DEAN KAHLER : Paralyzed in KSU shootings, he's thankful to be alive

http://www.ohio.com/news/92610749.html

When Dean Kahler was felled by a National Guard bullet, he got hate mail calling him a commie, leftist-crazy radical.

Yet he was anything but.

As a member of the pacifist Church of the Brethren, he was against the war in Vietnam — and, in fact, any war.

He was simply a first-quarter freshman, straight off the farm, who wanted to see what went on at a student demonstration. May 4, 1970, was his first anti-war rally.

Kent State didn't provide counselors to help him or other students overcome the trauma of the shootings and no one from the Guard or state has apologized to Kahler, but no matter.

but they did a great job on the subject. The transcript is not yet available, but you can watch the video at the link.


On 40th Anniversary of Kent State Shootings, Truth Tribunal Seeks Answers
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. On May 4th, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on hundreds of unarmed students at an antiwar rally at Kent State University in Ohio. The guardsmen fired off at least 67 shots in roughly 13 seconds. Four students were killed and nine others wounded. We hear from some of the survivors and we speak with Laurel Krause, the sister of Allison Krause, one of the four students killed, who is directing the Kent State Truth Tribunal.


Laurel Krause, sister of Allison Krause, one of the four students killed at Kent State. She is organizing the Kent State Truth Tribunal

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/4/on_40th_anniversary_of_kent_state

That really ticks me off.

I'm just glad that Mr. Kahler had and continues to have a positive outlook.

Our bad dreams had become nightmares at the beginning of 1968. It seemed they would never stop. Kent State and Jackson State were the final horrors of my senior year at Carolina. Suddenly, we were all Kent State students.

And many of us could have also been the National Guard troops. I was lucky (lottery) enough to have avoided being drafted, but most of my peers were either drafted, enlisted, joined the NG, or had already served.

UNC Chapel Hill went on strike and stayed out on strike through the end of the academic year. Many of us graduated late, commencement barely happened. We were in collective mourning; in many ways, we still are.

This weekend I will attend my 40th class reunion. Lewis Black (also UNC'70) sent out a list of alleged events for our class: a campus protest demonstration; a peace vigil on Franklin Street; occupying South Building (admin). They seem more-relevant than most of the actually planned events. Maybe we will do like we did at our 25th and take over some of the sessions and redirect them.

We will not forget.