Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Anonymous Oral History

Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Anonymous Oral History

Transcription Show Transcript
Narrator Anonymous
Narrator's Role National Guardsman on duty in Kent, Ohio, in 1970
Date of Interview 1990-05-02
Description A member of the 145th Infantry of the Ohio Army National Guard (name withheld) describes the events he witnessed on the Kent State University campus and in the City of Kent during the time of the 1970 shootings at Kent State. He was also a student at Kent State University at the time, but had to miss classes when he was called up for active duty to patrol the turnpike in Richfield, Ohio, during a truckers' strike. His unit was then moved to Kent on Saturday, May 2, 1970. He describes seeing an orange glow in the sky from the ROTC Building fire as he drove into town. He goes on to describe, at length and in detail, the events he witnessed over the next few days as well as the types of equipment and weapons he and his fellow Guardmen had, what orders and instructions he received from his commanding officers, and encounters he had with demonstrators. He was an eyewitness to the shootings; he was on Blanket Hill by Taylor Hall, thirty yards behind the Guardsmen who opened fire.
Length of Interview 01:23:34 hours
Places Discussed Kent (Ohio)
Richfield (Ohio)
Time Period discussed April-May, 1970
Subject(s) College students--Ohio--Kent--Interviews
Crowds--Ohio--Kent
Demonstrations--Ohio--Kent
Firearms
Helicopters
Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970
Kent State University. ROTC Building--Fires
Ohio. Army National Guard
Ohio. Army National Guard--Interviews
Students--Ohio--Kent--Interviews
Tear gas munitions
Repository Special Collections and Archives
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Institution Kent State University
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Format of Original audio cassette
Disclaimer The content of oral history interviews, written narratives and commentaries is personal and interpretive in nature, relying on memories, experiences, perceptions, and opinions of individuals. They do not represent the policy, views or official history of Kent State University and the University makes no assertions about the veracity of statements made by individuals participating in the project. Users are urged to independently corroborate and further research the factual elements of these narratives especially in works of scholarship and journalism based in whole or in part upon the narratives shared in the May 4 Collection and the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project.
Provenance/Collection May 4 Collection