May 4, 1970 - Kent State Shootings - 55th Anniversary
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May 4th marks the 55th anniversary of the tragic events at Kent State University in Ohio. At the time, it was an event of national significance. The shootings at Kent State inspired several songs, and even James Michener would write a detailed book about the tragedy. Though probably forgotten about by many adults, and unheard of by most of today's younger people, it deserves remembering.
Remembering - Allison Krause, Sandra Scheuer, Jeffrey Miller, William Schroeder.
In the spring of 1970, young Americans were being killed and wounded in a horrible war which divided our country. During an unruly anti-war protest on the Kent State campus, Ohio national guardsmen fired on unarmed college students. Three of the four students killed were simply walking across campus, and not even involved in the demonstration.
The killings affected college and high school students more than most adults. After all, this was a demonstration on a college campus in middle America, not China. They felt it could be them next.
I remember how the killings at Kent State pushed a large number of my high school classmates, who were politically middle-of-the-road, much further toward the anti-war, anti-establishment end of the spectrum.
My older brother, in the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, in Duc Pho, S. Vietnam, didn't hear about it until a day or two after. He said most of the soldiers felt that battle-dressed guardsmen should not have responded, even to rock throwing, with lethal force.
Parents of college students were upset and angry to think that their children could be shot dead walking across campus.
In the days following May 4th, there were many demonstrations at colleges and even high schools condemning the shootings at Kent State.
As with any history, by remembering this senseless tragedy, hopefully, we can prevent it from happening again.
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/fot/ohio.htm
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