My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre is one of the darkest tragedies done and covered up by the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War. Shortly after the Tet Offensive, U.S. soldiers of the Charlie Company led by Lieutenant William L. “Rusty” Calley Jr. entered into My Lai, a sub-hamlet of the Son My village in the Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam. They expected to be met with resistance as the Viet Cong battalion had a base camp near Son My. However, when they arrived on the morning of March 16, 1968 they found unarmed, unresisting villagers, mainly children, babies, and elderly women and men eating their breakfast and beginning their daily chores. Yet, the Charlie Company proceeded to shoot villagers as soon as they arrived and for the next 4 hours killed more than 300 villagers of My Lai, none of which were military-age men. American Soldiers also burned homes and killed livestock. The soldiers yelled into dwellings for villagers to come out and when they did not, they threw grenades into the dwellings. The villagers were then herded into groups in various locations around My Lai where some were raped and all were killed.
During the massacre, U.S. helicopter pilot Warrant Officer Hugh C. Thompson was flying around the area and saw the destruction and brutal violence that was occuring. Thompson and his crew landed in My Lai and instructed U.S. soldiers to cease pursuit of the villagers and ordered his crew to fire on American soldiers if they refused. The crew was able to evacuate some of the villagers.
After the massacre, Colonel Henderson, who was heavily involved in the killings, reported that no civilians were gathered together and shot by U.S. soldiers. Henderson insisted that the “claim” of the massacre was propaganda to discredit the U.S. The false report by Henderson allowed the incident to be hidden until the following year when Ronald l. Ridenhour, an ex-soldier who had heard about the massacre from other soldiers, wrote letters detailing the massacre to the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, and twenty-three congressmen. Ridenhour’s letters led the Army’s Inspector General to order an investigation that included 403 witnesses and 26,000 pages of testimony. Ultimately, thirteen officers and enlisted men were charged with war crimes against humanity and another twelve were charged for covering up the incident. Yet in the end only four officers and two enlisted soldiers were tried; charges were dismissed against twelve officers and seven enlisted men on the grounds of lack of evidence.
Sources:
Borch, Fred. “What Really Happened on 16 March 1968? What Lessons Have Been Learned? A Look at the My Lai Incident Fifty Years Later.” The Army Historical Foundation, 15 June 2023, armyhistory.org/my-lai/.
Herring, George. “The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Advanced Placement United States History Study Guide.” The Vietnam War and the My Lai Massacre | AP US History Study Guide from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 31 Mar. 2012, ap.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/essays/vietnam-war-and-my-lai-massacre.
“My Lai Massacre.” The Vietnam War as History, Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm. Accessed 25 Oct. 2023.
After the massacre, Colonel Henderson, who was heavily involved in the killings, reported that no civilians were gathered together and shot by U.S. soldiers. Henderson insisted that the “claim” of the massacre was propaganda to discredit the U.S. The false report by Henderson allowed the incident to be hidden until the following year when Ronald l. Ridenhour, an ex-soldier who had heard about the massacre from other soldiers, wrote letters detailing the massacre to the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, and twenty-three congressmen. Ridenhour’s letters led the Army’s Inspector General to order an investigation that included 403 witnesses and 26,000 pages of testimony. Ultimately, thirteen officers and enlisted men were charged with war crimes against humanity and another twelve were charged for covering up the incident. Yet in the end only four officers and two enlisted soldiers were tried; charges were dismissed against twelve officers and seven enlisted men on the grounds of lack of evidence.
Sources:
Borch, Fred. “What Really Happened on 16 March 1968? What Lessons Have Been Learned? A Look at the My Lai Incident Fifty Years Later.” The Army Historical Foundation, 15 June 2023, armyhistory.org/my-lai/.
Herring, George. “The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Advanced Placement United States History Study Guide.” The Vietnam War and the My Lai Massacre | AP US History Study Guide from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 31 Mar. 2012, ap.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/essays/vietnam-war-and-my-lai-massacre.
“My Lai Massacre.” The Vietnam War as History, Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm. Accessed 25 Oct. 2023.