KENT, Ohio — Kent State University will commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the May 4, 1970 shootings Wednesday.
At 12:24 p.m. at the May 4 site, also known as Taylor Hill, the campus community and visitors will gather to remember the moment gunfire erupted. The Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students during a war protest, killing four students and injuring nine others.
Not all of those hurt or killed were involved in the demonstration, which opposed the U.S. bombing of neutral Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
The four students killed were Allison Krause, 19, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Sandy Lee Scheuer, 20, Youngstown, Ohio; Jeffrey G. Miller, 20, Plainview, N.Y., and William K. Schroeder, 19, Lorain, Ohio.
The confrontation, sometimes referred to as the May 4 massacre, was a defining moment for a nation sharply divided over the protracted war, in which more than 58,000 Americans died. It sparked a strike of 4 million students across the U.S., temporarily closing some 900 colleges and universities. The events also played a pivotal role, historians argue, in turning public opinion against the conflicts in Southeast Asia.
Many people were looking forward to the activities planned for the 50th anniversary of May 4, in 2020, but the pandemic caused the annual commemoration to be virtual.
For the commemoration, this year’s keynote speaker is presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, who will add historical context to the events, according to Kent State University.
Spectrum News 1 reporter Jennifer Conn contributed to this story.
