When National News Hits Home

 by Susan Zehnder, Education Director

In the spring of 1970, students from colleges and universities across the nation were protesting the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War. On Monday, May 4, just after noon, reports of a deadly shooting suddenly hit the national news. In 13 seconds, the Ohio National Guard had fired 67 rounds of ammunition into a crowd of protesters at Kent State University. When it was over, four students were dead, nine others were seriously wounded, and hundreds of people had witnessed the event. In response, the university immediately shut down its campus, and for the next six weeks students had to meet off campus with faculty members to complete their semester.

Historians look at events like Kent State, through primary sources to build understanding and help provide context. In the case of Kent State, in addition to eyewitness accounts, numerous documentary films, dramatizations, writings, songs, music, and prize-winning photographs memorialize what happened fifty-five years ago.

Today it is accepted that what took place that Monday in north-eastern Ohio contributed to changing the trajectory of public opinion about American military involvement in the Vietnam War.

At the time, at least four students from Chemung County were attending the university: Mike Tacka, Jay Williams, William Leggiero, and Steve Saracene. These young men, all in their late teens and early twenties, were the same age as many of those being drafted and sent off to fight. They were also about the same age as many of the National Guardsmen who fired upon the protesters.

The Star-Gazette, May 6, 1970

College life in the 1970s looked very different than it does today. Students gathered information from radio broadcasts instead of social media. There were no cell phones with cameras or instantaneous access to the world stage. Newspapers were common, but campus newspapers were often not published on a regular basis.

Earlier that spring, there had been a call for college students to protest the country’s involvement in the war by organizing strikes to get attention. Many national papers covered this brewing unrest, including those printed on May 4. However, by that evening things had changed. Kent State had closed, and the Chemung County students had already returned home. Two days later they were interviewed by the Star-Gazette.

The young men shared their eyewitness and personal accounts. Imagine how brave they had to be to do this, since no one knew what kind of impact this incident would have, or if there would be backlash for or against anyone.

Mike Tacka declared, “it was just like a war zone.” Bill Leggiero said, “There was just a big pool of blood in the middle of the road.” And about the guardsmen, Jay Williams said that “some of them fired into the air. Others fired directly into the crowd.”

A fourth student, Steve Saracene, didn’t witness the shootings, but heard the gunfire. He noted that “the shootings alienated many students who previously had been middle-of-the-road and had taken no part in demonstrations.”

For anyone who experiences or witnesses events like Kent State, memories will persist. Making sense of what happened takes time. While in the middle of events, it is nearly impossible to see how things connect or contribute to the arc of history. For those brave enough to document their experiences to share with others, we are thankful.