40 years ago on May 4, 1970 the world changed as shots rang out at Kent State University in Ohio. Much like the shots at Lexington and Concord, these shots changed America forever. I know they changed my life. I was 15, a high school sophomore at the time and a pretty gung-ho supporter of the government's efforts to win the war in Viet Nam. But when 4 students were shot to death for offering a dissenting point of view, I started taking a real long hard look at what was going on. And it changed the course of my life. For better or worse? Probably some of each.
I was just 3 years away from being drafted because my apathetic attitude toward classwork coupled with a healthy dose of inadequate educators put my GPA squarely in the mediocre to below average level in college curriculum subjects. So my parents decided to spend my college money elsewhere. That left the military as one viable option. And up until May of 1970 I probably would have been just fine either enlisting or being drafted into service.
But when those kids died, the reality of fighting in Viet Nam in a couple years hit me like a ton of bricks. I decided I'd avoid it if at all possible. I'm not so sure it was the right decision. At 18 I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living and the military would have given me time to mature and decide what I wanted to do. That is if I didn't take a bullet for Uncle Sam first.
Luckily, by my 18th birthday the Selective Service was still around and I got a draft number, but the draft had been eliminated as a method of enlisting men and women into the armed forces. If not, I'd surely have gone. My number was 51 (out of 365). Low numbers were guaranteed to be selected. And I would have had no choice. My father took a couple of shells for Uncle Sam in WII and I'd have no excuse not to do the same.
The photo above from 1970 coupled with this one during the Tet Offensive of 1968 
sealed America's fate in Viet Nam. And I would go on to say they changed our lives every bit as much as the attacks on 9/11. Photojournalism at it's most powerful.
sealed America's fate in Viet Nam. And I would go on to say they changed our lives every bit as much as the attacks on 9/11. Photojournalism at it's most powerful. But that's just how the Kent State Massacre affected me. I know a lot of folks my age started really analyzing our government after that. What was once unquestioned trust of our leaders in Washington started to become scrutinized. And wow, what a pack of worms, snakes and vermin we discovered when that rock got overturned.
Fast Forward to today when the outcry against big government is as loud as it's ever been in my lifetime. To the point of new Tea Parties, Militia Groups, and anti-government protesting. We call these folks radicals, and crazies. And I have to be honest, they seem like fringe elements to me. But that's what they called the kids at Kent State who protested the escalation of bombing in Viet Nam. And that's what they once called Patrick Henry and Ben Franklin too.
Something to think about 40 years later.
2 comments:
Dog, now that I'm watching The Pacific and the subject has come up...where exactly did your Dad get shot? I mean loaction. I know (or think I remember) that he was shot through the knee and the bullet exited as well. Which Island? I recently looked up the missions of the USS Gatling as thats the boat Uncle "Chew" was on. It seems like they did a bunch of support fire for missions and escorting. How much do you know about Uncle C's missions and how old were you when he told you? Heck you could make another post out of what I asked you! I;m going to do my part for national safety. We're going to NYC on the 15th to see Blue Man Group. If I see a smoking van, I'm going to run like hell.
I don't know much about any of his missions. He took his first shrapnel from a Japanese grenade on New Guinea.
Then he was part of the landing force when MacArthur made his famous return to liberate the Phillppines. His knee was completely pierced by an artillery shell believed to be friendly fire. When that happened he said the 2 men on either side of him were killed instantly. That was on the Phillipine island of Luzon in 1944.
He had the utmost respect for General MacArthur and like many, would have followed him to the gates of Hell. In fact, that's pretty much exactly where he took them.
All I know is he was awarded several campaign medals. And he was deployed on the islands of Caledonia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. I doubt much of the series "Pacific" deals with these campaigns. They are not the stories that get told very often. By the nature of the terrain the war in the Pacific was largely a Navy/Marine affair. But MacArthur, an Army general, was commander in that entire theatre.
The battles at Guadalcanal, Midway, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa are usually the stories that continue to be told. Those were all horribly bloody battles too. And we'd never have won them without the 18-20 year old Marines off the streets of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and countless other American cities who thought they were the baddest motherfuckers on earth. Thought they were invincible, as young adults are prone to do. Many died proving it too.
The liberation of the Phillipines and the fighting in New Guinea (which the Australians were losing quickly until MacArthur showed up) and in Burma never seem to get the publicity. Just like today, back then the War Deparment had it's own public relations spin and the stories were told that cast the best light on the operations. The fact that MacArthur had to evacuate Corrigidor and leave his men to die on the Bataan death march I think made them slant the stories toward Navy and Marine Corps successes instead. Plus had we lost some of those it could have been devistating to the entire war effort. Whereas losing New Guinea was more of a threat to Australia than to the US.
We never talked about it much. I don't think any of those guys thought of themselves as "heros." They just did what they were told and tried not to get shot. And if that meant shooting another man before he shot you, then so be it.
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