmobiles as a hobby and used them to drive newlyweds around Granby during the winter. Like in a limousine. He even had an appropriate license (I never suspected that such activities could be licensed at all). In my opinion, the uncle was quite good-natured and extremely cool. However, "While many people described Heemeyer as a likeable guy, others said he was not someone to cross." He served at one time in the Air Force, as an airfield technician, and since then he has been working steadily in the engineering and technical part. He lived to be fifty-two years old, unmarried (some kind of sad love story happened to him at one time).

Granby on the map

Marvin had a bulldozer of this brand

The city administration refused permission to build a new road. The bank found fault with the registration of a mortgage loan and threatened to take away the house.

Heemeyer tried to restore justice by suing Mountain Park, but lost the lawsuit.

It looked like this:

Marvin made a list of targets ahead of time. Anyone who felt it necessary to take revenge.
"Sometimes, as he put it in his notes, reasonable men must do unreasonable things."

The pursuit

Sheriff's parking lot

Ruins of Mountain Park Inc. Cement Plant Administration.

Cement Plant Mountain Park Inc.

Municipal building that served as a hall and library

Liberty Bank

Highway No. 40

"Himayer's War" ended at 16:23.

Heemeyer was not one to give up!

Destruction Map

They called him "Killdozer"

Some smart people wanted to put the bulldozer on a pedestal and make it a landmark, but the majority insisted on melting it down. For the inhabitants of the town, this incident causes, as you might guess, extremely mixed emotions.

“He was a nice guy,” recall people who knew Heemeyer closely.

"You shouldn't have pissed him off." “If he was your friend, then he was your best friend. Well, if the enemy is the most dangerous, ”Marvin's comrades say.

This act was admired by many people in the US and around the world. Marvin Heemeyer began to be called "the last American hero." Now this case is assessed as a spontaneous anti-globalist action.

The tragic story of Marvin Heemeyer, a fifty-two-year-old welder who lived in the town of Granby for only a few years, excited not only the United States, but the whole world. Now this act is considered as a spontaneous action of an anti-globalist. Marvin Heemeyer is America's last hero. This is how journalists dubbed him for his intransigence and uncompromising struggle against the corrupt state system.

Biography

Marvin Himayer was born on October 28, 1951. He graduated from school in 1968. A year later he went to serve in the US Air Force. On March 17, 1971, he was sent to fight in Vietnam. There he served at the air base as a senior aviator. After 4 years, he was demobilized, and he returned to his homeland, Marvin's acquaintances describe his character in different ways. Some speak of him as a good and friendly guy, while others consider him unreliable, too suspicious and dangerous.

Advocate of the legalization of gambling

Despite the fact that Heemeyer did not live long in the town of Granby, he managed to make both friends and enemies. His character was very controversial. Take, for example, the case when he, as the owner of a muffler repair shop, once threatened his client to kill her husband if she did not pay him for repairs.

His acquaintances said that if you have a friend, then it’s better not to find Marvin, but if he decides that you are an enemy, then it’s hard to imagine a more dangerous opponent than him.

Conflict situation

The life story of Marvin Heemeyer in the town of Granby at first did not portend anything tragic. Until the cement factory, near the walls of which his workshop was located, did not decide to expand. The fact is that not far from Gramby was the winter resort of Aspen. Millionaires like to come there, and each of them wants to have their own home there. The fashion for winter cottages provoked a construction boom, as a result of which the demand for cement increased.

In 2001, city authorities and a special commission approved the construction of a new cement plant for Mountain Park. After that, the owners of the enterprise began to buy up nearby land plots. Their methods, to put it mildly, were not always legal.

The cement company paid an average of 50 thousand dollars for each of the plots, but Heemeyer refused to sell his land at that price and asked for 270 thousand. When the buyers agreed, he raised the price to 500 thousand, and then to 1 million. Here are the owners decided to take control of it.

Last straw

This is where the scandalous story of Marvin Heemeyer with the owners of the cement plant begins. According to the territorial plan approved by the city authorities, the enterprise cut off the only road leading to the welder's workshop. Marvin filed an application to the court to appeal this decision, but lost. He wanted to get permission to install a sewer, but the owner of the land refused him.

Seeing such a disrespectful attitude on the part of the official authorities, he buys himself a decommissioned killdozer. Marvin Heemeyer repaired the engine himself and decided to build another road to his workshop, bypassing the factory areas. But here, too, disappointment awaited him, since the city administration forbade doing this, and even fined him for the lack of sewerage for 2.5 thousand dollars. He paid the fine, and attached a note to the receipt with only one word - "cowards."

It seems that the story of Marvin Heemeyer would not have been so sad if the city authorities had not added the last drop to his patience. When his father died, he went to the funeral, and when he returned a few days later, he found that his water and electricity had been turned off and the workshop had been sealed. In addition, the local bank threatened to take away his house, as allegedly an error was found in the execution of a mortgage loan.

Preparing for war

As already mentioned, in the spring of 2004, Marvin's father died. His younger brother's wife later recalled that Heemeyer behaved a little strangely at the funeral, as if he had come to say goodbye to all his relatives. In addition, it seemed to her that he did not want to leave at all.

Marvin began work on improving his bulldozer almost as soon as he was denied permission to build a driveway to his workshop. He drove his tractor, which he planned to use to pave the road, into the garage and proceeded to modify it.

Modernization

First Heemeyer decided to strengthen the cabin with the engine. To do this, he installed home-made composite armor, which he made from sheets of steel and cement poured between them. After that, he equipped several loopholes around the control center itself, and also installed one video camera in front and behind, and then displayed their image on the monitors in the cockpit.

Heemeyer Marvin John prepared very carefully, so he transferred a small supply of food and several bottles of water to the tractor cab. He did not forget about the air tank, gas mask and weapons. He also had a revolver.

As expected, he spent from three months to one and a half years upgrading his bulldozer. Surely Heemeyer was struck by the fact that none of the casual visitors to the workshop were surprised or alarmed to see such a powerful armored vehicle.

Before Marvin Heemeyer's war began, he specially recorded his message on several cassettes. On them he left an explanation of his act.

On Friday, June 4, he sent all the recorded tapes to his younger brother, after which he closed himself in the cab of a bulldozer. Using a makeshift remote-controlled crane, the man lowered the armored box onto the chassis. As mentioned earlier, he equipped his tractor with several video cameras and monitors. In addition, in case they were contaminated with debris or dust, the craftsman brought air compressors to them.

At 3 o'clock that afternoon, Marvin Heemeyer's bulldozer easily broke through the wall of the workshop and crashed hard into the Mountain Park concrete plant building. After these actions, the 911 service was already called non-stop.

Cody Dochev, who witnessed how a huge and unusual armored tractor literally destroys the plant, wanted to intervene. He tried to climb into the cab of the bulldozer, but they began to fire at him from embrasures.

After about 10-15 minutes, the buildings of the enterprise were completely destroyed, and several cars parked on its territory were destroyed. After that, Heemeyer's car drove onto the highway and rattled towards the city.

At this time, an unusual sight could be observed on the road: a whole line lined up behind a slowly moving bulldozer, all with sirens on. One of the police cars tried to block his way, but was crushed like a tin can. Glen Trainor, deputy sheriff, managed to climb onto the cab of a riding bulldozer and fire 37 bullets from his service pistol, but it was impossible to penetrate such armor.

City of Granby

I must say that Heemeyer had a whole list of objects that he planned to destroy. When his car reached the final destination, he was already met by the city police. Of course, against such a hulk, the employees did not have any weapons. Since it was impossible to penetrate such armor with ordinary cartridges, special forces were called in to help, who tried to undermine the bulldozer. But all attempts to destroy the car and the one who sits in it failed.

All that the police could do in this situation was to warn the locals of the danger that threatened them. Meanwhile, this tragic event was broadcast live on all news channels from a helicopter flying over the city.

Despite the fact that it was quite difficult for Marvin to control such a bulky and clumsy vehicle, he managed to find and destroy his intended targets. And they were the buildings of the city hall and the editorial office of the local newspaper, the house of the former mayor and other buildings. On the way to their targets, the bulldozer destroyed cars left on the road. Although the destruction was significant, no one was seriously injured.

Death of the last hero

Soon the police got hold of an industrial bulldozer, but the armored Komatsu easily knocked it over to the side of the road. Within an hour, Marvin Heemeyer tore down 13 buildings and drove to the next intended target, Gamble's Equipment. The significant weight of the armor and the damage caused by small arms began to gradually affect the maneuverability of the tractor. In addition, the radiator was punctured and coolant was leaking out of it. As a result, the car began to lose power and, breaking through the wall of the supermarket, fell into a small basement under its own gravity. was no longer able to pull the tractor out of the trap.

After that, a special forces group surrounded the vehicle, and someone reported that they heard a lone gunshot from the cab. The car stalled forever, finally ending its destructive march, which lasted only 2 hours and 7 minutes, causing $7 million in damage. Thus ended the story of Marvin John Himeer.

Consequences

To get inside the cabin, the special forces used explosives. It was possible to crack the armor only by applying it. After his 12-hour work, the body of Marvin Heemeyer was removed to the surface. As the police established, he shot himself with his .375 pistol. Later, it was repeatedly emphasized in all media that Heemeyer Marvin John was the only victim. It seems that journalists tried to cite this fact as proof of his rare ingenuity and heroism.

But, as you know, there were people in the buildings just before the destruction. In addition, he fired at fuel containers, and this could lead to large explosions and numerous casualties. Heemeyer also made an attempt to fill up a wall in one of the buildings, near which two policemen were standing.

After the lifeless body was pulled out of the cockpit, several rifles and a list of addresses of businesses and buildings with the names of their owners were found in it. By the way, all the destroyed property was insured and then restored as soon as possible. But the cement plant never recovered from the destruction, the owners felt that they needed to get rid of it, and sold it.

Marvin Heemeyer is America's last hero. So the journalists dubbed him. Today in the US there is a group of people who literally idolize him for his courage, intransigence and uncompromising struggle against the corrupt state system.

I wanted to tell you something new about a man who everyone here knows anyway. At first I thought of simply letting the public know about some unknown or previously misplaced touches. Then I realized that it was better to combine new facts with the whole story in order to get a more or less coherent story. The result was a compilation of a large number of researched articles, memoirs, interviews about Marvin Heemeyer, both in English and in translation.

Since the tenth year has passed since those events, many links, unfortunately, cease to be working, information goes to paid archives. In the US, you can get any information about a person legally. For money. Car and phone numbers, addresses, relatives, business ownership, speeding tickets, press mentions and much more about any US citizen are stored in the appropriate paid archives. Out of curiosity, I spent $10 to learn a little more (eg social data - SSN, military - military service record, and some other things). For 30 dollars you can find out all the addresses and phone numbers that he had at different times, for 45 - all administrative violations.

Marvin John Heemeyer
(10/28/1951, Castlewood (SD) – 06/4/2004, Granby (Co)

Parents:

Father - John Harm Heemeyer, born July 30, 1924 in Hank Tekronys, 6 miles east of Castlewood (South Dakota)
Mother - Augusta Mulder, born October 31, 1920 in Orange City, Sioux County, Iowa
married September 21, 1948 in Volga, South Dakota
Parents died shortly before the events in Granby.

Brothers, sisters:

Elder brother - Donald Keith Heemeyer, born September 16, 1949 in Clear Lake, South Dakota
Younger sister - Kathy Elaine Heemeyer, born July 1, 1955 in the same place
Younger brother - Kenneth Alan Heemeyer, born June 21, 1958 in the same place

It was possible to discover the family tree of Marvin Heemeyer, starting from 1720:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/mulder/messages/160.html

He graduated from high school in 1968. Received Social Security Number (SSN) #503-68-9471 in 1968

Army

He enlisted in the army in 1969 with the Air Force.
On March 17, 1971, he was sent to the Vietnam War.
Type of troops: Air Force
Military specialty: Inventory Management Specialist (storekeeper). Code: 645550A. Served at the air base.
Rank: Senior Airman (senior aviator)
On March 16, 1975, he was demobilized and returned home to South Dakota.

Acquaintances describe two sides of Heemeyer. On the one hand - a cheerful friendly guy, gouging in a good way. On the other hand, it is unreliable and "muddy", suspicious and dangerous.

Younger brother Ken Heemeyer said he has lost track of his older brother (Marvin) since he joined the army in 1969.

Business

Cliff Eudy had been Heemeyer's business partner since the late seventies and kept Scotty Mufflers with him until they fell out in 1980.

Yudi recalled that he first met Heemeyer in 1978, Marvin got a job at one of the Scotty Mufflers stores where Yudi worked, and they worked together for about seven months. Over time, he and Heemeyer bought out Scotty Mufflers and became the owners of four stores. Their business troubles began when they went into debt and owed money to Exhaust and Suspension Systems. Yudi said that the two of them agreed to raise money to pay off their debts. Yudi had the opportunity to borrow money from his ex-wife's family - $ 10,000, which he put in the bank.

Heemeyer, however, did not take part in the fundraiser and tried to withdraw money from the account, Judy recalled. “I told him it wasn't fair to me,” Yudi said. “We sat down and talked for three or four weeks. And I was thinking, talking to him, I thought I had an understanding that we could do things together." They failed, and their paths parted. Heemeyer took over the Englewood store and renamed it the Mid-States Muffler Shop, Yudi took control of another store. Two more stores had to be disposed of because they were making a loss. Yudi said that he was later forced into bankruptcy. Heemeyer sold his store and bought another in Boulder. Since then, Yudi has not seen Heemeyer and heard nothing about him.

Yudi said he didn't think Heemeyer had a meek disposition, Marvin was an unreliable businessman. “He (Marvin) was a very friendly, special kind of guy to the point where he attracted people to him. He really aroused sympathy when he realized that he could fuck with you. When he caught on that nothing would work to fuck, he could become unpleasant and repulsive.

At some point, Marvin moved to a small town in Colorado. In Granby, Heemeyer bought a house with a mortgage from a local bank, and in 1992, for about $42,000 (according to other sources, $15,000), he bought 2 acres (8.1 thousand m²) of land at auction from the Resolution Trust Corporation. outskirts of the city. On this plot of land, Heemeyer built a workshop for the repair and installation of car mufflers. Marvin opened a small network of workshops. After a while, he began to rent out almost all of his workshops, leaving himself one in Granby.

Hobby

Colorado records say that Heemeyer also owned the Cornice Snowmobile business, which was founded in 1996 but was liquidated in 2002. It was his hobby - snowmobiles, on which he rode in the winter around the neighborhood of local newlyweds and tourists.

Conflict

Heemeyer became involved in politics almost immediately after purchasing the Colorado home. He was loved by friends and neighbors. He was described as a "pleasant person" and "ready for anything for friends." Some, however, were more familiar with his erratic nature. He was a strong supporter of the legalization of gambling and published at least two newsletters with his ideas on the subject. When a local newspaper reporter interviewed Heemeyer about gambling, Heemeyer became so furious trying to prove himself right that the interview almost ended in a brawl. On another occasion, for example, Heemeyer threatened to kill a client's husband when she refused to pay for muffler repairs. "If Marv were your friend, he would be the best friend in the world," said one of Heemeyer's closest acquaintances. "But if he decided, decided that he would be your enemy, then he would be your most dangerous enemy."

Granby was a stone's throw from the Colorado winter resort of Aspen, where it had become fashionable for millionaires to have winter homes. A construction boom began, the demand for cement increased and the cement plant, to which Heemeyer's workshop adjoined, decided to expand. In 2001, the zoning commission and the city authorities approved the construction of a cement plant, and the Mountain Park Cement Company, by hook or by crook, began to buy up the land around the plant. All of Heemeyer's neighbors eventually sold their lots, Marvin disagreed. On average, similar land plots cost the cement company about $50,000, but Marvin asked for $270,000 for his. The cement company agreed, then Marvin increased the price to $500,000. And the cement company again agreed. But when Marvin increased the price already to $1,000,000, it was decided to find justice for Heemeyer.

According to the new approved area plan, the plant cut off the only road to Heemeyer's workshop. Marvin tried to challenge the city's decision to expand the plant in court. Lost the case. He tried to get permission to install a sewer pipe, but was refused by the land owners. Then Marvin bought a decommissioned Komatsu D355A-3 bulldozer, restored the engine on it himself, and decided to build another road to his workshop, bypassing the factory lands. However, the city administration banned the laying of a new road, at the same time fined Heemeyer $ 2,500 for the lack of sewerage. Marvin paid the fine by attaching a short note to the receipt when sending it: "Panties." Just at that time (March 31, 2004) Heemeyer's father died, and when he went to the funeral, in his absence, the electricity and water were turned off and the workshop was sealed. To top it all off, the local bank, picking on the mortgage loan, threatened to take the house away. In principle, it was not difficult - in the small town of Granby Heemeyer was a stranger, the town itself was very poor and provincial, and the cement plant was the only large enterprise there. And that means taxes, jobs, city infrastructure and dependent city government. As a result, Heemeyer sold the property of his workshop and received six months to move.

Woman

Bonnie Brown, 48 years old (at the time).

According to the sources, Heemeyer mistakenly thought that he had a fiancée, but she did not think so. It seems that in modern slang it sounds like “add to the list of friends” - like keeping a guy near you so that he can be useful in some way on occasion or just take you somewhere for free. In short, Marvin ran into an "alter ego" - the same difficult person as, perhaps, he was himself.

After 06/04/04, she introduced herself to correspondents as his best and only friend during the last year of Marvin's life. She said that Heemeyer moved to Colorado in the mid-70s. Brown met Heemeyer after she went on a date with one of his best friends. “Something went wrong there, it didn’t work out, and now Marvin wanted to look after me,” she said. “We chatted about going ice fishing and other activities, but I didn’t want to and didn’t intend to do it at the time. He just wasn't my type (not my type). I just thought that he was a nice guy and that he was a friend and that he would have found someone else." Brown described Heemeyer as a cautious friend, someone who was on guard with others.

During a joint January (2004) afternoon drinking session, Bonnie saw the dark side of a man she considered compassionate. Heemeyer said he was angry at the way the city had treated him, that he felt like he was screwed. He talked about selling his business, and how he had to pay too much money for it, and how the city (city) was involved in cutting him off, and how he was charged exorbitant taxes and all these other payments that they did not impose other people. Brown said that he told her that he should build a bulldozer and attack the people who offended him. “I didn't really pay attention because I didn't really think he was capable of doing something like that. He never gave any sign of anything like that."

Brown said she was shocked when she saw Heemeyer carry out what she considered futile threats. She said that when she heard second-hand reports that Heemeyer appeared to be firing his bulldozer with a large-caliber weapon, she doubted it could be true. She said that she could not imagine that the person she knew caused real damage, even to her sworn enemies. “I know that even in these actions of his, he would never harm anyone's life. I don't think he intended to intentionally hurt them, but he could have gone against their business and hurt them financially." Brown said it was difficult to match the friend she thought was so kind with the man who welded himself into an armored bulldozer and rampaged through Granby. “It doesn't look like him. He was carefree, nonchalant, compassionate."

The shock did not prevent Marvin's girlfriend from calling live during the broadcast of events from Granby and quite calmly telling reporters that she knows who it is - this is her friend Marvin Heemeyer. Practicality must have taken over, and Bonnie didn't want to miss out on her chance to become famous.

Training

In March 2004, Heemeyer's father died. His brother Ken's wife recalled that Marvin behaved at the funeral as if he had come to say goodbye to more than just his father. It seemed to her that he really did not want to leave.

Heemeyer began work on his new project almost immediately after he was denied a road to the workshop. Heemeyer brought a Komatsu D335A bulldozer intended for the construction of a new road to the workshop and began work on modifications. He began by installing homemade cement composite armor between sheets of steel to protect the cockpit and engine. He installed front and rear cameras with cockpit monitors, and installed several rifle embrasures around the control center. He dragged food and water supplies inside, and also stocked up with an air tank to ensure air circulation, got a gas mask and weapons (Barrett M82 rifle, Ruger AC556 carbine, Magnum revolver).

During the construction (according to various sources - from two months to a year and a half), Marvin was amazed that the visitors to the workshop, who happened to be on the territory, were not at all alarmed by the sight of an armored vehicle. Heemeyer recorded several audio cassettes explaining his motives. "You did not agree with me because of your anger, because of your anger, because of your hatred." "I will give my life, my miserable future, to prove to everyone that you are wrong." “I have always tried to be a reasonable person. However, sometimes reasonable people must do unreasonable things.”

Marvin Heemeyer's War

On the morning of Friday June 4, Heemeyer mailed audio recordings to his brother and locked himself in a bulldozer with a list of targets. He was able to lower the armor box onto the chassis using a remote control of a makeshift crane. Heemeyer used three monitors and several video cameras to control the bulldozer. In case the video cameras were blinded by dust and debris, air compressors were brought to them.

At 3:00 pm, Heemeyer's bulldozer crashed through the side of the barn and crashed into the Mountain Park concrete plant. Shortly thereafter, the 911 phones started ringing incessantly. A man named Cody Dochev witnessed the destruction of the plant and tried to intervene. He tried to climb into the loader to intercept the rampaging bulldozer, but was immediately fired upon from the bulldozer's embrasures. A few minutes later, two buildings and several cars were destroyed, and Heemeyer's bulldozer rumbled down the highway towards the city. Behind the slow-moving bulldozer, as if on parade, were dozens of police cars with sirens on. One police SUV was simply crushed when he had the imprudence to be in the path of a bulldozer.

Deputy Glen Traynor managed to climb onto the cab of a driving bulldozer and fired 37 rounds from his service pistol in an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate the armor.

When Heemeyer reached the city, the police of the city of Granby were already waiting for him. However, against an armored vehicle, law enforcement officers were powerless. When it became clear that it was impossible to penetrate the armor with conventional cartridges, the special forces unsuccessfully tried to undermine the bulldozer with explosives. The police cleared the way for the bulldozer as far as possible and alerted local residents of the impending danger. The helicopters broadcast the unfolding violence for news channels live. The bulky vehicle was difficult to steer, but Heemeyer managed to find and destroy his targets. The bulldozer easily destroyed cars and buildings, including the house of the former mayor, the newspaper office, the city council building and the town hall. Despite the destruction of property, no one was seriously injured.

The police drove an industrial bulldozer, but the heavy Komatsu easily pushed the enemy to the side of the road. Within an hour, thirteen structures had been demolished and the destroyer was on its way to its next target, Gamble's Equipment. The damage from small arms and the extra weight of the armor affected the maneuverability of the vehicle. The radiator was leaking and the bulldozer was losing power. The car ripped open the wall of the supermarket and fell into a small basement under its own weight. The overheated engine could not pull the bulldozer out of the pit. As the SWAT team surrounded the stalled bulldozer, someone reported hearing a single, muffled gunshot inside the cab. The vehicle came to a stop, ending the destruction, which lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes and left about $7 million in damage.

The police used explosives in an attempt to get inside, but in the end had to use a gas cutter and spend 12 hours to break open the armor. Heemeyer's body was found inside. He shot himself with a .357 pistol. He was the only casualty, which was repeatedly highlighted by some of the media afterwards as Marvin's ingenuity, ambition, and seemingly heroic efforts to prevent any casualties. At the same time, there were people in many buildings immediately before the destruction. There was also evidence of shots being fired at fuel containers, which could lead to explosions and casualties. There was an attempt to bring down the wall of one of the buildings at the risk of covering up two policemen who were near the wall with debris. After the cab was opened and Heemeyer's body was moved to the morgue, the police found several rifles in the cab, a list of addresses of buildings and businesses with the names of the owners.

Consequences

All destroyed property was insured, so everything was restored in a short time. The cement plant did not manage to recover from the destruction, and as a result, the owners sold it.

Memory

Today there are a number of groups of people who idolize Heemeyer and his fight against a corrupt system.

Some links (I can't vouch for the integrity of the years):
http://genforum.genealogy.com/mulder/messages/160.html
http://www.archives.com/member/
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Marvin-Heemeyer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18948-2004Jun5.html
http://wn.com/Armored_Bulldozer–Rampage_Marvin_Heemeyer
http://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http://www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=04/06/06/0927171
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20060613043352326&query=Marvin+heemeyer
http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/25/magazine/tm–bulldozer30/2
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-wrath-of-the-killdozer/
http://web.archive.org/web/20041012024126/http:/www.nobsnews.org/allheemeyer.html
http://farkleberries.blogspot.com/2004/06/was-marvin-heemeyer-terminally-ill.html

http://www.lenta.ru/articles/2012/06/18/king/
http://collectorium.ru/2012/01/18/marvin-dzhon-himejer-i-ego-buldozer/