Kent State

[Brilliant Bill]

This is something I posted on Facebook. Normally I wouldn't post such a thing here, but it's particularly emotional for me as a Vietnam War veteran.

Kent State, 50 Years Ago Tomorrow

What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

It was 50 years ago, tomorrow, when the Ohio National Guard callously murdered four students on the campus of their university. Two were protesting the Vietnam war and two were simply moving between classes:

Allison Krause
Jeffrey Miller
Sandra Scheuer
William Knox Schroeder

A bullet from an M1 rifle, same type of weapon his father used in World War II, hit Dean R. Kahler's spine, paralyzing him. He has spent his life in a wheelchair. Eight other students were wounded and survived the attack.

In 1917, George M. Cohan wrote the song, "Over There" celebrating the entry of the U.S. into World War I -- and the sending of troops overseas to war. If Kent State taught any lesson, it is that war is never just "over there."