The Kent State Massacre
John Filo, photography major from Kent State, won the prestige Pulitzer Prize for his photo taken on the campus of Kent State University. Sadly the image captured fourteen Mary Vecchio screaming over the dead body of Jeffery Miller after he had been shot. Among Miller were three others who died after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a chaotic protesting group of students on Kent State University. The shooting that occurred on May 4, 1970 will forever be known as the Kent State Massacre (Thomas and Hensley). Several incidents led up to the shooting, however, the Ohio National Guard should not have opened fire on the students protesting on the campus of Kent State University.
The students were protesting the United …show more content…
On May 2, 1970 the mayor of Kent, Leroy Satrom, declared a state of emergency. Satrom made the decision to ask the governor James A. Rhode to send the Ohio National Guard to control the chaotic protesting. The National Guard was able to arrive swiftly because they were already on duty in Northeast Ohio (Lewis and Hensley). When they arrived at 10 p.m., the Reserve Officer Training Corps, also known as the ROTC, building near the commons was engulfed in flames. More than 1,000 demonstrators were surrounding the burning building. The individual or individuals that set building ablaze still remains unclear. Some believe that anti-war protestors set the building on fire, but others think that it was someone seeking to blame the protestors. Protestors were celebrating the destruction of the building as fire fighters arrived to the scene. The group of protestors consisted of students and non-students and made rude comments towards the firefights. They even resorted to slicing the hoses being used to extinguish the flames. For the National Guard to gain control of the chaotic protesting, they used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators (“Kent State Shooting”). Confrontations between protesters and members of the National Guard continued throughout the entire night. Mystery remained pertaining to who lit the ROTC building on fire that eventually destroyed
John Filo, photography major from Kent State, won the prestige Pulitzer Prize for his photo taken on the campus of Kent State University. Sadly the image captured fourteen Mary Vecchio screaming over the dead body of Jeffery Miller after he had been shot. Among Miller were three others who died after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a chaotic protesting group of students on Kent State University. The shooting that occurred on May 4, 1970 will forever be known as the Kent State Massacre (Thomas and Hensley). Several incidents led up to the shooting, however, the Ohio National Guard should not have opened fire on the students protesting on the campus of Kent State University.
The students were protesting the United …show more content…
On May 2, 1970 the mayor of Kent, Leroy Satrom, declared a state of emergency. Satrom made the decision to ask the governor James A. Rhode to send the Ohio National Guard to control the chaotic protesting. The National Guard was able to arrive swiftly because they were already on duty in Northeast Ohio (Lewis and Hensley). When they arrived at 10 p.m., the Reserve Officer Training Corps, also known as the ROTC, building near the commons was engulfed in flames. More than 1,000 demonstrators were surrounding the burning building. The individual or individuals that set building ablaze still remains unclear. Some believe that anti-war protestors set the building on fire, but others think that it was someone seeking to blame the protestors. Protestors were celebrating the destruction of the building as fire fighters arrived to the scene. The group of protestors consisted of students and non-students and made rude comments towards the firefights. They even resorted to slicing the hoses being used to extinguish the flames. For the National Guard to gain control of the chaotic protesting, they used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators (“Kent State Shooting”). Confrontations between protesters and members of the National Guard continued throughout the entire night. Mystery remained pertaining to who lit the ROTC building on fire that eventually destroyed