Kent State: The Day the War Came Home

Sixty-seven shots in 13 seconds. Thirteen horrifying seconds in American history that resulted in the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine others.

Some choose to forget. Others fight to keep the bitter lessons alive for new generations. Try as they may, the entire cast of survivors cannot escape the questions and the accusations that fly as each anniversary comes and goes.

The haunting LIFE photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio poised in anguish over the body of a slain student; the fervor of the wounded student-activist, still consumed by the need for justice 30 years later; the former Guardsman, living with a badge of shame few could imagine; the gentle perspective of the former student permanently paralyzed by an M-1 rifle; the Sociology professor who witnessed the madness and now teaches its lessons to new generations at Kent State. The survivors have scattered, but they will forever share a bitter bond.

Kent State is a portrait of the pain shared by an entire nation.

After 30 years, the blood stains are not forgotten.