HOUR ONE:
On May 4, 1970, a protest against the Vietnam War on the Kent State campus ended in tragedy when members of the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four and wounded nine students. Dr. Jerry Lewis witnessed the shootings and has been involved in researching and memorializing the fatal incident. Dr. Patrick Coy is director of Kent State’s Center for Applied Conflict Management which was founded as a result of the shootings. The two will discuss the 45th anniversary of the historical events and the role of student activism in American culture.
May 1st is a little-known federal holiday, Loyalty Day. Made official in 1959, the original purpose was for Americans to reaffirm their loyalty to the United States. Loyalty is tricky, the foundation for love and family, but also the cause of much misery and betrayal – especially when loyalties collide. Eric Felten offers a meditation on the subject in his book, Loyalty: The Vexing Virtue.
Judy Collins has been performing songs for decades that she hopes “help people heal.” She talks with Bob about the 2008 CD called Born to the Breed – A Tribute to Judy Collins. The album includes covers from Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright and Dolly Parton.
HOUR TWO:
On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to North Vietnam, effectively ending US involvement in the Vietnam War. Like many young men of his generation, Tim O’Brien was drafted. He spent two years as an infantry foot soldier in Vietnam. Drawing from those experiences, O’Brien wrote a collection of stories he titled The Things They Carried. Twenty five years later, it’s regarded as a masterwork of war time impressions.
Journalist and historian Nick Turse spent 10 years researching Pentagon archives and interviewing Vietnam War veterans and survivors for his book titled Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.
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