‘Four Dead in Ohio’ 45 Years Ago Today

It was May 4, 1970 when members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students in an event that triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.  The impact of the shootings was dramatic and had a direct impact on national politics.

The shootings symbolized the deep social and political divisions that divided the country during the Vietnam War era.

The decision to bring the Ohio National Guard onto the Kent State University campus followed a nationally televised and radio broadcast on April 30, l970 by President Richard Nixon, who stated that the U.S. was invading Cambodia which was seen as an escalation of the war in Southeast Asia.

Protests occurred at college campuses including Kent State where anti-war sentiment ran high. Protests began peacefully, but events quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between protestors and local police. The Kent, Ohio Mayor declared a state of emergency which led to the calling in of the National Guard.  The protests went on for the next few days.

By Sunday, May 3^rd, nearly 1000 Ohio National Guardsmen occupied the campus, making it appear like a military war zone. On May 4^th, another protest rally was schedule and some 3000 people were a part of it. The crowd was told to disperse, but they didn’t with rocks being thrown at the armed National Guardsmen.

For a ten minute period of time, Guardsmen pointed their guns at the protesters but did not fire. Then all of a sudden, twenty-eight of the more than seventy Guardsmen at that site turned suddenly and fired their rifles and pistols. Many guardsmen fired into the air or the ground. However, a small portion fired directly into the crowd. Altogether nearly 70 shots were fired in a 13 second period.

Four Kent State students died as a result of the firing by the Guard. Nine Kent State students were wounded in the 13 seconds of gun fire.  The protestors said it was unnecessary for the Guardsmen to fire their guns. The Guard responded they were just doing so in self-defense.

It all happened 45 years ago today and it led to Neil Young writing a song days later about the tragedy called “Ohio”.  It was made famous by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.