The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre or Kent State massacre, occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. President Richard Nixon's announcement of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the need to draft more soldiers for an expansion of the Vietnam War effort provoked massive protests on campuses throughout the country. At Kent State University, demonstrators occupied buildings and destroyed the ROTC offices. In response, the governor of Ohio dispatched hundreds of National Guardsmen to the campus. On May 4, the guardsmen open fire on a crowd of protesters, killing four students and wounding nine others. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance.
Two men who were present related what they saw:
Unidentified speaker 1: "Suddenly, they turned around, got underneath, as if they were ordered to, they did it all together, aimed. And personally, I was standing there saying, they're not going to shoot, they can't do that. If they are going to shoot, it's going to be blank."
Unidentified speaker 2: "The shots were definitely coming my way, because when a bullet passes your head, it makes a crack. I hit the ground behind the curve, looking over. I saw a student hit. He stumbled and fell, to where he was running towards the car. Another student tried to pull him behind the car; bullets were coming through the windows of the car.
"As this student fell behind the car, I saw another student go down, next to the curb, on the far side of the automobile, maybe 25 or 30 yards from where I was lying. It was maybe 25, 30, 35 seconds of sporadic firing.
"The firing stopped. I lay there maybe 10 or 15 seconds. I got up, I saw four or five students lying around the lot. By this time, it was like mass hysteria. Students were crying, they were screaming for ambulances. I heard some girl screaming, 'They didn't have blank, they didn't have blank,' no, they didn't."
Killed (and approximate distance from the National Guard):
· Jeffrey Glenn Miller; 20, 265 ft (81 m) shot through the mouth - killed instantly
· Allison B. Krause; 19, 343 ft (105 m) fatal left chest wound - died later that day
· William Knox Schroeder; 19, 382 ft (116 m) fatal chest wound - died almost an hour later in hospital while waiting for surgery
· Sandra Lee Scheuer; 20, 390 ft (120 m) fatal neck wound - died a few minutes later from loss of blood
· Allison B. Krause; 19, 343 ft (105 m) fatal left chest wound - died later that day
· William Knox Schroeder; 19, 382 ft (116 m) fatal chest wound - died almost an hour later in hospital while waiting for surgery
· Sandra Lee Scheuer; 20, 390 ft (120 m) fatal neck wound - died a few minutes later from loss of blood
Wounded (and approximate distance from the National Guard):
· Joseph Lewis Jr. 71 ft (22 m); hit twice in the right abdomen and left lower leg
· John R. Cleary 110 ft (34 m); upper left chest wound
· Thomas Mark Grace 225 ft (69 m); struck in left ankle
· Alan Michael Canfora 225 ft (69 m); hit in his right wrist
· Dean R. Kahler 300 ft (91 m); back wound fracturing the vertebrae - permanently paralyzed from the chest down
· Douglas Alan Wrentmore 329 ft (100 m); hit in his right knee
· James Dennis Russell 375 ft (114 m); hit in his right thigh from a bullet and in the right forehead by birdshot - both wounds minor (died 2007)
· Robert Follis Stamps 495 ft (151 m); hit in his right buttock (died June 11, 2008)
· Donald Scott Mackenzie 750 ft (230 m); neck wound
· John R. Cleary 110 ft (34 m); upper left chest wound
· Thomas Mark Grace 225 ft (69 m); struck in left ankle
· Alan Michael Canfora 225 ft (69 m); hit in his right wrist
· Dean R. Kahler 300 ft (91 m); back wound fracturing the vertebrae - permanently paralyzed from the chest down
· Douglas Alan Wrentmore 329 ft (100 m); hit in his right knee
· James Dennis Russell 375 ft (114 m); hit in his right thigh from a bullet and in the right forehead by birdshot - both wounds minor (died 2007)
· Robert Follis Stamps 495 ft (151 m); hit in his right buttock (died June 11, 2008)
· Donald Scott Mackenzie 750 ft (230 m); neck wound
3 comments:
For the best eye witness accounts of the Kent State shootings by various Kent students and national guardsmen who shot students, check out the Emmy Award winning documentary, "Kent State, The Day the War Cam Home." It was just released on DVD for the upcoming 40th anniversary. In its review of the program, The Hollywood Reporter stated, "This extraordinary hour long doc is so good, so well constructed, that it can't help but leave viewers feeling as if they themselves were on the bloody scene of the Kent State carnage..." for more go to kentstatedvd.com
The best eye witness has testified that someone in the crowd shot first. Someone from the campus shot a gun and that caused the whole thing.
Anonymous is an idiot that’s simply untrue
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