Originally published on May 19, 2021 6:18 pm
One of the most iconic photos in American history was taken 51 years ago on May 4, 1970.
It was the day when armed National Guard troops were called to confront unarmed college students at a peaceful anti-Vietnam War protest at Kent State University in Ohio.
Over 13 seconds, they fired 67 shots, grievously injuring nine students and killing four, including 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller.
Kneeling over Jeffrey Miller in that unforgettable photograph sometimes referred to as the Kent State Pietà is 14-year-old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio, her arms extended in anguish as he dies.
Jeffrey Miller’s brother, Russ Miller, can’t escape the picture, taken by John Filo, that freezes his brother in time. But recently, a new photograph that he has never seen before brought him joy.
Markers installed in remembrance of students injured, killed at Kent State
The new markers were installed earlier this year and help give perspective to where the wounded students were standing as well as the location of the Ohio National Guard troops who fired the shots.
“They should have been installed a long time ago,” Jacobs said of the markers. “I love the fact that they re there and it shows who was killed and how far away they were from where the National Guard was.”
While people came to campus to remember and reflect in person, the official commemoration of the 51st anniversary was held virtually, featuring talks by former students who were hit and injured by some of the 67 shots the Ohio National Guard fired off that afternoon.
The girl in the famous Kent State photo and the lifelong burden of being a national symbol Updated: 1 hour ago Published 1 hour ago
In this May 4, 1970 photo, Mary Ann Vecchio cries out as she kneels next to the body of student Jeffrey Miller on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. National Guardsmen killed four when they fired into a crowd of young demonstrators protesting the U.S. bombing of Cambodia. (AP Photo/John Filo)
Share on Facebook
Print article Last May, when Mary Ann Vecchio watched the video of George Floyd’s dying moments, she felt herself plummet through time and space - to a day almost exactly 50 years earlier. On that afternoon in 1970, the world was just as riveted by an image that showed the life draining out of a young man on the ground, this one a black-and-white still photo. Mary Ann was at the center of that photo, her arms raised in anguish, begging for help.
The girl in the Kent State photo and the lifelong burden of being a national symbol
By Patricia McCormick The Washington Post,Updated April 20, 2021, 11:15 a.m.
Email to a Friend
Mary Ann Vecchio gestured and screamed as she kneeled by the body of a student lying face down on the campus of Kent State University in 1970. (AP Photo/Valley Daily News, John Filo)JOHN FILO
Last May, when Mary Ann Vecchio watched the video of George Floydâs dying moments, she felt herself plummet through time and space - to a day almost exactly 50 years earlier. On that afternoon in 1970, the world was just as riveted by an image that showed the life draining out of a young man on the ground, this one a black-and-white still photo. Mary Ann was at the center of that photo, her arms raised in anguish, begging for help.
By Published: April 20, 2021 Last May, when Mary Ann Vecchio watched the video of George Floyd s dying moments, she felt herself plummet through time and space to a day almost exactly 50 years earlier. On that afternoon in 1970, the world was just as riveted by an image that showed the life draining out of a young man on the ground, this one a black-and-white still photo. Mary Ann was at the center of that photo, her arms raised in anguish, begging for help.
That photo, of her kneeling over the body of Kent State University student Jeffrey Miller, is one of the most important images of the 20th century. Taken by student photographer John Filo, it captures Mary Ann s raw grief and disbelief at the realization that the nation s soldiers had just fired at its own children. The Kent State Pietà, as it s sometimes called, is one of those rare photos that fundamentally changed the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Like the image of the solitary protester standing in fron