Alot of you know I was a witness to the National Guard shootings at Kent State 39 years ago on May 4, 1970. A little over a year ago, I was at a fraternity reunion at Kent, and heard a story, that could give a little more insight into what happened on that day. Here is a repost of that story:
Returning to my alma mater, for a Fraternity Reunion, Kent State
revived memories, but also revealed new information that could have
caused for the National Guard Shootings.
The Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House was on Main Street in Kent,
and on that Sunday night before the Fateful Day- The National Guard had
closed off the streets, set a curfew, and closed down the bars (and
closing the bars was a BIG DEAL)- leaving hundreds of students boxed in
on Main Street, It was at the TKE House that Jim Russell, (one of the
Kent State Students wounded) taunted the National Guard - "Go Ahead
Shoot Me" he shouted repeatedly, until a Guardsman clubbed him in the
knee, and then a round of tear gas was fired onto the porch of the TKE
House. Russel was wearing a tye dye shirt at the time.
Now here is where the story differs, one story suggests that Jim
Russell allegedly was taunting the National Guard on the other side of
the hill by Taylor Hall, and a National Guardsman with a Riot Gun fired
at him, hitting him twice with pellets- setting off the other guardsman
to shoot. Now mind you Russell was 150 yards away from the other
shooting victims and wearing the same tye dye shirt that he was wearing
the night before when he taunted the guardsmen and got clubbed.
Initially no Guardsman admitted he had a riot gun with pellets, but one
admitted 25 years later that he did have a riot gun that shot pellets.
The other story is that Jim Russell could not handle the sight of
blood, and would pass out at that sight. When he saw the guardsmen- he
passed out his head hitting his knee and two buckshots ricocheted, one
into his forehead, and the other in his thigh.
Both stories are from first hand discussions Jim Russell had with
Fraternity Brothers after the shootings, and sadly, Russell died this
past year.
Before I decided to write this piece, I checked with my fraternity
brothers, who provided this new information and asked if it was okay to
write about it.- They said Yes.
So that's it- a couple more pieces of the Kent State Shootings- I
was totally unaware of, and even thought I was ten feet away from the
guardsman on May 4, 1970, this new info really puts the event in a
different perspective for me.
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