"One of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War", "The most shocking episode of the Vietnam War". These are just a few of the ways people described the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968. It is believed that more than 500 people were slaughtered in the village including old men, children and a lot of the young girls and women were raped before death.
People believe William Calley is to blame for the massacre as the soldiers were under his command. After arriving to the village, he commanded the soldiers to eliminate anyone who they think is art of the NLF (national Liberation Front), otherwise known as the Viet Cong. It turned into a murderous rampage, killing everyone instead. "We met no resistance and I only saw three captured weapons. We had no casualties. It was just like any other Vietnamese village—old papa sans [men], women and kids. As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing one military-age male in the entire place, dead or alive," Bernhardt said.
Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson ended the My Lai Massacre. He was a helicopter pilot on a recon mission and couldn't help but notice dead bodies all over the village when flying by. He landed his helicopter between the soldiers and the retreating villagers realizing what was going on and threatened to gun down the U.S troops if they continued shooting. Thompson and 2 other members of his crew received the solder's medal, the U.S Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy.
The My Lai Massacre ended with 182 women, 17 of them pregnant, 173 children, 56 infants, and the rest men, dead. The government tried to cover it up, but could only do so for about a year before the story broke. Lieutenant General William Peers said they would charge no fewer than 28 officers for their involvement in the cover up. Later only 14 including Calley got charged with crimes related to the events at My Lai.
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1
EVAN this is Mike and I removed the photo to print out and that way due to its graphic nature, people can choose if they are willing to see it. So tragic!
People believe William Calley is to blame for the massacre as the soldiers were under his command. After arriving to the village, he commanded the soldiers to eliminate anyone who they think is art of the NLF (national Liberation Front), otherwise known as the Viet Cong. It turned into a murderous rampage, killing everyone instead. "We met no resistance and I only saw three captured weapons. We had no casualties. It was just like any other Vietnamese village—old papa sans [men], women and kids. As a matter of fact, I don't remember seeing one military-age male in the entire place, dead or alive," Bernhardt said.
Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson ended the My Lai Massacre. He was a helicopter pilot on a recon mission and couldn't help but notice dead bodies all over the village when flying by. He landed his helicopter between the soldiers and the retreating villagers realizing what was going on and threatened to gun down the U.S troops if they continued shooting. Thompson and 2 other members of his crew received the solder's medal, the U.S Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy.
The My Lai Massacre ended with 182 women, 17 of them pregnant, 173 children, 56 infants, and the rest men, dead. The government tried to cover it up, but could only do so for about a year before the story broke. Lieutenant General William Peers said they would charge no fewer than 28 officers for their involvement in the cover up. Later only 14 including Calley got charged with crimes related to the events at My Lai.
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1
EVAN this is Mike and I removed the photo to print out and that way due to its graphic nature, people can choose if they are willing to see it. So tragic!
This is absolutely horrific. Did you happen to do any research on what protections innocent civilians have in today's world? What does the military do in today's world to reduce causalities as far as innocent civilians goes?
ReplyDeletethis just hurts my heart. so many civilians were impacted by these war crimes. these citizens were innocent to this war. they should not have had to go through this.
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