Article

2007-04-30 Home Front: Culture Wars

CLEVELAND An audio recording made when National Guard troops killed four Kent State University students during an anti-war demonstration could resolve the mystery of whether a command to fire was issued and may offer a chance for healing for victims and shooters, a survivor said Monday.
...And a chance to try and hang someone for trying to defend themselves against a mob attack. But I digress - please continue...
"We're not seeking revenge; we're not seeking punishment for the Guardsmen at this late date," said Alan Canfora, wounded in the wrist during the confrontation 37 years ago.
Yeah, right.
"All we want is the truth ~~as we think it SHOULD have been written~~ because we seek healing at~~to run the bloody shirt up again at~~ Kent State for the student victims, as well as the triggermen ...
...Note his choice of words....
... who were ordered to fire. And healing can only result from the truth, and that's all we want." He wants the government to reopen the case.

Four Kent State students were killed and nine were wounded in the clash, which followed several days of Vietnam War protests. In 1974, eight Guardsmen were acquitted of federal civil rights charges.
And believe me - the Feds tried HARD to convict those guys.
Canfora said he recently requested a copy of the nearly 30-minute tape from Yale University, where a government copy has been stored in an archive. He says that just before the 13-second volley of gunfire, a voice on the tape is heard yelling, "Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!"
...A command, I might note, that doesn't sound like anything I ever heard.
Canfora said he was convinced from his research _ including other tapes and photos _ that the command was issued by one of three Guard officers at the shooting site. "The time has now come to where it's impossible to deny the verbal command to fire," Canfora said.
"Deny it and we'll really jam it down your throats come May 4."
The government should analyze the recording using new technology, he said.

After the shooting, the FBI investigated whether an order had been given to fire, and said it could only speculate. One theory was that a Guardsman panicked or fired intentionally at a student and that others fired when they heard the shot.

The FBI would look into any new inquiry about the shootings, spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The Ohio National Guard had no comment on the tape, spokesman James Sims said.

Canfora said the reel-to-reel audio recording was made by Terry Strubbe, a student who ~~just happened to have~~ placed a microphone at a window sill of his dormitory that overlooked the anti-war rally. Strubbe turned the tape over to the FBI, which kept a copy. Canfora planned to release CD copies of the recording Tuesday at a news conference at Kent State, about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Strubbe, who still lives near Kent, keeps the original tape in a safe deposit box, ...
And, by the by, refuses to let any independent analysts look at it...because there's a good chance that they will hear the sounds of shots before the Guardsmen fired.
... said Canfora, who heads a nonprofit organization at Kent State that leads a candlelight vigil every May 4 to mark the anniversary of the shootings. Strubbe didn't return a message seeking comment Monday.
Reality check: I had to put up with Mr. Canfora's shenanigans while I was stationed near KSU some years ago. Every May he starts this. He overlooks the fact that whether he wants to admit it or not, a mob was on the verge of overruning the Guardsmen, and they were primed to tear them to pieces. Whether or not opening fire was the right thing to do I shall leave to others, but I know no one who, when faced with the same situation, wouldn't have tried to defend themselves. His attitude is that the bloody shirt needs to be flown 24/7 on a lit flagpole, and he also believes that 'reparations' need to be made to all KSU students and the professional agitators who were there - not to mention the arrest and trial of the Guardsmmen.

Guess what kind of verdict he'd like.

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2007-04-30 17:20|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Congress should investigate what the Bush administration knew about this and when they knew it.

Posted by Dennis Kookcinich 2007-04-30 20:26|| 2007-04-30 20:26|| Front Page Top

#2 One of my favorite old jokes from the 1988 Election:

"Dan Quayle wanted to kill communists but his National Guard unit never got sent to Kent State!"

Posted by JDB 2007-04-30 20:44|| 2007-04-30 20:44|| Front Page Top

#3 Campus administrators couldn't control it. Campus security counld not control it. The local police department could not control it. The Army was brought in and they put a stop to the bullshit. Lesson learned, never throw rocks or intimidate a soldier carrying an M1 Garand. Someone is bound to get hurt or get dead.

Posted by Besoeker 2007-04-30 21:35|| 2007-04-30 21:35|| Front Page Top

#4 Everyone is overlooking the obvious. Global Warming.

Posted by Closh Slealing7392 2007-04-30 23:17|| 2007-04-30 23:17|| Front Page Top

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