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| http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/special-report/16327/my-lai-massacre--horrible-memoirs.html
The United States military tries to sell the image of a well-disciplined
and morally just organization across the board. We are supposed to fight
tyranny and spread democracy, so everyone can enjoy “Life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.” Occasionally, aspects of the United States military are “caught”
doing what it's suppose to prevent. The My Lai massacre is one of the most horrific
acts committed by the Army and one of the most disturbing events I have ever
read about. There is absolutely no excuse or reason for those types of war
crimes to be committed. All of the men involved, from the top brass to the
Private should have been court marshaled for war crimes and shot.
On March 16, 1968, two platoons from Charlie Company 1st Battalion,
20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, America Division went into My Lai looking
for Viet Cong fighters, on the orders of Lt. William Calley to “search and
destroy.” There are many conflicting accounts about how the event began,
but what is fact is that not all the Soldiers took part in the massacre led by Calley, but
enough of them did. The Army's official report states that only
10 Soldiers actually carried out the massacre. Reports estimate that 500 people were killed
in a few hours. Some of the corpses were mutilated. Some women who weren't
killed were gang-raped. Other villagers were beaten and tortured. The massacre was
filmed by an Army photographer Ron Haeberle. The news of My Lai didn’t reach
the public until 1969.
On October 12, 1970 during his court-marshal, Lt. William Calley
testified that Cpt. Ernest Medina had ordered that anybody they couldn't move
would be "wasted." His defense and justification for the massacre was
they were just “following orders.” This is why Calley said he and his men
killed 350 Vietnamese, including more than 100 civilian men, women, and
children. Medina was found guilty and given a life sentence, which was commuted
to three years house arrest.
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