European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 02, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                He next time a mob of students waving their non negotiable demands starts pitching bricks and rocks at the student Union just imagine they Are wearing Brown shirts or White sheets and act  Spiro Agnew april 1970 Bonfire in the Street and began smashing shop windows. The mayor declared a civil emergency imposed a curfew closed the bars and summoned the National guard thrown rocks slightly injured four or five officers. Police forced the students Back onto Campus with tear Gas. The violence continued on saturday night the Campus Roth building was burned Down. Demonstrators threw rocks at firefighters and slashed their hoses. The arsonists were never identified or arrested. The National guard arrived in the midst of the chaos. One Convoy was stoned As it approached the Campus. The guardsmen were already weary pulled away from patrolling interstate highways during a truckers strike. When they were called out again to patrol monday morning Quot nobody had any sleep to amount to anything Quot recalled sgt. Leon Smith of Beach City Ohio. That same morning Alan Canfora a 21-year-old Junior from Barberton Ohio left for the noon rally carrying a Black Flag his Banner of mourning for yet another Vietnam casualty. Even before the Cambodia invasion More americans were dying every Day. The toll was grim 335 killed in january 385 in february 442 in March. One of the april victims was Canfora s childhood Friend. Canfora upset at his Friend s death and by the presence of the guardsmen on Campus joined 200 to 300 student protesters gathered at the commons. As other students left class for lunch the crowd grew to As Many As 2,000, Many of them on the Hill behind the main knot of demonstrators. Many of the dissenters talked angrily about the guardsmen the curfew and the University s ban on rallies announced the Day before. They considered the last an attack on their rights to free speech and Assembly. Quot i Felt so strongly against the War Quot Canfora said in an interview. Quot i was willing to risk my own life and face those rifles. I chose the Black Flag because of the sad state of affairs on our Campus and in our  to enforce the ban on rallies guardsmen drove past in a jeep ordering students through a bullhorn to leave the commons. Quot pigs off Campus Quot the students shouted. Quot Sieg Heil Quot they chanted mocking the nazi Salute. Students hurled stones at the jeep and guardsmen retaliated with a burst of tear Gas canisters. The students tossed them Back. Within moments however the nearly 100 guardsmen had fixed their bayonets and loaded their weapons mostly m-1 rifles. They advanced on the students scattering them in Retreat Over the Hill and Down the other Side onto the football Field and parking lot. As the students retreated Allison Krause a freshman honors student from Pittsburgh who had just turned 19, turned to her Boyfriend and sobbed a Why Are they doing this to us Why Don t they let us be Quot she cursed the soldiers and threw rocks. The guardsmen regrouped on the practice Field Knelt and aimed their rifles at students in the parking lot. But ther students had regrouped behind them. Realizing hey were outflanked the guardsmen Rose and marched ack up the Hill to resume their original position on the commons. They were under bombardment from stones and obscenities but the nearest students were at least 60 it away. As the guardsmen neared the top of the Hill by suddenly turned rifles at their shoulders. The gunfire stunned the students. Many began Iii. \ a a Quot 1 v1 it a guardsmen Advance through tear Gas a presidential commission found a the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students. Unnecessary unwarranted and  guard at the time of the firing Sandy Scheuer 20, of Boardman Ohio and Schroeder were walking to class. Each was about 130 Yards from the guardsmen Schroeder was shot in the Back after diving to the ground. Scheuer was shot through the neck. Quot i was scared Quot said sgt. Smith who fired one shot into the air. Quot i Felt my life was in danger. I had a fellow coming at me with what looked like a Brick in his hand. I had no intention of hurling anybody or killing  what prompted the shootings remains a mystery. The Fri said it could Only speculate. One theory is that a guardsman either fired in panic or shot intentionally at a student and the other guardsmen fired at the sound of the first shot. The president s commission on Campus unrest said that although the actions of some students were violent criminal dangerous reckless and irresponsible Quot the indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary unwarranted and  a Portage county special grand jury found that the guardsmen acted in self defense and exonerated them of criminal charges. It indicted 25 students and faculty members including Canfora Lewis and Lough the professor. Those charges were dropped in december 1971. In March 1974, a Federal grand jury in Cleveland indicted eight guardsmen on charges of violating the civil rights of the dead and wounded students. Midway through the trial a judge dropped All charges for Lack of evidence. The wounded students and the families of the dead settled a $40 million civil suit out of court in january 1979 for $675,000. But More important 1o them they said was a signed acknowledgement by the defendants gov. James a. Rhodes and 27 guardsmen that the shootings should not have occurred and that the confrontation could have been resolved in other ways. After years of debate Over an appropriate memorial a Granite Plaza with four prominent upright slabs is being dedicated May 4 on a 2v2-acre site adjacent to the parking lot where the students were killed. A bouquet 5s,1.75.gold daffodils already blooms around the memorial one in american Man and woman killed in Vietnam. For Florence Schroeder the daffodils Are a living memorial More valuable than quarried Granite. Her son she explains used to pick her wild Flowers when he was a Schoolboy. She says she will Plant one More Daffodil at the memorial. For him. Alan Canfora hid behind this tree at Kent state after being wounded by guardsman s Bullet May 4,1970. Running. Others dropped to the ground. Some thinking the guardsmen were firing Blanks stood their ground a until they heard the bullets hitting around them. Joseph Lewis jr., an 18-year-old freshman from Massillon Ohio and probably closest to the guardsmen was shot As he made an obscene gesture. A guardsman later said he believed Lewis was advancing on him. Lewis was hit just below the Waist and slammed to the ground. Quot i Felt like being hit in the stomach with a shovel Quot he said. Quot i thought i was dying. I  another Bullet hit his left leg. Canfora about 75 Yards away was shot in the right wrist. Quot i got behind a tree. That s what saved my life Quot he said. Quot i m convinced they were shooting at me intentionally. I could hear bullets hitting the tree. I could hear bullets zipping and cracking through the air and through the grass on both sides of the  sixty one shots were fired from at least 28 weapons. Allison Krause fell mortally wounded 100 Yards away from the guardsmen a Bullet through her Chest. The body of 20-year-od Jeff Miller of Plainview n.y., dropped 90 Yards from the rifles. The Fri said Krause and Miller were initially at the front of the crowd taunting the guardsmen. Miller made some offensive gestures and Krause shouted obscenities the report said but Quot neither was in a position to pose even a Remote danger to the National my 2,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15