The Slain:  William Knox Schroeder
(July 20, 1950 -May 4, 1970)

William Knox Schroeder was a full time student at Kent State University, when he was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen  on May 4, 1970.  Bill had recently transfered to Kent State from the Colorado School of the Mines because his major was no longer offered,

At age 17, Schroeder applied for the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Scholarship. He received the Academic Achievement award from both the Colorado School of Mines and from Kent State University, where he was a psychology student. He also earned the Association of the United States Army award for excellence in history.

Schroeder was killed with a shot in the back from an M-1 semi-automatic military rifle. According to reports, he was not taking part in the Vietnam war protests that preceded the shootings, but simply going from one class to the next. [1] His college roommate, Lou Cusella, stated that he believed Schroeder was trying to flee when shot. "Bill was 332 feet away from the nearest National Guardsman, not much of a threat. He was shot with a textbook in his hand." [2] Three other students were killed in the shootings: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller and Sandra Scheuer.

Links

• Bill Schroeder: May 4 archive
• Wikipedia article on Bill Schroeder
• Find-a-grave.com listing for Bill Schroeder