The statement was issued in 1979 as part of an out-of-court settlement that ended the litigation in Krause v. Rhodes. The case concluded with a $675,000 settlement paid to the nine wounded students and the families of the four students killed on May 4, 1970, when National Guardsmen opened fire on unarmed students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia—an action widely seen as an escalation of the Vietnam War.
In addition to monetary compensation, the plaintiffs insisted on a formal apology, a demand initially resisted by the defendants. Ultimately, the presiding judge in the original case drafted this statement of regret, which both sides accepted. Fewer than 15 copies of the document were issued—one to the judge, and one to each of the victims’ families and surviving students.
The offered example comes from Tom Grace, a student protester who was shot in the heel of his left foot. He shared an ambulance that day with his friend Sandra Scheuer, a speech therapy major who was not participating in the protest but was fatally shot in the throat while walking to class. Scheuer, along with Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, and William Knox Schroeder, died as a result of the Guardsmen’s actions. In addition to Grace, the students injured included Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald Scott Mackenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps, and Douglas Wrentmore.
Details: 8.25x13.75” framed with a 7.25x12.5” opening. Printed document signed by Ohio Governor James Rhodes (10th line, right column), Adjutant General of Ohio Sylvester T. Del Corso (7th line, left column), and 26 Ohio National Guardsmen involved in the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. Expected faint, even aging. Not examined out of frame. Displays NM. This lot is accompanied by a personally inscribed copy of Grace’s book Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties. No other examples of this apology statement have been documented at public auction, making this a first-ever offering of a profoundly significant legal document tied to one of the most tragic campus events in American history—and a defining moment of the counterculture era.
This document has remained in Grace’s possession since its issuance in January 1979. He is now parting with it to help address family health needs. Grace, a history major at Kent State, later earned a Master’s degree in social work from the University at Buffalo and spent three decades assisting people with developmental disabilities in New York State. In 2003, he returned to Buffalo and earned a Ph.D. in history. Grace is a Civil War historian and May 4 scholar; his book on the events of May 4 and their lasting implications was published in 2016.
A note from Americana Director Scott Mussell: This chilling document transcends legal paperwork — it is a testimonial to grief, accountability, and of governmental and military limits on authority during civil unrest. It is a rare signed acknowledgment of wrongdoing in a context where official apologies are often resisted, offering not only closure for survivors and family but also a symbol for historical education and memory. It is a haunting reminder that, even in modern times, tragedy, remorse, and the search for accountability are inextricably bound.