'The Eight Guardsmen'

4 out of The Eight Guardsmen were identified as (Sharpshooter with advance Marksmanship qualifications) McManus, Morris, Shafer, Zoller.

On Monday May 4,1970 12:24PM
The Kent State campus was a visual
horror story, with unstoppable threats, moments of terror,
endless adrenaline, total chaos, graphic, intense,
shocking, and a violent dramatic showdown!
There were multiple Ambulances already parked on the Kent
State campus prior to any shooting.
On Monday May 4,1970 In room #110 of The Johnson Hall
building next to the Kent pagoda. A student had placed
their 4-inch reel-to-reel 'Campus Pet' recorder with
microphone on a windowsill of an open window. The recorder
was left running and the student had walked out to the
grassy area along the right side of Taylor Hall down from
the pagoda. The recording was 25:58 minutes that covered
the before and the after of the 12.53 seconds of Kent State
gunfire.
1. At 21:32 a Female voice offers in a non approval voice the word F_ _ _ er.
2. At 21:37 a Male voice offers in a melodious voice the word FIRE or LIAR.
3. At 21:38 28-Ohio National Guardsmen fire 67-rounds in 12.53 seconds
The reel-to-reel recorded a total of 67 shots fired in
12.53 seconds (which was 5.347 shots per second)
The First 4.53 seconds of the total 12.53 seconds
recorded 30-shots that came from M-1 rifle fire (30-shots
in 4.53 seconds)
The following 8.00 seconds of the total 12.53 seconds
recorded 32-shots that came from M-1 rifle fire,
and 3- shots that came from .45 caliber hand gun fire
and 2- shots that came from .12 gauge shotgun fire (37-
shots in 8.00 seconds)
On Monday May 4,1970 Each of the Ohio National Guardsmen
M-1 rifles had SAFETY Clips that would have needed to be
pushed forward out of the trigger guard then taking aim and
firing at Kent State University Students on May 4, 1970 murdering 4-unarmed students and wounding 9-unarmed students.

An officer with a bull horn was placed in a jeep along with several Guardsmen and driven across the Commons to tell the Kent students that the rally was banned and that they must disperse. This was met with angry shouting and rocks, and the jeep retreated.

This is when General Canterbury ordered his men to lock and load their M-1 Garand weapons. "Lock and Load" signifies being fully prepared, armed, and ready for immediate action or confrontation, often implying an intent to use force. A command to prepare firearms (specifically locking the bolt and loading ammunition), it is a command of intent readiness.

J. Ronald Snyder a Captain in the National Guard May 4, 1970. Captain Snyder testified he made up a story about finding a gun on the body of Kent State student Jeffrey Glenn Miller to bolster a contention that guardsmen had fired at the students in selfdefense. Captain Snyder then testified that he had actually found the gun, but nowhere near Mr. Miller's body. The weapon in mention was rusted and had no trigger assembly, Captain Snyder said.

Monday May 4, 1970
M1 Garand Bullets and Bullet Fragments were (FOUND) in the Kent State students killed and wounded. Autopsies and Medical Examiner's reports confirmed the victims were in fact hit by gunfire. Further Medical and Forensic analysis identified the weaponry used was M1 Garand rifle gun fire.

The FBI conducted ballistic testing on the M1 Garand rifles used by the Ohio National Guardsmen, focusing on lands and grooves in each of the Guard issued M1 Garand rifles to match bullets to each specific M1 Garand weapon.
The FBI offered that "bullets from the incident were never recovered", limiting the ability to match specific M1 Garand rifles to individual Guardsmen. A significant issue in the investigation was that "many bullets passed through victims" and were not recovered, or were too damaged for conclusive identification. The FBI "analyzed" the rifling characteristics (lands and grooves) of each of the Guardsmen M1 rifles. Reports indicated that only eight guardsmen fired in the direction of students, but "the lack of matching bullets" made individual accountability impossible.

An attempt to trace the projection of each spent projectile interrupted or uninterrupted, the potential distance of each spent projectile interrupted or uninterrupted, as well as recovery through metal detection went unchallenged. Monday May 4, 1970 The Kent State Ohio National Guard were issued M1 Garand rifles with 8-round clips. Each Guardsmen M1 Garand rifle was equipped with a 'Safety Clip' which would have had to be disengaged as they turned, aimed, and fired on unarmed Kent State students.

Captain Ronald J. Snyder on two separate occasions
1. Late Sunday Night May 3, 1970
2. Early Monday morning May 4, 1970
Captain Snyder,
Stood up in front of A-Company and G-Troop
before any of the shootings at Kent State ever took place and offered the same message too both groups ...
Men,
There has been 10-Students Killed and 4-National Guardsmen Killed at Kent State, so get ready we are moving out.
If anyone wants to talk to a Priest, make it quick.

A-Company 1st Battalion, 145th Infantry Division
(Captain John E. Martin)

G-Troop, 107TH Armored Calvary Regiment
(Captain Raymond J. Srp)

C-Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Infantry Division
(Captain Ronald J. Snyder)

'THE EIGHT GUARDSMEN'
Lawrence A. Shafer, 25 years old,
A-Company, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division
(turned and fired 5-times at students)

Ralph W. Zoller, 23 years old,
A-Company, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division
(was one of five guardsmen specifically charged with felony counts related to the deaths of the four Kent State students)

James D. McGee, 24 years old,
G-Troop, 107th Armored Cavalry
(turned and fired at least 1-time at students)

James E. Pierce, 25 years old,
G-Troop, 107th Armored Cavalry
(turned and fired 4-times at students)

William E. Perkins, 25 years old,
G-Troop, 107th Armored Cavalry
(turned and fired 5-times)

5 - Guardsmen 'CHARGED with FELONY' willfully assaulting and intimidating.
"Being charged with a felony for willfully assaulting and intimidating someone is a grave legal matter that typically involves intentional physical harm or the threat of it, often elevated by specific "aggravating" factors".

*

Barry W. Morris, 25 years old,
G-Troop, 107th Armored Cavalry (Unit Leader)
(turned and fired 3-times at students)

Mathew J. McManus, 24 years old,
A-Company, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division
(gave order to FIRE over their heads, then fired his .45 pistol in the air, which may have been misinterpreted)

Leon H. Smith, 23 years old,
A-Company, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division
(turned and fired his M1 into the crowd of students)

3 - Guardsmen 'CHARGED with MISDEMEANOR' assault and intimidation not resulting in Death.
"Being charged with misdemeanor assault and intimidation (where death did not occur) typically involves allegations of minor physical contact or verbal threats that placed someone in reasonable fear of harm. While less severe than felony charges, these carry significant legal and personal consequences".

May 4, 1970
The FBI confiscated all of the 28-Guardsmen M-1 Garand rifles but could not arrive at any Ballistics matching
4-Kent students Dead,
1-Kent student Paralyzed,
8-Kent students Wounded,

Defense Attorney 'Lambros' called Sargent Breckenridge to the stand. Shortly there after Judge Battisti ordered clear the court room, and at that point It Was All Over.

William Knox Schroeder:
I was born in Cincinnati,Ohio. I have an
older sister {Nancy} and a younger brother{Rudy}.
We moved to Lorain, Ohio when I was in elementary school.
I was an Eagle Scout by 17 years old and graduated from
Lorain High School Class of 68' with honors and pretty good in sports.
I attended Kent State University {as a psychology student}
and was a member of The Kent State ROTC program

19-year old unarmed William Knox Schroeder was killed by a single shot to the chest from an M-1 Garand battle rifle. He was not taking part in the Vietnam War protests that preceded the shootings, but simply walking between classes. He, along with Sandra Scheuer, was caught in the gunfire. His college roommate, Louis Cusella, stated that he believed Schroeder was trying to flee when shot: "Bill was 332 feet away from the nearest National Guardsman, not much of a threat. He was shot with a folder in his hand. Official reports stated that Schroeder was actually 382 feet from the National Guard at the time he was shot, while lying on the ground facing away from the Guardsmen. The bullet entered his left chest at the seventh rib, piercing his left lung, and some fragments exited from the top of his left shoulder. He died almost an hour later while in a hospital undergoing surgery. William was a member of ROTC.

L J Coon:
We grew up in Lorain Ohio and lived three city blocks from the line that determined which school system you would attend. The home that we lived in was among other homes that were side-by-side separated by only a few feet. Our front porches were aligned with each other. The view of your neighbors was so available you could hear their screen door slam; you remember screen doors?

William Knox Schroeder {Bill} attended Lorain High School and would always walk to School and stop in after School at our neighbors home. Interestingly enough you could hear when someone would knock on our neighbors screen door and many times that would be Bill Schroeder.

My Mother use to always say 'that boy is sure a handsome young man' and a good dresser. I had noticed that my sister was impressed with him also. She would hear Bill at the neighbor's door in the morning on the way to School and would hurry so they or she could walk in a group to Lorain High School.

Bill, would stop to pickup our neighbor's oldest boy Tommy; They were best friends. I know this, because that is what my sister said that Tommy said. I, really think that my sister liked Bill; Because that is what she said.

Monday May 4, 1970 our neighbor Tommy, my Sister, my Mother, and myself the little kid that watched and heard everything that was going on that Monday morning; shock, sadness, loss. I looked to my Mother for her response. My sister was just sitting there with emotional disbelief it seemed like for days.

The image of Bill walking by out front heading home down the street. My Mother saying that he is such a good looking young man and a good dresser. I could hear his voice as he left our neighbors front porch and telling his friend Tommy that he would see him latter, that was our {Bill}; Kent State University Student William Schroeder.
L J Coon

Writers: L J Coon / Donna L Cleaves
"The Eight Guardsmen"
Kent State OHIO University - One Bad Day Monday May 4, 1970