NATIONAL GUARD FIRES ON STUDENTS AT KENT STATE
"Tin Soldiers & Nixon's Coming, We're Finally On Our Own, This Summer I Hear the Drumming, Four Dead in Ohio."
Kent, Ohio (JFK+50) On May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State University*. Nine other students were wounded.
The Ohio National Guard of one thousand soldiers was positioned against protesters of the war in Vietnam as well as the recent invasion of Cambodia ordered by the administration of Richard M. Nixon.
Prior to the tragedy, all students were advised to disperse and tear gas was fired. Following this, guardsmen advanced on the students with fixed bayonets.
The four dead included Jeffrey Miller (20), Allison Krause (19), William Schroeder (19) & Sandra Scheuer (20).
JFK+50 NOTE
The incident occurred during a break between classes. Some students were protesters others were observers. The tragedy inspired the famous anti-war protest song "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in the summer of 1970.
The photograph which appeared in the newspapers of a girl beside the body of one of the students (with hands upheld to say why) inspired the song "Ohio" but cannot be displayed here because of copyright restrictions.
*Kent State University, established in 1910, became known following the Kent State tragedy for strong student activism in opposition to the Vietnam War. In 2022, there were 34,000 students enrolled at KSU.
SOURCES
"Four Dead in Ohio," May 17, 2017, Ohio Historical Commission, www.ohiohistory.org/
"Four Students Killed At Kent State," JFK+50, May 4, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
