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Campus "Unrest" demonstrations and consequences, 1970-1971

1971-11-12 American Report: Review of Religion and American Power Page 22

18-S AMERICAN REPORT NOVEMBER 12, 1971

The Dead: 'A Challenge to the American Conscience'

(Cont. from p. 17-S)
on Blanket Hill." (Emphasis added) This is a conclusion full of doubt because the Commission was unable to overcome the barrier "placed in the way of testimony" by the party responsible for the killing of four students. It is time these barriers were overcome.
   Both the Justice Department summary of the F.B.I. investigation and the President's Commission indicate a considerable degree of command confusion from the time the Guardsmen set out from the Commons. The main body, comprising Company A and Troop G, was under the command of Lieut. Col. (Charles E.) Fassinger, but when General Canterbury, attired in a business suit, tagged along behind he assumed authority for issuing orders such as whether or not to proceed across Blanket Hill and when to leave the practice field. Likewise with Company C. When they broke away from the main body and headed for the opposite corner of Taylor Hall, they were under the command of Capt. J. Ronald Snyder. However, Maj. (Harry D.) Jones ran after them and presumably assumed command of the Company until he left the men and went down to the practice field. All of this must surely have caused some confusion among the Guardsmen and in turn communicated itself in particular to the sergeants. For some there must have been a sense of autonomy, especially when it became apparent on the practice field that the officers, from Canterbury on down, really did not know what they were doing. 
   The Justice Department simply observes: "Apparently no plan for dispersing the students was formulated." The significance of this confusion becomes obvious in light of what was to happen by the Pagoda on the return march to the Commons. There has, to date, been no concrete evidence indicating that any officer fired a weapon from Blanket Hill. Major Jones may have fired his Beretta while on the practice field but most witnesses report that the Guardsman who did fire used a .45 pistol, whereas Jones only had a .22 pistol. The shooting at the Pagoda, however, did involve seven sergeants-eight with Sgt. (Myron) Pryor (if he fired)-and out of the 28 or 29 who fired only eight were below the rank of Specialist 4th. Troop G had two men below that rank and neither fired. Company A had 19 below that rank of which eight fired. It is suggested these eight were among those who fired in the air in panic reaction to the shooting by Troop G.
   Nothing so far published indicates that officers like Canterbury and Fassinger were aware that some of the men had made a decision to shoot at the students and their reaction to it in photographs tends to confirm this. In fact, past experience was such that the officers would have no reason, especially at Kent State, to expect their men to shoot. General Del Corso told the President's Commission: "As a matter of fact, in all the commitments that our troops have been committed, which have been more than any other community in the United States Army, we have never injured an individual until the Kent State incident. Yet, in every incident, we have had our troops injured, we have been fired at in many of them, and certainly we have taken verbal insults."
   Much has been made by Del Corso and Canterbury of the great number of injuries to their men. The Guard claims that some 50 men were injured on May 4, 1970, but the Justice Department says: "Although many claim they were hit with rocks at some time during the confrontation, only one Guardsman, Lawrence Shafer, was injured on May 4, 1970, seriously enough to require [italics]any kind[/italics] of medical treatment. He admits his injury was received some 10 to 15 minutes before the fatal volley was fired." (Emphasis added).
   Another disturbing aspect of the National Guard's campaign to obstruct justice is their subtle portrait of the Guardsmen as very frightened young kids about to be overwhelmed by a vicious, violent, and screaming mob bent upon killing them. This impression was recently given further credence by the Attorney General of the United States during a television interview when he said: "The unfortunate part of all this is that, certainly in the case of these poor kids that were Guardsmen, you know they think of the National Guard as being some heavy-handed force. They're a bunch of kids that are pulled out of school and their jobs and thrown into this National Guard duty and they're just like the college kids on the other side."
   At Kent State, these "poor kids" were not just like the students at all. The "poor kids" had M-1 rifles and the use of the word "kids to describe them is deliberately designed to mislead the public. General Del Corso was asked by the President's Commission what was the average age of the "enlisted men in the Ohio National Guard." Del Corso replied, "I would estimate that the average age is approximately 23 years." The Justice Department reports: "Each person who admits firing into the crowd has some degree of experience in riot control. [italics]None are novices...All[/italics] are in Troop G."
   There were some other "poor kids" In Troop G not included in the above because they had not admitted to the F.B.I. firing into the crowd. Sgt. 1st Cl. Okey R. Flesher had been in the Guard for 13 years, eight months at the time of the shooting, and had received at least 60 hours training in riot control. SP/4th William E. Perkins, four years and nine months in the Guard with 58 hours training in riot control, and previous riot duty in 1966 and 1968. Sgt. Dennis L. Breckenridge, five years and 11 months service and at least 60 hours training in riot control, also with prior duty in 1966 and 1968. 
   In fact, of the 11 men in Troop G who fired their weapons, not one had been in the Ohio National Guard less than three years and eight months-the length of service of Sgt. Joseph Scholl. And none of the 11 had less than 58 hours training in riot control. Furthermore, all 1 had previous riot duty in either Cleveland-Hough in 1966 or Akron-Cleveland in 1968, or both. Their experience at the hands of strikers on April 29 and 30 (1970) are not included under "previous riot duty." Only black Americans and students "riot."
   The shooting was almost an inevitable end-product of irrational emotions. The dead at Kent State and the two shot to death at Jackson State 10 days later are not martyrs. They are a challenge to the conscience of the American people. The deliberate killing of student demonstrators and blacks challenges the Government and all of us who believe that laws and justice are more vital to a healthy democracy than order at any price.
   The decision by General Canterbury to disperse this (noon-day) assembly violated the provisions of Ohio's Revised Code and the Constitutional rights of all the students, both participants in the assembly, onlookers, and those going about their business on the campus. The direct consequence of Canterbury's decision was the violent death of four American citizens. It is now our duty and our responsibility to publicly question the Ohio National Guard and to investigate "whether or not there was a conspiracy on the practice field by some members of the National Guard." Mr. 
(Cont. p. 19-S, Col. 1)

{Photograph top right corner. Crowd in background, one person running, one kneeling, one walking. Metal Sculpture in middle of photo, building front to right side.
Howard Ruffner
Caption: Behind the Metal Sculpture lies John Cleary with several students trying to aid him. To the right is Taylor Hall.}

{Photograph bottom left corner. National Guardsmen in background. People kneeling around person lying on ground. One man standing facing camera.  
Howard Ruffner
Caption: Joseph Lewis, in foreground, lying on his back as the guardsmen, shooting completed, continue their march back to the Commons.}

{Photograph bottom right corner.  People across campus.
Caption: Scene of Carnage: Looking into the parking lot form Blanket Hill moments after the shooting. Seven Kent students lie dead or wounded in this photograph.}

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18-S AMERICAN REPORT NOVEMBER 12, 1971 The Dead: 'A Challenge to the American Conscience' (Cont. from p. 17-S) on Blanket Hill." (Emphasis added) This is a conclusion full of doubt because the Commission was unable to overcome the barrier "placed in the way of testimony" by the party responsible for the killing of four students. It is time these barriers were overcome. Both the Justice Department summary of the F.B.I. investigation and the President's Commission indicate a considerable degree of command confusion from the time the Guardsmen set out from the Commons. The main body, comprising Company A and Troop G, was under the command of Lieut. Col. (Charles E.) Fassinger, but when General Canterbury, attired in a business suit, tagged along behind he assumed authority for issuing orders such as whether or not to proceed across Blanket Hill and when to leave the practice field. Likewise with Company C. When they broke away from the main body and headed for the opposite corner of Taylor Hall, they were under the command of Capt. J. Ronald Snyder. However, Maj. (Harry D.) Jones ran after them and presumably assumed command of the Company until he left the men and went down to the practice field. All of this must surely have caused some confusion among the Guardsmen and in turn communicated itself in particular to the sergeants. For some there must have been a sense of autonomy, especially when it became apparent on the practice field that the officers, from Canterbury on down, really did not know what they were doing. The Justice Department simply observes: "Apparently no plan for dispersing the students was formulated." The significance of this confusion becomes obvious in light of what was to happen by the Pagoda on the return march to the Commons. There has, to date, been no concrete evidence indicating that any officer fired a weapon from Blanket Hill. Major Jones may have fired his Beretta while on the practice field but most witnesses report that the Guardsman who did fire used a .45 pistol, whereas Jones only had a .22 pistol. The shooting at the Pagoda, however, did involve seven sergeants-eight with Sgt. (Myron) Pryor (if he fired)-and out of the 28 or 29 who fired only eight were below the rank of Specialist 4th. Troop G had two men below that rank and neither fired. Company A had 19 below that rank of which eight fired. It is suggested these eight were among those who fired in the air in panic reaction to the shooting by Troop G. Nothing so far published indicates that officers like Canterbury and Fassinger were aware that some of the men had made a decision to shoot at the students and their reaction to it in photographs tends to confirm this. In fact, past experience was such that the officers would have no reason, especially at Kent State, to expect their men to shoot. General Del Corso told the President's Commission: "As a matter of fact, in all the commitments that our troops have been committed, which have been more than any other community in the United States Army, we have never injured an individual until the Kent State incident. Yet, in every incident, we have had our troops injured, we have been fired at in many of them, and certainly we have taken verbal insults." Much has been made by Del Corso and Canterbury of the great number of injuries to their men. The Guard claims that some 50 men were injured on May 4, 1970, but the Justice Department says: "Although many claim they were hit with rocks at some time during the confrontation, only one Guardsman, Lawrence Shafer, was injured on May 4, 1970, seriously enough to require [italics]any kind[/italics] of medical treatment. He admits his injury was received some 10 to 15 minutes before the fatal volley was fired." (Emphasis added). Another disturbing aspect of the National Guard's campaign to obstruct justice is their subtle portrait of the Guardsmen as very frightened young kids about to be overwhelmed by a vicious, violent, and screaming mob bent upon killing them. This impression was recently given further credence by the Attorney General of the United States during a television interview when he said: "The unfortunate part of all this is that, certainly in the case of these poor kids that were Guardsmen, you know they think of the National Guard as being some heavy-handed force. They're a bunch of kids that are pulled out of school and their jobs and thrown into this National Guard duty and they're just like the college kids on the other side." At Kent State, these "poor kids" were not just like the students at all. The "poor kids" had M-1 rifles and the use of the word "kids to describe them is deliberately designed to mislead the public. General Del Corso was asked by the President's Commission what was the average age of the "enlisted men in the Ohio National Guard." Del Corso replied, "I would estimate that the average age is approximately 23 years." The Justice Department reports: "Each person who admits firing into the crowd has some degree of experience in riot control. [italics]None are novices...All[/italics] are in Troop G." There were some other "poor kids" In Troop G not included in the above because they had not admitted to the F.B.I. firing into the crowd. Sgt. 1st Cl. Okey R. Flesher had been in the Guard for 13 years, eight months at the time of the shooting, and had received at least 60 hours training in riot control. SP/4th William E. Perkins, four years and nine months in the Guard with 58 hours training in riot control, and previous riot duty in 1966 and 1968. Sgt. Dennis L. Breckenridge, five years and 11 months service and at least 60 hours training in riot control, also with prior duty in 1966 and 1968. In fact, of the 11 men in Troop G who fired their weapons, not one had been in the Ohio National Guard less than three years and eight months-the length of service of Sgt. Joseph Scholl. And none of the 11 had less than 58 hours training in riot control. Furthermore, all 1 had previous riot duty in either Cleveland-Hough in 1966 or Akron-Cleveland in 1968, or both. Their experience at the hands of strikers on April 29 and 30 (1970) are not included under "previous riot duty." Only black Americans and students "riot." The shooting was almost an inevitable end-product of irrational emotions. The dead at Kent State and the two shot to death at Jackson State 10 days later are not martyrs. They are a challenge to the conscience of the American people. The deliberate killing of student demonstrators and blacks challenges the Government and all of us who believe that laws and justice are more vital to a healthy democracy than order at any price. The decision by General Canterbury to disperse this (noon-day) assembly violated the provisions of Ohio's Revised Code and the Constitutional rights of all the students, both participants in the assembly, onlookers, and those going about their business on the campus. The direct consequence of Canterbury's decision was the violent death of four American citizens. It is now our duty and our responsibility to publicly question the Ohio National Guard and to investigate "whether or not there was a conspiracy on the practice field by some members of the National Guard." Mr. (Cont. p. 19-S, Col. 1) {Photograph top right corner. Crowd in background, one person running, one kneeling, one walking. Metal Sculpture in middle of photo, building front to right side. Howard Ruffner Caption: Behind the Metal Sculpture lies John Cleary with several students trying to aid him. To the right is Taylor Hall.} {Photograph bottom left corner. National Guardsmen in background. People kneeling around person lying on ground. One man standing facing camera. Howard Ruffner Caption: Joseph Lewis, in foreground, lying on his back as the guardsmen, shooting completed, continue their march back to the Commons.} {Photograph bottom right corner. People across campus. Caption: Scene of Carnage: Looking into the parking lot form Blanket Hill moments after the shooting. Seven Kent students lie dead or wounded in this photograph.}