Kent State Shooting Victim: Reopen Case
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A man who was shot when National Guard troops opened fire on protesters at Kent State University wants the government to reopen the case, citing an audio recording that he says may reveal an order to fire.Alan Canfora, who was wounded in the right wrist during the 1970 anti-war protest, said he recently requested a government copy of the nearly 30-minute tape stored in the Yale University archive.
Just before a 13-second barrage of gunfire, a voice on the tape yells, “Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!” Canfora said.
After the shooting, the FBI investigated whether an order had been given to fire, and said it could only speculate. One theory was that a guardsman panicked or fired intentionally at a student and others fired when they heard the shot.
Four Kent State students were killed and nine were wounded in the clash that followed several days of Vietnam War protests. In 1974, eight guardsmen were acquitted on federal civil rights charges.
Canfora said the reel-to-reel audio recording was made by Terry Strubbe, a student who placed a microphone in a window sill of his dormitory that overlooked the anti-war rally. Strubbe turned the tape over to the FBI, which made a copy and gave it back, Canfora said.
“We think this is a troubling piece of evidence that was somehow overlooked,” said Canfora, who planned to release CD copies of the recording Tuesday at a news conference at Kent State, about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland. “We’re not seeking revenge or a new prosecution of guardsmen, we just want the truth.”
Canfora said he could not identify the voice on the tape or say for certain that it belongs to a guardsman. The government should analyze the recording using new technology, he said.
Mark Wayda, spokesman for the Ohio National Guard, said Sunday he was unaware of the tape and declined to comment.
Strubbe, who still lives near Kent, keeps the original tape in a safe deposit box, said Canfora, who heads a nonprofit organization at Kent State that leads a candlelight vigil every May 4 to mark the anniversary of the shootings.
Strubbe has an unlisted phone number.
© 2007 The Associated Press.
I support another investigation. This is evidence that an order was given to fire at children/adults exercising their right of peaceful dissent. This would add to a veritalble mountain of existing evidence that the elite who rule this country view us like any of their other puppet leaders around the world; we can think what we like as long as it doesn’t interfere with their plans.
My guess is that an investigation will reveal that Bill Clinton did it.
Lyndon Johnson was no religious nut, but he was from Texas. What is it about presidents from Texas?? I support reopening the investigation because of the very fishy suppressed evidence. But even though an order was given, how could the Guard pull triggers? There was no threat to have drawn a fatal response. Something is very wrong with the whole “follow orders without thinking” training, and maybe this investigation will change that somehow. Maybe.
Lambsie Divy - It was “Tin soldiers and Nixon comin’” not LBJ.
You know, if the students had all been armed, maybe none of them would have been killed.
Wonder why the gun huggers haven’t pointed that out yet.
Thank you, President Bush, for standing up for my right to keep and bear arms. I truly could not have done it without the support of people like you.
Is this a great country or what.
Sincerely,
Seung Hui Cho
PS. My family sends their regards
Thank you, Charlton Heston a.k.a. “My President” for standing up for our right to keep and bear arms. We truly could not have done it without the support of people like you.
Is this a great country or what.
Sincerely,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
PS. Our families send their regards
I hear E. Howard Hunt released a taped statement to his son about the Kennedy assination. They played it on Coast to Coast AM.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page2008.html
It was bound to happen when armed response is made to infringe on the right of people to assemble. Leaders could have accepted input early on and facilitated resolution at their level and helped to transfer the legitimate concerns up the ladder. But then again the power brokers aren’t there to get shot or attacked by the mob.
We must never forget that the ruling elite control the military and we must always raise our voices to fight this evil alliance.
“Lyndon Johnson was no religious nut, but he was from Texas.”
Nixon was president during the Kent State shootings.
“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming…”
- Crosby, Still Nash and Young, Four dead in Ohio
“You know, if the students had all been armed, maybe none of them would have been killed…Wonder why the gun huggers haven’t pointed that out yet.”
Spot-on comment!
The Kent State shootings are worth looking into now, as our society is facing similar challenges. More on this in:
Revisiting the Vietnam War era: The draft, casualties and the Kent State shootings
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=3514