In two weeks Kent State will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the infamous shootings that took place May 4, 1970. I was a senior at Kent then, and I witnessed the whole thing. It was a tragedy that never should have happened.

To this day I believe that Nixon told Gov. James Rhodes to make an example of Kent. What ultimately happened nearly started a civil war.

The only thing good that came of this incident was that the American people finally started pressuring the government to get out of Viet Nam. Had it not been for Kent State, the war might have gone on much longer.

I just hope nothing like this ever happens again.

So that means the 14 year old runaway is now 54.

Yeah it was Nixon, not a scared / trigger happy guardsman.

Hippies probably shouldn't throw rocks either. It was a tragedy, but take your tin foil hat off.

Volatile time, both parties were in the wrong. Shame kids died, could have been prevented. I am all for right for peaceable protest, but it seems the term peaceable was abused by the students and the national guard.

I hope it serves as an example for all of us of the good and bad of a situation such as that.

swamisez wrote: the students

Agree, except that I believe it was mostly outsiders, not enrolled students, who decided to pick Kent as the battlesite.