Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings (also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre[3][4][5]) resulted in the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard, on the Kent State University campus. The shootings took place on May 4, 1970, during a rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War into Cambodia by United States military forces as well as protesting the National Guard presence on campus and the draft.
Kent State shootings
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, United States
May 4, 1970
12:24 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time: UTC−4)
4
9
Kent State University students
Troop G of the Ohio National Guard
- Lawrence Shafer
- James McGee
- James Pierce
- William Perkins
- Ralph Zoller
- Barry Morris
- Leon H. Smith
- Matthew J. McManus
0.5 mi. SE of the intersection of E. Main St. and S. Lincoln St., Kent, Ohio
17.24 acres (6.98 ha)[2]
February 23, 2010[1]
December 23, 2016
Twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired about 67 rounds over 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis. Students Allison Krause, 19, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, 20, and Sandra Lee Scheuer, 20, died on the scene, while William Knox Schroeder, 19, was pronounced dead at Robinson Memorial Hospital in nearby Ravenna shortly afterward.[6][7]
Krause and Miller were among the more than 300 students who gathered to protest the expansion of the Cambodian campaign, which President Richard Nixon had announced in an April 30 television address. Scheuer and Schroeder were in the crowd of several hundred others who had been observing the proceedings more than 300 feet (91 m) from the firing line; like most observers, they watched the protest during a break between their classes.[8][9]
The shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. It increased participation in the student strike that began on May 1. Ultimately, more than 4 million students participated in organized walk-outs at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools. The shootings and the strike affected public opinion at an already socially contentious time over the role of the United States in the Vietnam War.[10]
Eight of the shooters were charged with depriving the students of their civil rights, but were acquitted in a bench trial. The trial judge stated, "It is vital that state and National Guard officials not regard this decision as authorizing or approving the use of force against demonstrators, whatever the occasion of the issue involved. Such use of force is, and was, deplorable."[11]
Timeline[edit]
Thursday, April 30[edit]
President Nixon announced that the "Cambodian Incursion" had been launched by United States combat forces.
Friday, May 1[edit]
At Kent State University, a demonstration with about 500 students[17] was held on May 1 on the Commons, a grassy knoll in the center of campus traditionally used as a gathering place for rallies and protests. As the crowd dispersed to attend classes by 1 p.m., another rally was planned for May 4 to continue the protest of the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. There was widespread anger, and many protesters called to "bring the war home." A group of history students buried a copy of the United States Constitution to symbolize that Nixon had killed it.[17] A sign was put on a tree asking: "Why is the ROTC building still standing?"[18] A further protest organised by the Black United Students (BUS) also took place during the afternoon, in order to demonstrate solidarity with antiwar protests at Kent State University and nearby Ohio State University;[19] attracting around 400 students, and ending peacefully at 3:45 p.m.[20]
Further issues arose following President Nixon's arrival at the Pentagon later during the day. Upon his arrival he was greeted by a group of Pentagon employees; with one female employee commenting in regards to Nixon's speech announcing the launch of the Cambodian Incursion: "I loved your speech. It made me proud to be an American".[21] This prompted Nixon's controversial response:
Killed (and approximate distance from the National Guard):
Wounded (and approximate distance from the National Guard):
Of those shot, none was closer than 71 feet (22 m) to the guardsmen. Of those killed, the nearest (Miller) was 265 feet (81 m) away, and their average distance from the guardsmen was 345 feet (105 m). The victim furthest from the Guard was 750 feet (230 m) away.[62]
In the President's Commission on Campus Unrest (pp. 273–274)[63] they mistakenly list Thomas V. Grace, who is Thomas Mark Grace's father, as the Thomas Grace injured.
All those shot were students in good standing at the university.[63]
Injured National Guard members
Initial newspaper reports had inaccurately stated that several National Guard members had been killed or seriously injured.[64] Though many guardsmen claimed to have been hit by stones that were pelted at them by protesters,[38] only one Guardsman, Sgt. Lawrence Shafer, was injured enough to require medical treatment (he received a sling for his badly bruised arm and was given pain medication[38]) and sustained his injuries approximately 10 to 15 minutes before the shootings.[64] Shafer is mentioned in an FBI memo from November 15, 1973, which was prepared by the Cleveland Office and is referred to by Field Office file # 44-703. It reads as follows:
In an interview broadcast in 1986 on the ABC News documentary series Our World, Shafer identified the person that he fired at as student Joseph Lewis, who was shot and wounded in the attack.