Jeffrey Miller
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Glenn Miller was a student at Kent State University
in Kent, Ohio
, when he was shot and killed by Ohio National Guard
smen in the Kent State shootings
.
Shortly before his death, in January 1970, Miller had transferred to Kent State from Michigan State University
. While at Michigan State, Miller pledged Phi Kappa Tau
fraternity where his older brother had been a member. He and his brother had always been close, and shared a birthday. After his brother graduated from Michigan State, Miller found himself feeling increasingly out of touch with those he knew at Michigan State. During the summer of 1969, an old friend from New York who attended Kent State urged Miller to consider transferring. He quickly adapted to Kent State and soon had many friends, including Allison Krause
and Sandra Lee Scheuer who would both die with him on May 4.
Miller had taken part in the protests that day and had thrown a tear-gas canister back at the Ohio National Guardsmen who had originally fired it. The protests initially against the expansion of the Vietnam War
into Cambodia, had morphed into a protest against the presence of the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State campus. When he was shot, he was unarmed, and facing the Guardsmen while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall parking lot at a distance of approximately 265 feet (81 m). A single bullet entered his open mouth and exited at the base of his posterior skull, killing him instantly. John Filo
's iconic Pulitzer Prize
-winning photo, the most famous picture from the event, features fourteen-year-old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio
kneeling over Miller's body.
Three other students were killed in the shootings: Allison Beth Krause, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder
. 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.
, against the war and protesting the killing of students on a college campus.
Miller was cremated and his ashes placed in the mausoleum (Unit 7, Alcove H-O, Column O, Niche 1) at Ferncliff Cemetery
in Hartsdale, New York
. A memorial has been erected at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, the school that replaced Miller's high school in Plainview, New York
. Miller's mother had been a secretary to the principal of J.F. Kennedy H.S. in the 1960s. There is a Kent State Memorial Lecture Fund at MIT established in 1970 by one of Miller’s childhood friends.
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
in Kent, Ohio
Kent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
, when he was shot and killed by Ohio National Guard
Ohio National Guard
The Ohio National Guard comprises:* Ohio Army National Guard* Ohio Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
smen in the Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970...
.
Shortly before his death, in January 1970, Miller had transferred to Kent State from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. While at Michigan State, Miller pledged Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
fraternity where his older brother had been a member. He and his brother had always been close, and shared a birthday. After his brother graduated from Michigan State, Miller found himself feeling increasingly out of touch with those he knew at Michigan State. During the summer of 1969, an old friend from New York who attended Kent State urged Miller to consider transferring. He quickly adapted to Kent State and soon had many friends, including Allison Krause
Allison Krause
Allison B. Krause was an honor student at Kent State University, Ohio, when she was shot and killed by the Ohio Army National Guard in the Kent State Massacre, while protesting the invasion of Cambodia and the presence of the National Guard on the Kent State campus...
and Sandra Lee Scheuer who would both die with him on May 4.
Miller had taken part in the protests that day and had thrown a tear-gas canister back at the Ohio National Guardsmen who had originally fired it. The protests initially against the expansion of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
into Cambodia, had morphed into a protest against the presence of the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State campus. When he was shot, he was unarmed, and facing the Guardsmen while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall parking lot at a distance of approximately 265 feet (81 m). A single bullet entered his open mouth and exited at the base of his posterior skull, killing him instantly. John Filo
John Filo
John Paul Filo took the 1970 Pulitzer Prize winning photo of a 14-year-old runaway girl , crying while kneeling over the body of 20-year-old Jeffrey Miller, one of the victims of the Kent State shootings...
's iconic Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning photo, the most famous picture from the event, features fourteen-year-old runaway Mary Ann Vecchio
Mary Ann Vecchio
Mary Ann Vecchio was the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by photojournalism student John Filo in the aftermath of the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970....
kneeling over Miller's body.
Three other students were killed in the shootings: Allison Beth Krause, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder
William Knox Schroeder
William Knox Schroeder was a student at Kent State University, Ohio, when he was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen in the Kent State shootings....
. The shootings led to protests and a national student strike
Student Strike of 1970
In the aftermath of the American Invasion of Cambodia on April 30, 1970, four students were killed at Kent State University on May 4, 1970 in Ohio, as well as two students at Jackson State College in Mississippi on May 14/15...
, 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.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, against the war and protesting the killing of students on a college campus.
Miller was cremated and his ashes placed in the mausoleum (Unit 7, Alcove H-O, Column O, Niche 1) at Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian...
in Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsdale is located at ....
. A memorial has been erected at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, the school that replaced Miller's high school in Plainview, New York
Plainview, New York
Plainview is a hamlet located on Long Island in the town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population of the CDP as of 2010 was 26,217. The Plainview post office has the ZIP code 11803....
. Miller's mother had been a secretary to the principal of J.F. Kennedy H.S. in the 1960s. There is a Kent State Memorial Lecture Fund at MIT established in 1970 by one of Miller’s childhood friends.
External links
- Newsday: A Long Island Student Dies at Kent State
- My Son Died 30 years Ago At Kent State by Elaine Holstein, Miller's mother
- The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University: The Search for Historical Accuracy, By Jerry M. Lewis and Thomas R. Hensley
- The Heretik Remembers: The Boy From Diamond Drive
- Jeffrey Miller: May 4 Archive