The My Lai Massacre By Marissa Mendoza Thesis

The My Lai Massacre By: Marissa Mendoza

Thesis Statement To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane.

“Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History” The My Lai Massacre happened on March 16 th, 1968, when Lieutenant William Calley commanded his platoon to attack the hamlet, My Lai. Located in the Son Tinh district of Quang Ngai Province in South Vietnam, Calley suspected about 250 Vietcong men would be there. This Charlie Company found only women, their children, and men, in the process of cooking breakfast. As the hamlet citizens ran around trying to dodge the American Army, the platoon shot innocent men, women, and children, executing survivors afterwards (Campell).

Many villagers tried to surrender instead of being killed. Any Vietnamese who tried to surrender were still shot or knifed. Women were gang-raped, innocent babies were shot, some people were forced to lay in ditches while they got shot with automatic weapons. Even more horrible, remainders of some Vietnamese had “C Company” carved into them. When one of the American soldiers refused to kill an innocent villager, The Lieutenant took out his weapon and instantly shot a large group of Vietnamese villagers(Szczepanski).

Confusion and anger There were three different platoons that were planning on attacking the hamlet, one by one. But while flying into My Lai, one of the helicopter pilots for the second platoon “noticed dead and dying civilians all over the village. Thompson repeatedly saw young boys and girls being shot at point-blank range. Thompson, furious at what he saw, reported the killings to brigade headquarters”(Linder). Thompson

The cover-up Soldiers knew that a cover-up for the event had to rise to the surface quicker than they took down the village. The army reports stated that 128 of the enemy were dead, with one American casualty. One American soldier shot himself in the foot, so the US casualty was real. But after the Helicopter pilot, Thompson, filed the report of many war crimes such as murdering civilians, Captain Medina returned to My Lai to do a full body count. His answer to the question, “How many civilians had been killed? ”, was 20 to 28(Linder).

“Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History” After the My Lai Massacre, the “Peers report produced a list of 30 people, mostly officers (including the division commander), who knew of the atrocities; however, only 14 were charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by courts-martial, except Calley”(Campell).

After the massacre. After the event, Lieutenant Calley was sent to trial. He stated that it was not his fault for the attack on the innocent hamlet; he claimed that it was an order from Captain Ernest Media. Calley said that he was ordered to kill everyone in the hamlet. The court ruled against Lieutenant Calley because of evidence of the murders through pictures and videos. Even though Calley was sentenced to prison for life, he was released 4 years later in 1974. (American Experience; Vietnam Online) Lieutenant Calley on right, with his attorney, Robert Kay. (Bucholz)

Tim O’Brien, squad member During the trial, members from the squad were questioned by the judge. “— Tim O'Brien Testimony Q: "Did you obey your orders? " A: "Yes sir. " Q: "What were your orders? " A: "Kill anything that breathed. “” (La Martina)

The Harris Poll The My Lai Massacre shocked a lot of people back in the United States. Actually, a short ”two weeks after the Calley verdict was announced, the Harris Poll reported for the first time that a majority of Americans opposed the war in Vietnam”(Linder).

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. I believe that the soldiers that all took part in the My Lai Massacre should only have been punished to an extent. They should have been punished for murdering innocent civilians, but at the same time, they followed all of their orders that were given to them.

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. This event can be compared to a friend telling you to go punch an innocent person, someone you have no affiliation with. Would you do it? Then why did the soldiers kill all of the innocent civilians in My Lai? Fear?

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. In my opinion, the soldiers may have been desperate to get out of Vietnam by this point in the war. They also may have been scared, they didn’t know in advanced that the Hamlet was filled with nothing but innocent civilians. Soldiers are told “Don’t think, just do. ” When they saw all of the innocent civilians, most of them didn’t think, they just shot.

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. Not only was Lieutenant Calley guilty for his commands, but the soldiers from the three platoons should be guilty for their actions. The My Lai Massacre is just an example of a time when soldiers should have used common sense, and should have done the right thing.

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. After the massacre, many people back home had suddenly became doves. They believed the soldiers needed to come home then. This event scared some people back home because it truly showed what the soldiers were truly capable of.

To show that soldiers should not follow orders from Lieutenants if they are unjust or inhumane. 44 years later, the few survivors still share their heart breaking story about how the massacre took their whole family, and ruined their childhood. These innocent children had done nothing, and then their lives were extremely affected in 1 four hour event. If the soldiers had known not to follow the inhumane order from Lieutenant Calley, these children would not have been damaged for life.

Works Cited Buchholz, Brad. "Novelist Tim O'Brien wants us to remember My Lai. " States Man. Sun Jun, 29 05 2010. Web. 08 Jun 2012. <http: //www. statesman. com/life/books/novelist-tim-obrienwants-us-to-remember-my-716982. html? view. As. Single. Page=true >. Linder, Doug. "An Introduction to the My Lai Courts-Martial. " law 2. umkc. N. p. , Web. 09 Jun 2012. Linder, Doug. "The My Lai Massacre Trial. " Jurist. © JURIST Legal News and Research Services, -- 03 2000. Web. 10 Jun 2012. <http: //jurist. law. pitt. edu/famoustrials/My. Lai. php >. Szczepanski, Kallie. "My lai- What was the My Lai Massacre? . " about. com. The New York Times Company, -- -- 2012. Web. 9 Jun 2012. Stocking, Ben. "Survivors Reflect 40 years After My Lai. "USA Today, 16 03 2008. Web. 10 Jun 2012. <http: //www. usatoday. com/news/world/2008 -03 -16 -2429610875_x. htm >. "Vietnam Online. " American Experience. pbs, 29 03 2005. Web. 10 Jun 2012. <http: //www. pbs. org/w gbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai. html>. Woods, Jeff. "My Lai Massacre. " In Campell, Ballard C. , Ph. D. , gen. ed. Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 2008. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http: //www. fofweb. com/activelink 2. asp? Item. ID=WE 52&i. Pin=DACH 0159&Single. Recor d=True (accessed June 4, 2012).