WAS THE KENT STATE SHOOTING CASE SOLVED?
New Claims of Order to Fire Spur Controversy

    A new book on the Kent State killings claims that a sergeant Matthew McManus started

    the shooting by issuing an unauthorized order to fire, resulting in the deaths of four

    students, the wounding of nine others, and a cover-up that lasted 54 years.

          Another author, William A. Gordon (Four Dead in Ohio), believes claims made in

    Kent State: An American Tragedy, that McManus gave an order to fire do not begin to

    explain why men in another unit, which had already shouldered their rifles, fired at least

          67 shots directly at Kent State students.

        Here are some questions to ask William Gordon:

    1. You say that Van DerMark's book serves the same purpose as your book: it helps point Kent State's scholars in

    the direction of the debate. Why, 50+ years later, does the university still have so much trouble Kent State explaining

    what Kent State the tragedy was all about? And has the university damaged to the memory of what happened

    on May 4, 1970 by mostly avoiding the central issues?

    2. (And related) How do you feel about Brian VanDeMark essentially excusing McManus? Should he

    have been court-martialed? Should or could McManus be prosecuted at this late date?

    3. Were you surprised by the claim that a sergeant gave an unauthorized order to fire, not the general, colonel,

    major, and several captains who outranked him?

    4. Why does VanDeMark, in virtually every instance, always act as the soldiers' defense attorney?  

    5. Why does he argue the Guard had the best of intentions, when a majority of Americans felt the students  

    felt the victims had it coming to them?

    6. Does Van DerMark lack what Ernest Hemingway, in his journalistic days, called

    "the most essential gift of a good writer is a built-in, shockproof bullshit detector"?

    7. Tell me about the newly discovered evidence (a new photograph) buried in the archives that practically

    demolishes the Guardsmen's claim of self-defense?

    8. Should today's 18-year-olds try to influence foreign policy in the streets?

    9. Given that campuses are worried about a new round of protests this spring, what is the likelihood of another

    Kent State?

    CONTACT:
    William A. Gordon
    www.kentstateshootingsexpert.com
    (949) 533-5106AS THE KENT STATE SHOOTING CASE SOLVED?
New Claims of Order to Fire Spur Controversy
    A new book on the Kent State killings claims that a sergeant Matthew McManus started
    the shooting by issuing an unauthorized order to fire, resulting in the deaths of four
    students, the wounding of nine others, and a cover-up that lasted 54 years.

    Another author, William A. Gordon (Four Dead in Ohio), believes claims made in
    Kent State: An American Tragedy, that McManus gave an order to fire do not begin to
    explain why men in another unit, which had already shouldered their rifles, fired at least
    67 shots directly at Kent State students.

    Here are some questions to ask William Gordon:

    1. You say that Van DerMark's book serves the same purpose as your book: it helps point Kent State's scholars in
    the direction of the debate. Why, 50+ years later, does the university still have so much trouble Kent State explaining
    what Kent State the tragedy was all about? And has the university damaged to the memory of what happened
    on May 4, 1970 by mostly avoiding the central issues?

    2. (And related) How do you feel about Brian VanDeMark essentially excusing McManus? Should he
    have been court-martialed? Should or could McManus be prosecuted at this late date?

    3. Were you surprised by the claim that a sergeant gave an unauthorized order to fire, not the general, colonel,
    major, and several captains who outranked him?

    4. Why does VanDeMark, in virtually every instance, always act as the soldiers' defense attorney?  

    5. Why does he argue the Guard had the best of intentions, when a majority of Americans felt the students  
    felt the victims had it coming to them?

    6. Does Van DerMark lack what Ernest Hemingway, in his journalistic days, called
    "the most essential gift of a good writer is a built-in, shockproof bullshit detector"?

    7. Tell me about the newly discovered evidence (a new photograph) buried in the archives that practically
    demolishes the Guardsmen's claim of self-defense?

    8. Should today's 18-year-olds try to influence foreign policy in the streets?

    9. Given that campuses are worried about a new round of protests this spring, what is the likelihood of another
    Kent State?

    CONTACT:
    William A. Gordon
    www.kentstateshootingsexpert.com
    (949) 533-5106