William Knox Schroeder (; July 20, 1950 – May 4, 1970) was a student at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, when he was killed by

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fede ...

smen in the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

Background

Schroeder was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, the son of Florence Ella (Endebrock) and Louis Arthur Schroeder. He had an older sister, Nancy, and a younger brother, Rudy. Schroeder moved with his family to

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

, when he was in elementary school and graduated from

Lorain High School Lorain High School is part of Lorain City School District in Lorain, Ohio and was founded in 1876, beginning as a two-year high school course. In 1879, the first graduating class consisted of three members. By 1883, the high school curriculum wa ...

where he was an honors student and an outstanding athlete. Already an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

, at age 17 Schroeder applied for the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship. He received the Academic Achievement award from both the Colorado School of Mines and from

, where he was a psychology student. He also earned the Association of the United States Army award for excellence in history. Schroeder was killed by a single shot in the chest from an M-1 Garand

battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate cartridge, intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the S ...

. According to reports, he was not taking part in the

Vietnam War protests Protests against the Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The majority of the protests were in the United States, but some took place ar ...

that preceded the shootings, but simply walking between classes. He, along with

Sandra Scheuer Sandra Lee "Sandy" Scheuer (; August 11, 1949 – May 4, 1970) was a student at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, when she was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen in the Kent State shootings. Background Scheuer was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the ...

, was caught in the gunfire. 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 folder in his hand." Official reports stated that Schroeder was actually 382 feet from the National Guard at the time he was shot, while lying on the ground facing away from the Guardsmen. The bullet entered his left chest at the seventh rib, piercing his left lung, and some fragments exited from the top of his left shoulder. He died almost an hour later while in a hospital undergoing surgery. Sandra Scheuer was shot in the neck and also died. Two other students were killed in the shootings:

Allison Krause Allison Beth Krause ( ; April 23, 1951 – May 4, 1970) was an American honor student at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, when she was killed by soldiers of the Ohio Army National Guard in the Kent State shootings, while protesting against ...

and Jeffrey Miller. The shootings led to protests and a national student strike, causing hundreds of campuses to close because of both violent and non-violent demonstrations. The Kent State campus remained closed for six weeks. Five days after the shootings, 100,000 people demonstrated in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

against the war. The personal writings and effects of William Schroeder, as well as supporting material about his life, are on display in a special section at the May 4 visitor's center at Kent State University as of summer 2019.

References

External links

Bill Schroeder: May 4 Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroeder, William 1950 births 1970 deaths American people of the Vietnam War People from Cincinnati Colorado School of Mines alumni Kent State University alumni Kent State shootings Deaths by firearm in Ohio