Program on Kent State Shootings

May 4th, 2026, is the 56th anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. Van Young, who arrived on campus the year after the incident, will be in the community room of the Dover Public Library on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 PM to present a program titled “The Kent State Shootings – Murder or Misfortune?” Young will examine the events leading up to the shootings of May 4, 1970, and the aftermath, including the trial of the National Guardsmen several years later. He will explore the following questions: Should any responsibility be placed on the soldiers for this tragedy, or did the students and demonstrators hold all the blame?  The talk also reviews the animosity that existed at the time between student antiwar protestors and the United States government.  Was it a murder or tragedy?

Considering himself a self-taught historian, Van Young was born and raised in northeast Ohio and now lives in Columbus. Since his retirement from AT&T in 2012, Young has become active with two Central Ohio civil war organizations and is the current President of the Griswold Center American History Study Group. With 70 American history, travel and current event topics, he presents to area history groups, senior centers, retirement villages and local colleges. He has four grandchildren, plays pickleball, and looks forward to visiting many of the battlefields and museums associated with the Civil War, and our unique and fascinating American history. As he likes to say, “Remember, we are living history”.

This program will be held on Monday, May 4 at 6:30 PM at the Dover Public Library, located at 525 N. Walnut Street. To register, visit www.doverlibrary.org/events or call the library at 330-343-6123.