Tin Soldiers

     At the beginning of fifth grade in 1969 we had an intern in our classroom. She stayed a few weeks and then returned to college at Kent State. Never heard anything more about her. Though we have heard quite a bit about Kent State in the last 50 years.

     After having to quickly process the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy in 1968, I'm not sure this incident struck me too hard. I was likely already numb. When nobody made the connection between our intern and the shooting at Kent State I doubt I was surprised.

     I can only guess that after having heard for years about summertime riots in our major cities and the fires and looting that followed that four more senseless killings were just part of our life's routine. It was all on TV, as were the death tolls from Vietnam. The US always lost fewer troops than our enemy though this never made me feel like we were winning anything. I never understood the "Domino Theory" and how if we let Vietnam become a communist country all the other ancient countries in the area would follow suit. I don't believe I was an isolationist, just someone with a vague sense that governing a country was a lot harder than it appeared and difficult at best to maintain.

     Neil Young penned this song within weeks of the Kent State shootings. It's pithy and to the point, characteristics of any good protest song.

"Ohio"

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?