On May 9, 2010, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a story on the front page titled,"New analysis of 40-year-old recording of Kent State shootings reveals that Ohio Guard was given an order to prepare to fire." Media outlets across the country ran similar pieces in the past few days.A 30-minute reel-to-reel tape made by a Kent State student whose dorm room overlooked the campus commons was enhanced and evaluated by forensic audio experts. Their analysis indicates that an unidentified voice shouts "Guard" followed by "All right, prepare to fire." Does this prove that the Ohio National Guardsmen who fired into the crowd of protesters were given orders? Does this change our understanding of the events of May 4, 1970? How might this change the way you teach this period of American history?
Visit the "It Happened in Ohio: The Kent State Shootings" Ohio Pix Gallery and the Kent State University Libraries' May 4 Collection.
This was a very sad day in our history. I had a friend who was working at the college newspaper when the event happened. He was sent to cover the story shortly after it took place. His account of what he saw was very disstressing and left him with a deep sadness which he still feels after all these years later.
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