“Four Dead in Ohio”
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

John Filo, Pulitzer Prize Photo, May 4, 1970

Fifty years ago, on May 4, 1970, twenty-eight National Guard soldiers fired approximately 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

Some of the students who were shot had been protesting against the Vietnam War while others shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance.

It’s a time in our history we are not our proudest, but should never forget. Over the years, there have been numerous plays, books, movies and music written about that historic day.

Here is one of the best-known protest songs, “Ohio”, written by Neil Young for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young about the Kent State Massacre:

OHIO

Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming
We’re finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know

Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming
We’re finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio
Four dead in Ohio

Shine On