May 4, 1970 . . . four dead in Ohio

It was 47 years ago this week that members of the Ohio National Guard killed four students and wounded nine others at Kent State University. At least some of the victims had been protesting President Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia.

The deaths - dubbed a “massacre” at the time - prompted Neil Young to write Ohio, which was recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and quickly released. Americans of a certain age vividly recall what happened on that day, as well as the song inspired by that tragedy.

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

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting 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 cutting 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 coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning photo by John Filo shows Mary Ann Vecchio, 14, kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller, 20, one of four students killed at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970.