

John Filo's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a fourteen-year-old runaway, kneeling over the dead body of Jeffrey Miller after he was shot by the National Guard.

Killed:

Allison Krause

Jeffrey Glen Miller

Sandra Lee Scheuer

William Knox Schroeder



Wounded:

Thomas Mark Grace

Joseph Lewis Jr.

John R. Cleary

Alan Canfora

Dean Kahler

Douglas Wrentmore

James Dennis Russell

Robert Stamps

Donald Scott MacKenzie

My first child, a son, had been born in Feb. of 1970. I remember sitting with friends listening to reports on the radio, watching what we could get on TV - the phone ringing all day. I held my son in my arms and cried - wondering what on earth was I thinking to have brought a child into this world.

I had been to many sit-ins and protests over the war. I had done things that many thought were "dangerous." I had gone to jail. I never really imagined that my life or my child's might have ever been in real danger of this kind of violence by our own government - even despite some history and evidence to the contrary. I just never thought even then, that they would do it so publicly.

Or that they could kill US college students and every citizen in the nation would not then be in the streets regardless of political persuasions.

I will never forget that day. Please teach it to your children.





Now stop and go read iampunha's wonderful diary.

Update: You should also go back and read last year's Kent State diary by edsbrooklyn

I remember Kent State.

More Info:

Kent State University Department of Special Collections and Archives

Kent May 4 Center

May 4 Archive.org

Mike and Kendra's May 4, 1970 Website

http://kent.state.tripod.com/

http://alancanfora.com/

Update II

kainah has published some of the best diaries about Kent State that are well worth revisiting:

"They Just Started Shooting Us Down" -- Kent State

"They Should Have Shot Them All" -- Kent State Aftermath

My Return to Kent State: The Travelog

"Blood on my Hands": Kent State Civil Trials

Guardsmen Go on Trial: Kent State

Prelude to Kent State: Nixon Invades Cambodia

Call Out the National Guard: May 1-3, 1970, at Kent State

Update III:

Moody Loner wrote below that he hadn't know known about what happened at Kent State for most of his life. That is always a bit of a shock for someone else whose life was so influenced by a national event. I noted in a comment that even all these years later, I get phone calls and emails from folks I was connected with then when we don't stay in touch the rest of the year.

My daughter just called and reminded me of how she learned about it. She was 8 we think, and she and I were cleaning house together when the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song came on the radio. She reminded me, "I was singing along and turned to tell you how much I liked this song, and you were just sitting on the floor with tears in your eyes. We had been singing together and dancing and so I was confused and scared. I asked you what was wrong and you said it always made you remember and cry. We quit cleaning and you told me and then took me to the library and we looked at newspapers on microfilm and you told me the story. Later I told my friends and they didn't believe me. In fifth grade, when I had to write my first research paper, that is what I wrote about. I wrote about it for a paper in high school too. And when my friends would laugh at our protest wall, I would tell them why we had to remember and keep working to make things better and that was always part of the story I told."

The "protest wall" was just a small wall between the kitchen and laundry room. From top to bottom it was covered with bumper stickers, buttons, leaflets and notes. All taking a stand for peace, for the environment or for healthcare for all. I am glad she remembers it and that is how she remembers me.