One of the most famous student protests to ever occur in the United States took place between May 1 and May 4, 1970 at a college campus in the Midwestern state of Ohio. The reason this particular protest is still remembered and famous is because of the unfortunate result of the demonstrations. On April 30, 1970, US President Richard Nixon announced an escalation of the war in Vietnam with a military invasion of Cambodia, which neighbors Vietnam. At that time, the war was extremely unpopular with the public and many people were frustrated and angered by this new development—especially students. Many people had been encouraged by Nixon's promise two years earlier to end the war, but, in 1970, there was still no end in sight. On May 1, students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio protested against the American invasion of Cambodia and were calling for an end to the war. The campus protest was peaceful, but emotions grew throughout the day, and riots soon erupted in the town's streets that night. In response, the governor sent National Guard troops to the Kent State University campus to stop the riots and protests. Small protests continued over the next two days, and then, on the morning of May 4, approximately 2,000 students gathered in the center of campus to protest both the war and the presence of soldiers at their school. The soldiers ordered the students to disperse and return to their dorms. When they refused, the soldiers began firing tear gas into the crowd. During the morning, the situation escalated, along with tensions, emotions, and anger. Shortly after noon, the National Guard soldiers opened fire on the students. The cause of this action remains unclear to this day. However, at the end of the day, four students were killed and nine others were wounded. Some of those students were not even involved in the protest. They were just walking by or watching the protest from a distance.