MADISON, Wis. -- Thirty-seven years after a car bomb destroyed Sterling Hall and shook the nation's antiwar movement, University of Wisconsin-Madison on Friday unveiled the first memorial for the young research scientist killed in the attack.

The 1970 blast was set off by four anti-war radicals protesting weapons research at Sterling Hall. At the time, it was the biggest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.

"It kind of jolted the city and made people realize just how violent this whole thing could get," said Brian Schimming, who was a 10-year-old when the bomb went off.

The university dedicated a plaque there to Robert Fassnacht, the 33-year-old graduate student and father of three who was killed in the middle of the night while he was rushing to finish a research project before going on vacation.

The men parked a van with a bomb next to Sterling Hall and detonated it. Those living nearby said they will never forget the sound.

"The explosion was so loud that it rocked our house six blocks away and woke up everybody in the house," Schimming said.

Thirty-seven years later, people gathered at the memorial Friday to remember not the mayhem but the man who died in the blast.

"I'm happy to be able to dedicate this plaque to commemorate the event and sort of recognize the pain of the people who were here," said Susan Coppersmith, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Physics Department.

The wife of Fassnacht was home ill on Friday, but two of the three children who lost their father when they were very young attended the ceremony.

"We just want to say, 'Thank you.' Thank you for recognizing our father," said Heidi Fassnacht, daughter of Robert Fassnacht.

Madison Chancellor John Wiley was also a graduate student at the time and knew Fassnacht. Wiley said that he's personally embarrassed the memorial has taken this long.

Authorities said that the bombers were brothers Karl and Dwight Armstrong, David Fine, and Leo Burt. They fled after the attack. Three of them were eventually caught and convicted, served jail time and have been released.

Burt remains at large despite being one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives for more than three decades.