Opposition to the Vietnam War in the United States

but opposition to the war was growing

voices of those objecting to u.s.

involvement in Vietnam were getting

louder in May of 1974 students were

killed by National Guard troops during a

campus protest at Kent State University

in Ohio

borge learned of the incident while he

was on the air reading the news in Cedar

Rapids and I thought boy this is getting

out of hand

these student demonstrations are getting

out of hand I don't blame the National

Guardsmen they're trying to keep the

peace but the students have overstepped

bounds and then who's at fault here but

we've got to get some order back in the

United States because we're fighting a

war in South Vietnam and yet we we can't

keep the peace in our own country

student unrest in the Hawkeye State

reached its peak

that same month board spent several

nights on the University of Iowa campus

covering the events as they unfolded

one evening Borg was covering police

preparing to arrest some of the

protesters and as the battle lines were

drawn he turned on a battery-powered

spotlight mounted on his camera within

three seconds there was a policeman with

a club raised racing toward me turn off

that light you know and and I could see

that billy club coming down over my head

if I hadn't extinguished that light very

quickly

I think I felt more danger right there

at night in that incident than I had in

Vietnam

Bob birch fear was attending the

University of I'm when board was

covering campus unrest the Iowa City

transplant was often found on the

opposite side of the police lines we

wanted to to make it clear that business

as usual could not go on you know you

could have a mass protest during the day

or a huge rally on the pentacrest very

little reporting of it it took action in

the streets and getting the police to

come out to get coverage of the anti-war

effort and we were trying to show that

you're upset about a rock going through

a glass window but you're not upset

about people dying and killing in

Vietnam

mirroring unrest at Berkeley Columbia

and Wisconsin the events in Iowa City

were getting volatile that spring and

university officials opted to let

students go home before the end of the

semester while many protesters

stridently and at times violently

demonstrated their opposition to the war

other young people voiced their

disapproval in more peaceful ways in

1965 Mike Smith from rural Dallas County

received his draft notice and a 1 a

classification card indicating he was

fit for duty I just tore that induction

notice in about four pieces and tore my

draft card and my think there were two

cards we had a 1 a classification card I

tore them into a couple pieces and put

him an envelope mailed him to the Dallas

County draft board hoping to keep their

son out of legal trouble Smith's parents

persuaded the Dallas County draft board

to reclassify him as 4f indicating he

was unfit for service I felt like I was

dodging the draft I didn't want to dodge

the draft one to resist the draft and so

I tore those cards up and mailed them to

the draft board they lost their patience

at that point and they contacted the US

Attorney's Office I was ordered to

report for a physical I didn't I was

ordered to report for induction

and then the US Attorney charged me with

two counts failing to report for a

physical failing to report for induction

Smith pled guilty to both charges and

was sentenced to four years in the

federal prison at sandstone Minnesota

however after serving 22 months he was

released I wasn't a pacifist I'm not a

pacifist now I haven't changed my views

I think the war was a terrible mistake

and I at the same time I have great

respect for those who serve