Survivors of the 1969 Kent State Shooting Recall Events After Half a Century

(BEAT DROPS)

ALEX MOLINAR: Hey there, folks! Time to dive into a raw, unfiltered tale that'll grip you till the end. Today, we're taking a trip down memory lane with best mates Thomas Grace and the late Alan Canfora. It's been 55 years since these two boys found themselves in the crosshairs of history at Kent State University. And as we remember Alan, who tragically passed in 2020, let's hear it straight from the horse's mouth, or at least Thomas's words...

(SFX: CHIC CANFORA'S VOICE)

CHIC CANFORA: Waking up, looking out the window, seeing military jeeps, tanks, and tents... It felt like a goddamn warzone! I knew those soldiers weren't there to protect me.

(SFX: THOMAS GRACE'S VOICE)

THOMAS GRACE: Two cracks of M1 rifles... Run, run as fast as I could. Felt a bullet hit my heel, tore off the side of my foot. Tried to sit up, and there was Alan...

(SFX: CHIC CANFORA'S VOICE)

CHIC CANFORA: Remember those long, horrifying 13 seconds behind a car, knowing all those people... Including you and my brother, Alan...

(SFX: THOMAS GRACE'S VOICE)

THOMAS GRACE: Didn't get more than three or four steps, fell to the ground. Alan yelling at me to stay down.

(SFX: CHIC CANFORA'S VOICE)

CHIC CANFORA: Alan was shot in the wrist, survived that day because he used to play a game called "imagining there was someone in the basement who was shooting at him." So he zigzagged to the right, to the left, missed the bullets each time.

(SFX: THOMAS GRACE'S VOICE)

THOMAS GRACE: Yep, that game saved his life. Missed 30 years since I last connected with you, Alan. Our friendship has always been important to me. Deepened since you're gone.

(SFX: CHIC CANFORA'S VOICE)

CHIC CANFORA: Lost Alan suddenly. You were the first I called before anyone in my family. He was always my brother's best friend. Now it's my honor to be your best friend.

(SFX: MUSIC FADES IN)

ALEX MOLINAR: That was Alan Canfora and Thomas Grace, a bond forged in the fires of history. Their conversation is now preserved at the Library of Congress, a tribute to the human spirit that refuses to surrender in the face of adversity.

(SFX: MUSIC FADES OUT)

This account is influenced by the NPR transcript of StoryCorps, adjusted to meet the guidelines and add a dash of edge.

Sources

"Kent State shootings: Some facts about the Ohio National Guard shootings." BBC News, 5 May 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52582865
"Kent State: What really happened on May 4, 1970." History, 4 May 2012, https://www.history.com/news/kent-state-what-really-happened-on-may-4-1970
"Kent State shootings: A timeline." NBC News, 4 May 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kent-state-shootings-timeline-n1186076
"Kent State shootings: 55 years later." CBS News, 4 May 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kent-state-shootings-55-years-later/
"I Survived Kent State: An Oral History." Ohio History Connection, 30 April 2019,https://www.ohiohistory.org/preserving-history/centers-and-programs/exhibitions/exhibits/on-the-ground-at-kent-state/i-survived-kent-state
The late Alan Canfora and Thomas Grace, frozen in time during the tumultuous wars and conflicts of Kent State University, share their harrowing recollections, providing a firsthand account from the throes of politics and general news.
Former soldiers at Kent State jeopardized the lives of Thomas and Alan, as tanks and military jeeps transformed their university into a warzone, characteristic of a bygone era.
In a heart-stopping series of events, the voices of the two veterans, Thomas Grace and Chic Canfora, vividly illustrate the panicked seconds they experienced as gunfire rang out, their friendship sustaining them through it all.
The Library of Congress holds a unique collection of transcripts from the raw and haunting conversation between Thomas Grace and the late Chic Canfora, memoirs of a friendship that was forged amidst one of the most tumultuous periods in American history.