Why the kent state shootings are memorialized in American culture?

Answer 1

During the Vietnam War, many protest movements opposed the war and the drafting of young men to fight in that war. One claim of the protesters was that the military had gone totally crazy, had gotten totally out of hand, and was simply fighting a war to fight a war. One of those protests occurred at Kent State University. The Army National Guard came to the university because of the protest. Suddenly, the solders of the National Guard shot their rifles at no one in particular. They killed some students walking to class. They did not shoot at protesters. They were not in any danger of being attacked. They simply shot their guns to shoot their guns. That action, more than any other, proved to a large number of people that the Vietnam War was pointless and the United States had no business being there. While it did not force the United States to get out of Viet Nam, it ended drafting young men into the military which accomplished the same thing.