Kent State Shootings, Part 2

In response to Professor Knopf's letter, Mr. Kelner had this to say.

January 12, 1984

Dear Professor Knopf:

I read with great interest your letter relating to "SS". His name never was brought to my attention in any context whatever during the Kent State litigation.

I found your summary of events to be very intriguing and I thank you for the interesting summary which you sent.

With all good wishes,

Joseph Kelner

Moving on....

The following is correspondence between a student of Knopf's and Professor Knopf. Incidentally, this student was injuring in the Kent State Shootings. In addition to the correspondence between Knopf and the student; I will be posting correspondence between the student and the President of Kent State University regarding the memorial for the events that transpired on May 4, 1970.

May 21, 1990

Dear Dr. Knopf,

You can't imagine how much I appreciate your letters and the clippings. How kind of you to think of me. had it not been for your efforts I never would have seen the many articles you collected and passed along to me. The one piece from The Cleveland Plain Dealer , provided my first picture of the memorial plaque. There is much that I have said on the subject of Kent's effort to memorialize the deceased students. The enclosed letters I exchanged with President Schwartz should be self-explanatory. While all should be of some interest, perhaps the most telling is the final letter, dated April 30.

When I saw Martin and Sarah Scheuer at the candlelight vigil on May 30 they indicated that their meeting with Schwartz (referenced in the April 30th letter) was arranged at this request. Their version of the sessions had Schwartz (after months of public and private pressure to affix a description plaque and tablet of the names of the slain students) as being __?__ what he could do to enhance the memorial. They indicated that the granite tribute would mean nothing without Sandy's and the other three names on the memorial. He acted as though the suggestion was a novel one and then promised it would be done "within 24 hours". They are convinced it was in the works for some time and that Schwartz waited until he had a better idea of how the political winds were flowing. I don't pretend to know how long it takes to prepare such a tablet but I imagine one usually doesn't do so literally overnight. Through this experience I came to realize why some so dislike Schwartz.

One final impression. I was terribly impressed with the presence of and the remarks by Gov. Richard Celeste. Having been at 15 of 19 anniversary programs I found his forthright statements to be among the most significant ever made on May 4th at Kent.

On another subject I learned recently (I was at the Organization of American Historians Conference in Wash, D.C.) that "SS" is now teaching at an army base in West Germany. I had not previously been aware that "S" was interviewed at length in the final book kinstallment of the Time-Life serious on Vietnam. I have yet to read the piece but that would explain why his name was used in the Time-Life promotional brochure I sent you some months ago. Evidently "S" is well aware of the suspicions that exist about him. Does this explain, at least in part, his absence from the U.S.?

I hope to continue our correspondence for it enforces my conviction that Kent State University's strength always lay in it's faculty rather than it's administration. Thanks again for your support and 20 years of thoughtfulness.

Best Regards,

"TG"

P.S. I obtained my M.A. in History on May 20th.