Yesterday marked the 54th anniversary of the Kent State shootings or what’s also known as the Kent State Massacre.
On May 4th, 1970 twenty-eight Ohio National Guardsmen opened up fire on unarmed college students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces. They fired off 67 rounds over 13 seconds and killed four students, wounded nine others and one was permanently paralyzed.
Here’s a list of who was killed and wounded on that horrific and shameful day in American history. Their names should go down in history but sadly so many people will never know them.
KILLED
William Knox Schroeder; age 19; Fatal chest wound; died almost an hour later in a local hospital while undergoing surgery.
Allison B. Krause; age 19; Fatal left chest wound; died later that day.
Jeffrey Glenn Miller; age 20; Shot through the mouth; killed instantly.
Sandra Lee Scheuer; age 20; Fatal neck wound; died a few minutes later from loss of blood.
WOUNDED:
Joseph Lewis, Jr.; Hit twice in the right abdomen and left lower leg.
John R. Cleary; Upper left chest wound.
Thomas Mark Grace; Struck in left ankle.
Alan Michael Canfora; Hit in his right wrist.
Douglas Alan Wrentmore; Hit in his right knee.
James Dennis Russell; Hit in his right thigh from a bullet and in the right forehead by birdshot, both wounds minor.
Robert Follis Stamps; Hit in his right buttock.
Donald Scott MacKenzie; Neck wound.
Dean R. Kahler; Back wound fracturing the vertebrae, permanently paralyzed from the chest down.
It should be noted that all those who were shot were students in good standing at the university. None of them were, “bums” as Richard Nixon described the protesters just three days earlier in 1970. It also should be noted that Nixon resigned in shame and guilt four years later to avoid being impeached for his criminal activity in the Watergate scandal. He slunk out of the White House in an historical walk of shame.
Below are links to online articles and videos about this day that truly was the end of the starry-eyed love and hope of the ‘60’s and the start of the age of cynicism and hate that sadly continues on to this day. Below that are what’s happening on the blog next week.
—-
Sunday Links
May 4 Chronology - A timeline of the three days leading up to the shootings and the day of the protest and massacre.
Four Kent State Students Killed by Troops - This is the original piece on the Kent State Shootings from the NY Times in 1970. Note the bold-faced lie told by Sylvester Del Corso, Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard. He said at the time that a sniper had opened fire on the Guard, which was a complete lie, of which he was never reprimanded for.
Personal Remembrances of the Kent State Shootings, 43 Years Later - There’s historical photos and lots of memories in this article from Slate.
Speaking out: Kent State photographer on iconic photo - John Filos was a student at Kent State and he took the iconic photo that would be seen all over the world.
40 Years After Kent State Shooting - This article details what happened to some of the kids who were wounded at the Kent State shooting, plus coments from John Filos and Mary Ann Vecchio, who was the girl in the iconic photo from the above link.
Decades Later, No Justice for Kent State Killings - Allison Krause was just 19-years-old and was one of the four kids killed unjustly by the National Guardsmen. This is a moving article that was written 44 years later by her younger sister who is now the Co-founder and Director of the Kent State Truth Tribunal. It serves as a sad reminder that justice does not always happen in America, the so-called "land of the free."
David Crosby at Kent State - November 2017 - David Crosby remembers this time in history and how it led to Neil Young writing the song, “Ohio.”
—-
MBIP Coming Attractions
Monday: Lou’s Drive-In just opened up for the season, so I went and got my weekly cheeseburger along with a mug of their homemade root beer of course!
Tuesday: We’re continuing the MBIP Mac and Cheese Tour with a stop at One World Cafe and our special guest star is my friend, Tricia.
Wednesday: The North Branch of the Peoria Public Library has an on-going free live music series called Music in the McKenzie and the band Still Shine is playing there today and it’s free for the public! I’m going with two friends and it happens from 2pm to 4pm. If you have this afternoon free, stop on by and watch the show!
Thursday: We’ll be looking back at yet another bar from my 365 bar crawl that will be the subject matter for my forthcoming book, “A Guy Walks Back Into 19 Bars While Remembering 19 Years In New York City.”
Friday: We’ll be giving a local bar the spotlight and listing their daily specials in another MBIPTGIF Happy Hour post.
Saturday: Once again we’ll be looking back in past Peoria for another, Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past post.
—-
Sunday Comic
——
Related Posts: Sunday Links: Blondie - “Heart Of Glass,” Joey Ramone and Midnight Cowboy.