Legion May Oppose Kent State Memorial as Insult to Viet Vets

Some American Legion members hope to block construction of a memorial to slain Kent State students because they say the structure is an insult to veterans of the Vietnam War.

The structure of 13 marble disks set in granite squares symbolizes the four students slain and nine wounded when Ohio National Guardsmen began shooting during a campus anti-war demonstration in 1970.

The design by Bruno Ast and Thomas J. Rasmussen of Chicago was chosen July 2.

“The construction of this memorial would be an insult to the patriotic veterans who served their country honorably and well,” a proposed resolution to go before the Legion’s resolutions committee said.

If it is approved by the committee, Legion members will vote on the measure Saturday during the second day of their three-day convention in Cleveland.

The proposed resolution said the shooting victims “were engaged in arson, wanton destruction of public and private property, desecration of the United States flag, as well as felonious assault upon the National Guard, while the guard was under orders to protect the lives and property of law-abiding citizens and students.”

Eight guardsmen indicted in 1974 were acquitted of the shooting deaths. In 1979, the state agreed to pay $675,000 to settle suits filed by the families and students.