College students in general were the primary anti-draft (anti-war) protesters; Berkley University in the San Francisco Bay Area was prime headquarters for the anti-draft movement. A movement which supported the enemy of the US grunt.
The college students had gathered in protest of the widening effort in Vietnam War. The Ohio national guard was called into keep the peace. The ROTC building was set on fire and surrounded by 1000 protesters burned to the ground.
In 1970, 4 students were shot and killed by the National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio, during an anti-war protest. Students had been throwing rocks at the soldiers, who felt that they had to defend themselves. In retrospect, it appeared to have been an error for the governor to have called out the guard in the first place. It remains one of the most tragic events of that period.
After the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, student protests continued to some extent until the end of the Vietnam War. There were convictions of three students involved, but a conviction of guardsmen and officials was overturned due to jury intimidation. The case was settled with the payment of reparations to the families of those injured and killed. The use of armed guardsmen was restricted after recommendations by public commissions. The use of lethal ammunition by the Guard became severely restricted.
The shooting at Kent State on May 4, 1970 occurred as armed National Guard troops fired on a crowd of student anti-war demonstrators. Four students were killed and nine were wounded. There had been violent confrontations between the Guard and the students, and the Guard was attempting to disperse the demonstrators. When a small group of soldiers faced a much larger crowd of students, they fired into the crowd. Although the federal proceedings against guardsmen and authorities were concluded in 1974, an audio tape analyzed in 2010 provided additional information, and could potentially result in further proceedings on a state level. However, double jeopardy and the passage of 40 years make this unlikely.
Because students began throwing bricks and stones at the Guardsmen. The Guardsmen retreated (began stepping rearward), then finally cut loose with rifle fire.
Kent State University in Kent, Ohio was the scene of tension between National Guardsmen and university students leading to 4 deaths on May 4, 1970.
National Guardsmen killed four students.
national guardsmen shot and killed four students
At Kent State University they were shot by Guardsmen after rocks/bricks had been thrown at the men.
On the Kent State campus in Ohio on May 4, 1970, the National Guard troops, attempting to deal with a crowd of student protesters, fired their weapons at the demonstrators. Unfortunately, their shots carried hundreds of feet, killing or wounding innocent students as well as protesters. Four students were killed and nine injured (one paralyzed). The blame for the shootings was initially on agitators on the campus, but this was exacerbated by poor crowd control training for the part-time National Guard soldiers. Evidence indicated that the involvement of student activists and informants led to the violence, but no proof of snipers or other initiating factors was ever presented.
Kent State University students in Kent, Ohio were peacefully protesting the attack on Cambodia. The governor called out the National Guard to quell the uprising. A guardsman opened fire, killing 4 students and wounding others.
One of the most infamous demonstrations against the Vietnam War took place at Kent State University, 1970, when National Guard troops fired on Kent State students and protesters and four were killed and eleven were wounded. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. Two students were killed by police during a demonstration at another college. The Guardsmen at Kent State claimed they had fired in self defense. Some of those killed were students going to class and not even taking part in the demonstration. There is still dispute over the shootings.
A Shooting at Kent State University in 1970, where guardsmen opened fire on students protesting, leaving 4 students dead.
During an anti-war protest the National Guardsmen sent by the Governer to quell the protest, shot into the crowd of unarmed protesters, onlookers and passers-by 67 times for 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.
University protests against the war in Vietnam were common throughout the war. At Kent State University in Ohio, a National Guard soldier fired a shot that killed one of the peaceful protesters.This was a severe incident that gave more importance to ending the war as soon as possible.
Self-defense; they were being stoned (by rocks and bricks).