Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Tom E. Thompson Oral History

Kent State Shootings: Oral Histories

Tom E. Thompson Oral History

Transcription Show Transcript
Narrator Thompson, Tom E.
Narrator's Role Student at Kent State University in 1970
Date of Interview 2000-05-04
Description Tom E. Thompson was an undergraduate student at Kent State University in 1970 and he discusses his memories of the days surrounding the May 4 shootings on campus. He lived in Johnson Hall and watched the burning of the ROTC building from his dormitory. He was acquainted with Allison Krause, one the students killed in the shootings and was close friends with Joe Lewis, one of the students who were injured. Thompson mentions trying to visit Lewis at Robinson Memorial Hospital and being turned away the first time. He also describes running into tear gas near his dormitory on Monday, May 4, and hearing the shots being fired from inside the building.
Length of Interview 10:52 minutes
Places Discussed Kent (Ohio)
Time Period discussed May 1-4, 1970
Subject(s) Firearms
Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970
Kent State University. ROTC Building--Fires
Krause, Allison, 1951-1970
Lewis, Joseph
Ohio. Army National Guard
Tear gas munitions
Repository Special Collections and Archives
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Institution Kent State University
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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