The guardsmen had just finished a couple days duty stopping overpass shootings of trucks by wildcat striking Teamsters when rioters burned down the Kent State University ROTC building. They get sent to the campus without a break (or any training in riot control) with gas masks and loaded Garands. Most were college age themselves. The girl killed across campus probably died because a guardsman thought sending a round over the heads of the rioters coming at them was a good idea. Overall, as consistent a cluster**** as one can imagine with plenty of blame on both sides.