By Erin Kosnac

"I think in the Akron Beacon Journal, there was an editorial on 'Enough May?' And I'm thinking what is enough? Enough of what? Enough of remembering? Enough of trying to inform people about a historical event? Is it that we don't want to remember that part of our history? If we remember, what does that mean? What is so bad about it?"

-- Carole A. Barbato

May 4, 1970. Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. The Prentice Hall Parking Lot.

The Ohio National Guard fires at an unarmed crowd at Kent State University. Four students are killed. Nine are wounded. Many lives are scarred.

British author Peter Davies, standing vigil for Bill Schroeder, first started a relationship with the Krause family when he researched his book, "The Truth About Kent State." His book was one of the first investigative novels about the incident. (Kent State Archives)

It is now Sept. 8, 1999. Same university, same parking lot. After nearly 30 years, markers are dedicated in the spaces where Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder fell. Four lives are remembered. Many of the scars continue to heal. For a professor. For a friend. For a parent.

Every May 4, Jerry Lewis feels guilty -- guilty because he survived and four students didn't. Seeing smoke coming out of the guns, he dived for cover. And when he came up, he saw Sandy Scheuer's body.

On Sept. 8, 1999, Lewis, emeritus professor of sociology, stood once again in the parking lot where four students lost their lives.

"As I stand here this morning, it's hard to believe that three decades have passed since I started my career as a Kent State faculty member where I found myself in this very place on May 4, 1970," Lewis said at the dedication of the markers. "Like many of you, the events of this historic day had a profound impact on my life."

The markers in the Prentice Hall parking lot are the most recent attempt to preserve the memory of the events that shocked Kent State and the nation 30 years ago.

"The markers we dedicate will ensure that a meaningful tradition and an important lesson continue long after we are gone," Lewis said.

As representatives from each of the four families sat under a white canopy, Kent State President Carol Cartwright told them she was honored they could be there and hoped the markers could provide them some comfort.

"It is our hope that each of you finds solace in knowing that your precious sons, daughters, brothers, sisters have never and will never be forgotten," she said.