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My Lai massacre

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Photographs of the My Lai Massacre provoked world outrage and made it an international scandal.

The My Lai Massacre (Vietnamese: thảm sát Mỹ Lai) was a massacre committed by U.S. soldiers on hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children, on March 16, 1968, in the hamlet of My Lai, during the Vietnam War. It prompted widespread outrage around the world and reduced American support at home for the war in Vietnam. The massacre is also known as the Son My massacre (Vietnamese: thảm sát Sơn Mỹ) or sometimes as the Song My Massacre. [1]

Background

During the Vietnam War, the Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam was a suspected haven for guerrillas of the People's Liberation Armed Forces and other cadres of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (NLF), also called the "Viet Cong" or "VC" by the U.S. forces and their allies and supporters. Informally renamed Pinkville (due to the color printed on maps and probably also for the residents' presumed support for communist guerrillas) by the U.S. military, the province was frequently bombed and shelled. By 1968, almost all homes in the province had been damaged or destroyed.

It was of primary importance to the U.S. military that NLF operatives be eliminated. Accordingly, rather than measuring success by the acquisition of territory or strategic locations (for example), missions were evaluated based on their "body count" - the number of presumed NLF operatives killed. Soldiers were encouraged by higher command to exaggerate body counts in order to give the impression of military success. Owing to that pressure, and to the fact that it was often very difficult for a NLF operative to be distinguished from a non-combatant, there was often a wide discrepancy between the declared body count for a particular mission, and the number of enemy weapons recovered. According to University of Missouri–Kansas City law professor Doug Linder, GIs joked that "anything that's dead and isn't white is a VC" for body count purposes. There is no doubt that many civilians were killed in the province, fueling existing anti-American sentiment in the region.

Insurgents were sometimes housed and sheltered by civilians in the area, and American soldiers were frustrated with the complicity of the local people. Together with their inability to close with an elusive enemy and pervasive fear of ambush, this resentment made violent reprisals against civilians more likely.

The Massacre

Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, Americal Division arrived in Vietnam in December of 1967. Their first month in Vietnam passed without any direct enemy contact.

During the Tet Offensive of January, 1968 (during President Johnson's administration), attacks were carried out in Quang Ngai by the 48th Battalion of the NLF. US military intelligence formed the view that the 48th Battalion, having retreated, was taking refuge in the Son My village. A number of specific hamlets within that village - labelled as My Lai 1, 2, 3 and 4 - were suspected of harboring the 48th. A major offensive on those hamlets was planned by US forces.

On the eve of the attack, Charlie Company was advised by US military command that any genuine civilians at My Lai would have left their homes to go to market by 7 a.m. the following day. They were told that they could assume that all who remained behind were either VC or active VC sympathizers. They were instructed to destroy the village. At the briefing, Captain Ernest Medina was asked whether the order included the killing of women and children; those present at the briefing later gave different accounts of Medina's response.

The soldiers found no insurgents in the village on the morning of March 16, 1968. Enraged because of their fellow platoon soldiers that were killed on previous occasions, they gave little thought about the consequences of their actions that day. It is rumored by Vietnamese that the soldiers asked the villagers where the Viet Cong were and the villagers either didn't know, or refused to reveal their location. Many suspect that there were VC in the village, hiding underground in the homes of their elderly parents or young wives. Nevertheless, the American soldiers, one platoon of which was led by Lt. William Calley, killed hundreds of civilians – primarily old men, women, children, and babies. Some were tortured or raped. Dozens were herded into a ditch and executed with automatic firearms. At one stage, Calley expressed his intent to throw hand grenades into a trench filled with villagers.[2]

The precise number reported killed varies from source to source, with 347 and 504 being the most commonly cited figures. A memorial at the site of the massacre lists 504 names, with ages ranging from 1 year to 82 years of age. According to the report of a South Vietnamese army lieutenant to his superiors, it was an "atrocious" incident of bloodletting by an armed force seeking to vent its fury.

The soldiers said they were convinced that any and all villagers could be a threat. One general said that he even suspected mothers carrying babies of having loaded hand grenades.

A US Army helicopter crew saved some civilians by landing between the American troops and the remaining Vietnamese hiding in a bunker. The 24-year-old pilot, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr., confronted the leaders of the troops and told them his gunship would open fire on them if they continued their attack on civilians.[3]

In the spring of 1972, the camp (at My Lai 2) where the survivors of the My Lai Massacre had been relocated was largely destroyed by ARVN (South Vietnamese) air and artillery bombardment. The destruction was attributed to "Viet Cong terrorists". However, the truth was revealed by Quaker service workers in the area, in testimony by Martin Teitel at the hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Problems Connected with Refugees and Escapees in May, 1972. In June of the same year, Teitel's account of the event appeared in the New York Times.

Cover-up

Initial investigations of the My Lai incident were undertaken by the 11th Light Infantry Brigade's Commanding Officer, Colonel Oran Henderson, under orders from Americal's Assistant Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Young. Henderson interviewed several soldiers involved in the incident, then issued a written report in late April claiming that approximately 22 civilians were inadvertently killed during the military operation in My Lai. The army at this time was still describing the event as a military victory resulting in the deaths of 128 enemies.

Six months later, a 21-year-old soldier of the 11th Light Infantry named Tom Glen wrote a letter accusing the Americal Division (and other entire units of the U.S. military, not just individuals) of routine brutality against Vietnamese civilians; the letter was detailed, its allegations horrifying, and its contents echoed complaints received from other soldiers. Colin Powell, then a young US Army Major, was charged with investigating the letter, which did not specifically reference My Lai (Glen had no knowledge of the events there). Powell wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's refutation would be called an act of "white-washing" the news of My Lai, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. On May 4, 2004, Powell, then United States Secretary of State, said to Larry King, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."[4]

The carnage at My Lai might have gone unknown to history if not for another soldier, Ron Ridenhour, who, independent of Glen, sent a letter to President Nixon, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and numerous members of Congress. The copies of this letter were sent in March, 1969, a full year after the event. Most recipients of Ridenhour's letter ignored it, with the notable exception of Representative Morris Udall. Ridenhour learned about the events at My Lai secondhand, by talking to members of Charlie Company while he was still enlisted.

Eventually, Lt. Calley was charged with several counts of premeditated murder in September, 1969, and 25 other officers and enlisted men were later charged with related crimes. It was another two months before the American public learned about the massacre and trials.

Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, after extensive conversations with Lt. Calley, broke the My Lai story on November 12, 1969; on November 20, Time, Life and Newsweek magazines all covered the story, and CBS televised an interview with Paul Meadlo. The Cleveland Plain Dealer published explicit photographs of dead villagers killed at My Lai. As is evident from comments made in a 1969 telephone conversation between United States National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, revealed recently by the National Security Archive, the photos of the war crime were too shocking for senior officials to stage an effective cover-up. Secretary of Defense Laird is heard to say, "There are so many kids just lying there; these pictures are authentic."

Court martials

On March 17, 1970, the United States Army charged 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident. Most of these charges were dropped.

U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was convicted in 1971 of premeditated murder in ordering the shootings and initially sentenced to life in prison; two days later, however, President Richard Nixon ordered him released from prison, pending appeal of his sentence. Calley served 3½ years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was then ordered freed by Federal Judge J. Robert Elliot. Calley claimed that he was following orders from his captain, Ernest Medina; Medina denied giving the orders and was acquitted at a separate trial. Most of the soldiers involved in the My Lai incident were no longer enlisted. Of the 26 men initially charged, Lt. Calley's was the only conviction. The entire episode inspired what is known today as the Medina standard.

Aftermath

The explosive news of the massacre fueled the outrage of the American peace movement, which demanded the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. It also led more potential draftees to file for conscientious objector status. Those who had always argued against the war felt vindicated; those on the fringes of the movement became more vocal.

The more pivotal shift, however, was in the attitude of the general public towards the war. People who had not previously been interested in the peace/war debates began to analyze the issue more closely. The horrific stories of other soldiers began to be taken more seriously, and other abuses came to light.

Some military observers concluded that My Lai showed the need for more and better volunteers to provide stronger leadership among the troops. As the Vietnam combat dragged on, the number of well-educated and experienced career soldiers on the front lines dropped sharply as casualties and combat rotation took their toll. These observers claimed that the absence of the many bright young men who did not participate in the draft due to college attendance or homeland service caused the talent pool for new officers to become very shallow.[5] Many new officers were barely into their twenties, often raw and without experience.[citation needed] They pointed to Calley, a young, unemployed college dropout, as an example of the raw and inexperienced being rushed through officer training.

Those involved

Intervention

See also

References

  1. ^ My Lai was one of four hamlets associated with the village of "Song My". Americal Division Veterans Association.
  2. ^ Laurence Rogerson & Sue Powell (1999). "Exploring Vietnam - My Lai". Retrieved 2006-03-16.
  3. ^ "An American Hero". CBS News. 2004. Retrieved 2006-03-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Interview on CNN's Larry King Live with Secretary Colin L. Powell". 2004. Retrieved 2006-03-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ PBS/The American Experience. The My Lai Massacre
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