"Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming four dead in Ohio"
On my way home from dropping of my daughter at high school today, I became angered when a local right-wing radio personality (Jim Quin) was interviewing 2 students from Kent State University. He was broadcasting from a bar in the town of Kent. The bar was filled with Vietnam Vets, and right-wing students. During the interview he ask the students, Are you tired of the liberals using this day to, protest the war, and run the government and military down, because of the deaths of a couple of radicals? Well that's when I truly had enough, and realized that they will say and do anything to turn the population to their fascist ways. Please on this anniversary remember this act, so that it will never happen again.
ABA607
Friday May 1th 1970, time 12:00pm on the campus of Kent State University, A group of 500 students gather around the Victory Bell on the Commands. This was a place where students gathered for most protest on campus. The history students buried a copy of the Constitution, saying the government had murdered it when they sent troops into Cambodia, without declaration of war by Congress.
Three hours later, around 4:00pm the United Black Students held a rally, to talk about their objections with the Ohio National Guard on the campus. Word spread that another rally was being held, against Nixon's sending troops into Cambodia.
It was a Friday night and the first warm night of the spring, and a couple of hundred kids were downtown in the area know as "the Strip"a number of bars were located in this area. An anti-war protest broke-out , and more people left the bars and entered the street. Most were sing protest songs, some of the protesters lit a bon fire. The protest tided up traffic for about a hour, and then it started to move towards the center of town. Along the way some of the protesters broke windows, mostly "political targets"banks, loan companies, and utilities .
Leroy Satrom, the Mayor of the City declared a state of emergency after hearing of the news. The police with the Mayor went downtown and read the "Riot Act", and began clearing the bars sending hundreds more into the street. The crowed was herded in the direction of the campus, with tear gas and knight sticks.
Saturday May 4th, rumors of a militant group activity on campus spread, the target was rumored to be the ROTC building. [Opposed by many students.] The City of Kent imposed a dusk to dawn curfew, and students were restricted to campus. Many of the people that were stuck on campus, were result of the round-up the knight before.
Around 8:00pm the ROTC building was set on fire, and 2 thousand swarmed the knoll over looking the commands to watch.(300 ROTC buildings were burnt nation wide during the war.) The National Guard, armed with teargas and Bayonets drawn, forced the students back into dormitories and other campus buildings.
Sunday, May 3rd was a quite day so to speak. The National Guard fully occupied the campus. Governor James Rhodes, who was running for a seat on the US Senate, arrived at 8:00 am. to hold a press-conference. Rhodes who was running on a law and order platform, took grasp of the situation to garner some votes fro the primary 2 days away.
In a highly inflammatory speech, Rhodes claimed that the demonstrations at Kent were the handiwork of a highly organized band of revolutionaries who were out to "destroy higher education in Ohio." These protesters, Rhodes declared, were "the worst type of people we harbor in America, worse than the brown shirts and the communist element...we will use whatever force necessary to drive them out of Kent!"
Later that evening, a National Guard commander would tell his troops that Ohio law gave them the right to shoot if necessary. This merely served to heighten guardsmen's hostility toward students.
Around 8 p.m., a crowd gathered on the Commons near the Victory Bell. As the group increased in size, Guard officials announced the immediate enforcement of a new curfew. The crowd refused to disperse. At 9 p.m. the Ohio Riot act was read. Tear gas was fired from helicopters hovering overhead, and the Guard dispersed the crowd from the area. Students attempted to demonstrate that the curfew was unnecessary by peacefully marching towards the town, but were met by guardsmen. The students the held a sit-in, and ask that the Mayor and School President, speak with them about the guards presence on campus. The guard officials said that these demands would be met. With that said the crowd started to move out of the street. Then the guard officials betrayed the students by announcing that a new curfew would begin right then.
Helicopters and tear gas were used to disperse the demonstrators. As the crowd attempted to escape, some were bayoneted and clubbed by guardsmen. Students were again pursued and prodded back to their dormitories. Tear gas inundated the campus, and helicopters with searchlights hovered overhead all night
This section below is streight From the web site- http://may4.org/4.html
MONDAY, MAY 4, 1970
At 11 a.m., about 200 students gathered on the Commons. Earlier that morning, state and local officials had met in Kent. Some officials had assumed that Gov. Rhodes had declared Martial Law to be in effect--but he had not. In fact, martial law was not officially declared until May 5. Nevertheless, the National Guard resolved to disperse any assembly.
As noon approached, the size of the crowd increased to 1,500. Some were merely spectators, while others had gathered specifically to protest the invasion of Cambodia and the continued presence of the National Guard on the campus. Upon orders of Ohio's Assistant Adjutant General Robert Canterbury, an army jeep was driven in front of the assembled students. The students were told by means of a bullhorn to disperse immediately. Students responded with jeers and chants.
When the students refused to disperse, Gen. Canterbury ordered the guardsmen to disperse them. Approximately 116 men, equipped with loaded M-1 rifles and tear gas, formed a skirmish line towards the students. Aware of bayonet injuries of the previous evening, students immediately ran away from the attacking National Guardsmen. Retreating up Blanket Hill, some students lobbed tear gas canisters back at the advancing troops, and one straggler was attacked with clubs.
The Guard, after clearing the Commons, marched over the crest of the hill, firing tear gas and scattering the students into a wider area. The Guard then continued marching down the hill and onto a practice football field. For approximately 10 minutes, the guard stayed in this position. During this time, tear gas canisters were thrown back and forth from the Guard's position to a small group of students n the Prentice Hall parking lot, about 100 yards away. Some students responded to the guardsmen's attack by throwing stones. Guardsmen also threw stones at the students. But because of the distance, most stones from both parties fell far short of their targets. The vast majority of students, however, were spectators on the veranda of Taylor Hall.
While on the practice field, several members of Troop G, which would within minutes fire the fatal volley, knelt and aimed their weapons at the students in the parking lot. Gen. Canterbury concluded that the crowd had been dispersed and ordered the Guard to march back to the commons area. Some members of Troop G then huddled briefly.
After reassembling on the field, the Guardsmen seemed to begin to retreat as they marched back up the hill, retracing their previous steps. Members of Troop G, while advancing up the hill, continued to glance back to the parking lot, where the most militant and vocal students were located. The students assumed the confrontation was over. Many students began to walk to their next classes.
As the guard reached the crest of the Blanket Hill, near the Pagoda of Taylor Hall, about a dozen members of Troop G simultaneously turned around 180 degrees, aimed and fired their weapons into the crowd in the Prentice Hall parking lot. The 1975 civil trials proved that there was a verbal command to fire.
A total of 67 shots were fired in 13 seconds. Four students: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder were killed. Nine students were wounded: Joseph Lewis, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Robbie Stamps, Donald Scott MacKenzie, Alan Canfora, Douglas Wrentmore, James Russell and Dean Kahler. Of the wounded, one was permanently paralyzed, and several were seriously maimed. All were full-time students.
This happened 35 years ago, and although I was only 11 at the time, thanks to my so-called radical cousins, I was politically aware enough to understand the ramifications of this act. It has stuck with me for all this time, and I will never forget.