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May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Thu May 04, 2006 at 09:11:00 PM EST
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Kent State, May 4, 1970. . Don't forget. If you do, I'll remind you every year.

Neil Young, Ohio.

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Don't let the music die.

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    May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio | 25 comments (25 topical)
    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#1)
    by unbill on Fri May 05, 2006 at 03:47:34 AM EST
    Rest in peace Bill, Sandy, Allison and Jeffrey, and may the generations not forget.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#2)
    by barbarajmay on Fri May 05, 2006 at 04:40:56 AM EST
    I remember sobbing as a 14 year old at the sight of kids not much older than me killed at college while walking dogs. My dad denounced that they were "godd**n commies" and that "they had it coming". I was suspended for refusing to take off my black armband at school. I am amazed at how fresh and painful those memories are, even now. I will not forget.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 04:52:10 AM EST
    Wish a buck was still silver. It was, back when the country was strong. Back before Elvis; before the Vietnam war came along. Before The Beatles and "Yesterday", When a man could still work, and still would. Is the best of the free life behind us now? Are the good times really over for good? Are we rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell? With no kind of chance for the Flag or the Liberty bell. Wish a Ford and a Chevy, Could still last ten years, like they should. Is the best of the free life behind us now? Are the good times really over for good? I wish coke was still cola, And a joint was a bad place to be. And it was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV. Before microwave ovens, When a girl still cooked and chopped wood. Is the best of the free life behind us now? Are the good times really over for good? One more time. Stop rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell? Stand up for the Flag and let's all ring the Liberty bell. Let's make a Ford and a Chevy, Still last ten years, like they should. 'Cos the best of the free life is still yet to come, The good times ain't over for good? Merle Haggard. Not a bad old stick. And there's a line for all you gals out there. Get the country back on it's feet, sharpen up the axe, and get out and chop some wood.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Fri May 05, 2006 at 05:14:17 AM EST
    Democracy Now has an excerpt - print transcript, realvideo, and mp3 - of the documentary "Kent State: The Day the War Came Home." Amy Goodman interviewing students, parents, guardsmen, and the governor:
    Gov. James Rhodes: This is when we're going to use every part of the law enforcement agency of Ohio to drive them out of Kent. We are going to eradicate the problem.
    How can you run when you know?
    Mary Vecchio: I thought it was Alan. I mean, I will never forget running toward the body of Jeff Miller, thinking it was Alan. And how I felt when I looked down and saw Jeff lying in this pool of blood, and there was so much blood.
    Elaine Holstein: I called his number, and it rang and rang. And then a young man answered. And I said, "Let me speak to Jeff." And he said, "Who is this?" And I said, "It's his mother." And he said, "He's dead."
    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 05:35:39 AM EST
    Barbara. I too remember it as yesterday. I was living in the 51st state at the time.
    I was suspended for refusing to take off my black armband at school.
    Good for you, I was about to say that it is inconievable that such a thing could happen, but the truth is all too obvious, then and today.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 07:12:17 AM EST
    we will see this in the future.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#7)
    by Peaches on Fri May 05, 2006 at 07:50:33 AM EST
    Fred the mystic Fred the prognosticator Fred the cynic Fred, I agree with you.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#8)
    by desertswine on Fri May 05, 2006 at 07:51:12 AM EST
    I remember this with great sadness. Rest in peace.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#9)
    by jondee on Fri May 05, 2006 at 08:17:41 AM EST
    Anybody know whatever happened to the hippie garbed FBI informant who stood with the guardsmen and fired his .45 into the crowd?

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#10)
    by Sailor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 08:41:00 AM EST
    I was in Junior High (the land before Middle School existed.) After the Kent State killings I wore a black armband to school in honor of the Kent State 4. I was attacked in study hall by several classmates. They held me down while a knife weilding compatriot cut the armband off. The 'teacher' of said study hall made himself absent during this attack. When I eventually* made my way to the principal's office to complain, I saw my black armband in it's sliced state on his desk. He blamed me for the situation, and wanted to know what 'outside agitators' had 'forced' me to speak my mind. When I started this post I didn't mean to make it about me, it's about Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder. In a better world they would still be here ... and still protesting the war.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#11)
    by jondee on Fri May 05, 2006 at 08:46:22 AM EST
    As I recall, at least one of the dead wasnt even participating in the protest.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 08:50:56 AM EST
    ah yes, remember the protesters, rather than the crimes that brought it about. pardon the terrorists, rather than remember the people that they killed so many years ago. understand the weathermen for their progressive politics, rather than the families broken apart. These people died at a riot, and they were there to cause death and destruction, ideally aimed at the guard. They got what they deserved. The only sadness is that there were so few. They deserved a rope, not a bullet.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#13)
    by Al on Fri May 05, 2006 at 08:55:44 AM EST
    Fred, I'm very much afraid you may be right.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#14)
    by Sailor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:29:58 AM EST
    ah yes, remember the protesters, rather than the crimes that brought it about.
    Yes, an illegal war started on a lie about the Gulf of Tonkin. Lying about the Illegal bombing of cambodia. Lying about invading Laos. Using chemical weapons like napalm and agent orange. Propping up a corrupt gov't. I assume you are referring to those crimes that brought the protest about.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#15)
    by Edger on Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:45:15 AM EST
    hey protests the fact that people protested the war, and then prescribes his ideal solution for protesters: The only sadness is that there were so few. They deserved a rope. You've got my nomination for a Darwin Award, hey...

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#16)
    by barbarajmay on Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:48:14 AM EST
    Jondee- The Justice Department report said, ""...in all, only two [student victims] were shot from the front. Seven students were shot from the side and four were shot from the rear." "...of the 13 students shot, none, so far as we know, were associated with either the disruption in Kent on Friday night, May 1, 1970, or the burning of the ROTC building on Saturday, May 2, 1970." The closest was 60 feet away. It was simply a massacre. A slaughter. And I sat next to my children yesterday trying to explain why and how and enither of them could even comprehend. All these years later, neither can I.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#17)
    by jondee on Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:51:54 AM EST
    "The only sadness" is that ambulatory types like Hey can go to certain states and lay their hands on a gun so easily.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#18)
    by squeaky on Fri May 05, 2006 at 09:56:17 AM EST
    Hey is for hearses. It is rather obvious at this point that he celebrates death over life.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#19)
    by Johnny on Fri May 05, 2006 at 10:12:48 AM EST
    Hey, why do you hate the fundamental right that America is based on? The right to free speech is so important that the framers of the BOR found it necessary to place it in front of all other amendments. And if you feel that a summary execution is a fitting punishment, then I feel for you. But I cannot help but think you would be happier toeing the line in Stalinist Russia than enjoying even the limited freedom of speech we experience here.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 01:49:20 PM EST
    Johnny, There's no point in responding. Anyone capable of writing "The only sadness is that there were so few. They deserved a rope, not a bullet" can't be reasoned with.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#21)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri May 05, 2006 at 02:49:36 PM EST
    Well said, Meridy.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#22)
    by Sailor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 06:17:28 PM EST
    SUO, you've surprised me yet again. I agree completely. Thanks MeridyM.

    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon May 08, 2006 at 12:58:23 PM EST
    "Why Kent State Is Important Today," by Michael Corcoran, a journalism major at Emerson College (published as an Op-Ed in the Boston Globe.
    Kent State should remind us of what happens when a grossly misguided war divides a country. If we can speak candidly and openly about our history and our present -- even the worst elements of it -- then we can ensure that the lives lost on May 4, 1970, were not in vain.
    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon May 08, 2006 at 01:00:42 PM EST
    "Why Kent State Is Important Today," by Michael Corcoran, a journalism major at Emerson College (published as an Op-Ed in the Boston Globe.
    Kent State should remind us of what happens when a grossly misguided war divides a country. If we can speak candidly and openly about our history and our present -- even the worst elements of it -- then we can ensure that the lives lost on May 4, 1970, were not in vain.
    Re: May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon May 08, 2006 at 01:03:51 PM EST
    "And you can say that again!" [Sorry for the double post. Out of practice. Please remove one of them if/when you have time.]

    May 4, 1970: Four Dead in Ohio | 25 comments (25 topical)