Kent State Victim Releases Recording
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, AP
CLEVELAND (May 1) – A static-filled recording of war protesters yelling, followed by a voice and gunfire, was released Tuesday by a survivor of the Kent State University shooting who claims the tape proves a military order was given to fire on demonstrators.
“The evidence speaks for itself,” said Alan Canfora, 58, one of nine students wounded during the National Guard shooting. Four students were killed in the 1970 shootings, which followed several days of protests over the Vietnam War.
Canfora played two versions of the tape – the original and an amplified version – in which he says a Guard officer issues the command, “Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!”
To the casual listener, the word “point” can be heard followed by the sound of shots being fired. There is no indication on the tape of who said the word.
The tape, played to a group of reporters and students at a small university theater, was given to Yale University for its Kent State archives in 1979 by an attorney who represented students in a lawsuit filed against the state over the shooting, Canfora said. He found out about the tape six months ago while researching the shooting.
Canfora said he will turn over copies of the tape to federal and state officials with an appeal to reopen the investigation over how the firing began.
Read it here.
