I saw a documentary many years ago that stated the National Guard was fired on first. Of course, that little fact has been conveniently omitted over the years.
Mr. Perkins, a member of G Company, had just returned from riot duty in a Cleveland neighborhood. The students he met in town, he said, charmed him.
“They were the nicest people. They would sit and talk to us about the war in Vietnam. Of course, we had nothing to do with the war in Vietnam. The girls would bring us flowers. They were just young students. We were their age and we got along great,” he said.
The abrupt change came mid-morning May 4. Guardsmen made a long loop across a football practice field, pushing back students with tear gas. Mr. Canfora said the students had become enraged after several young people were cut with bayonets. The guardsmen knelt and pointed at the students, did not fire, then marched up a what is called Blanket Hill as students gathered in a parking lot below.
That was when guardsmen spun around, seemingly in unison.
“The reason we all turned around was we heard two gunshots. I honestly can tell you I don’t think it came from our ranks,” he said.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10124/1055309-84.stm#ixzz0mzEXFbDk