By Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal –
KENT, Ohio — At 12:24 p.m. Friday, the Victory Bell on the Kent State University Commons pealed 15 times.
Once each for Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, William Schroeder, Sandra Scheuer, who died not far from the symbol whose purpose was to ring out in triumph.
Nine more times for students who were struck by bullets but survived a volley from National Guardsmen as they opened fire on a crowd during that now-famous anti-war demonstration on May 4, 1970.
Two more solemn metallic clangs in remembrance of two Jackson State University students killed by Mississippi police during their own Vietnam War protest 10 days later.
Hundreds attended Friday’s annual commemoration. On a warm day beneath billowy clouds, an afternoon not unlike the day of the Kent State tragedy, they spread out across Blanket Hill, the slope where students ascended before charging guardsmen.
They milled about on the other side of the hill, where the dead students fell, and a bullet hole in a Don Drumm sculpture in front of Taylor Hall remains a 42-year-old reminder of that iconic moment in American history.
As has become tradition, a historical chronicle of events was read aloud, recalling the announcement of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, the downtown riots that followed, the burning of the ROTC barracks, and the tension that built as armed National Guardsmen were called in to dispel demonstrations.
Then four people took turns speaking on behalf of the four slain students on a stage framed by poster-sized photographs of Krause, Miller, Schroeder and Scheuer.
“Don’t think of this place as anything less than where Americans shed blood for their freedom,” said Bryan Staul, president of the Kent State College Democrats.
Staul said his own generation has been “lazy” when it comes to the ages-old battle to preserve liberty and fight for justice.
“We don’t vote. We don’t stand up. We don’t protest … We gave up, we let go,” he said as he called on his peers to become more active in their world.
Representing Scheuer, classmate Peter Jedick recalled meeting Scheuer in the Tri-Towers dorm cafeteria, where she made jokes about the food. Afterward, they ate together often.
Jedick said he was in the Kent State commons that day in 1970 when he heard “firecrackers” on the opposite side of Taylor Hall. It took awhile before he realized the noise was gunfire, and another day before he learned his friend had died in that moment.
Sanford Jay Rosen, who represented surviving victims and the families of the dead in a wrongful death civil suit, told the story of how the families had lost the first court round, won a new trial on appeal, and eventually made a heart-wrenching decision to settle for $600,000.
“I have only wept twice in public as an adult,” Rosen said, and the first was when he saw how difficult it was for the families to accept the settlement without any authorities accepting responsibility.
Rosen said he has often dreamed that he had the chance to try the case a third time “and win total victory.”
Rosen joined many other voices in continuing to ask state and federal lawmakers to convene hearings to examine new evidence from the shootings.
Last week, the Justice Department said it would not reopen the investigation, saying enhanced audio recordings that some insist include an official order for the guardsmen to open fire were inconclusive.
I think it was the turning point for the thinking about the Vietnam War here in the U.S. I could be wrong, but it seems as if the politicians made more of an effort to end the war after that tragic incident. I think the politicians realized they would be in for a war here if they didn’t end the one over there. I remember hearing the protests from my dorm room in college and actually being a little fearful of what was really going on. College got out early that year without finals because of the protests. It was a very sad, uncertain time.
Anytime someone is dumb enough to stand up to a loaded weapon, they deserve what they get.
You have a right to stand up for your beliefs, You have a right to assemble, you have a right to free speach, and you have a right to protest. Oh ya and a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This was a very sad day in the history of the US. Those students had every right to be there. The national guard over reacted. I remember that so well
Wave the flag all you want. And yes, those students had a right to be there. But trust me, being right doesn’t stop a bullet. I feel they would have been better to run for cover, or at last drop flat in the street. Fact, they chose to face loaded weapons. Fact, they paid for that choice. Responsible for their own actions. I have trouble shedding tears for people’s (in my opinion) dumb choices.
Not an intelligent statement without knowing the facts. At least one of those students wasn’t even part of the protest. Happened to be walking on campus. This is the United States remember. We do have the right to protest and assemble.
I have never denied the right to protest and assemble. If someone “just happened to be walking on campus” with a protest going on and not paying attention to their surroundings, i.e. N.G. troops with weapons, they chose what happened. And I also correct myself. I have been saying “loaded weapons”. Anytime you face a weapon, even if you’re not sure if it’s loaded, you either turn and run or go to ground. As I said before, being right does not stop a bullet, nor does being an innocent bystander.