In this Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, taken by Kent State photojournalism student John Filo, Mary Ann Vecchio can be seen screaming as she kneels by the body of a slain student.
John Filo/AP
Four students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State University students during a protest against the Vietnam War. The event sparked a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.
Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings.
President Richard Nixon addresses the nation in April 1970 to explain the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. Anti-war activists all over the country, including at Kent State, saw this as a betrayal by the President, who promised to end the war when he was elected less than two years earlier.
National Archives/Getty Images
On Friday, May 1, 1970, students at Kent State stage the first in a series of protests on campus.
Kent State University News Service
A night of violence in downtown Kent is followed by a student march to the campus ROTC building the next day. Some students try to burn the building down. While the protesters claim they left the building intact and in the hands of campus police when they returned to their dorms, the building is destroyed. It's still not clear who burned it down.
Kent State University News Service
The burning of the ROTC building brings the Ohio National Guard to the campus. Some students described their presence as "frightening," and called it a military takeover. Others said the guardsmen were congenial and chatted with the students, with no sense that violence would soon overtake the grounds.
Kent State University News Service
Guardsmen patrol the area around the burned-down ROTC building.
Kent State University News Service
The Ohio National Guard is called in to disperse a rally scheduled for noon on May 4, 1970. Shortly after the protest begins, guardsmen fire tear gas at the students. Some students later said they were surprised the guardsmen followed them as they ran away from the tear gas. The guardsmen were clearly armed, but many students said they believed their weapons were not loaded with live ammunition.
Kent State University News Service
A student throws a tear gas canister back at National Guardsmen. After several standoffs, the troops headed back up a hill in the direction of the ROTC building. As they reached the top, they turned toward the demonstrators and opened fire.
Popperfoto/Getty Images
Students run for cover after the National Guard opens fire. Twenty-eight guardsmen fired into the crowd for 13 seconds, wounding nine students and killing 4.
Kent State University News Service
Kent State students gather around a wounded student.
Howard Ruffner/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Guardsmen patrol the empty Kent State University campus on May 6, 1970. The school was immediately closed and a strike involving more than 4 million students nationwide followed.
AP
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