Massacre at My Lai March 16, 1968 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Massacre at My Lai March 16, 1968

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Title: Massacre at My Lai March 16, 1968

1
Massacre at My LaiMarch 16, 1968
2
What happened at My Lai?

On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company,
11th Brigade, Americal Division entered the
village of My Lai.
This is what youve been waiting for--search and
destroy-- and youve got it, said their superior
officers.
A short time later the killing began.
Vietnam Online, PBS

3
Where is My Lai?

My Lai is in the South Vietnamese district of Son
My, a heavily mined area of Vietcong
entrenchment.
Many members of Charlie Company had been maimed
of killed in the area during the preceding weeks.
This time Charlie Company, led by Lt. William
Calley, was willing and ready for an engagement
with the Vietcong.
Vietnam Online, PBS

4
Timeline of the Events at My Lai

First arrivals were Lieutenant Calley and the
First Platoon.
The mission of the First Platoon was to secure
the landing area for the helicopters.
This was shortly after eight in the morning.
BBC News

5
Timeline of the events of My Lai, continued

After securing the landing area, the First
Platoon entered the village of My Lai.
Calley ordered his men to enter the village
firing, though there had been no report of
opposition fire.
Soon, the search and destroy mission had
degenerated into the massacre of over 300
apparently unarmed civilians, which included
women, children, and the elderly- all in the
course of three hours.
Vietnam Online, PBS

6
Atrocities at My Lai

Families who had huddled together for safety in
huts or bunkers were shown no mercy.
Those who surrendered with their hands held high
were murdered.
Women were gang raped.
Vietnamese who had bowed to greet the Americans
were beaten with fists and tortured.
Some victims were mutilated with the signature C
Company carved into the chest.
BBC News

7
Atrocities at My Lai

Calley, for his part, was said to have rounded up
a group of the villagers, ordered them into a
ditch, and mowed them down in a blast of machine
gun fire.
Vietnam Online, PBS

8
Victims at My Lai
9
Victims at My Lai
10
The Burning of My Lai
11
One wounded member of Charlie Company

12
Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson

Pilot of an army helicopter that arrived at My
Lai around 9am.
Witnessed the senseless killings and reported
them to headquarters.
Evacuated 9 civilians, including 5 children, by
putting himself between the Vietnamese and
Calleys men
Told his crew to open up on the Americans if
they fired on the civilians
Returned a second time to save a baby clinging to
its dead mother
Famous Trials

13
Who was Charlie Company?

Charlie Company came to Vietnam in December,
1967.
Charlie Companys commanding officer was Ernest
Medina, a thirty-three year old from New Mexico,
who was popular with his soldiers
One of the platoon leaders was William Calley, a
twenty-four year old, who was described as a kid
trying to play war.
By March 1968, many in the company had given in
to an easy pattern of violence.
Famous trials

14
Why Charlie Company? continued

On March 14, a small squad from C Company ran
into a booby trap, killing a popular sergeant,
blinding one GI, and wounding several others.
At the funeral service the following evening,
Medina gave a pep talk about the next mornings
mission.
He told his soldiers that the women and children
would be out of the hamlet, and that all would be
left would be the enemy. They would destroy the
enemy completely.
Famous Trials

15
The Cover-Up

It took more than a year for the shocking story
of the My Lai massacre to reach the news stands.
Medina realized that the news of the event could
cause trouble. For instance, when he was
questioned by a superior, he maintained that
between 20 and 28 civilians had been killed by
gun-ship and artillery fire.

Medinas account of the events was echoed in a
report submitted in a month later by the
commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade, Colonel
Oran K Henderson. 20 civilians had been killed
inadvertently, he claimed.
However, rumors began to be spread of the true
events that had occurred at My Lai.
BBC News

16
How the story actually broke

After hearing the soldiers boast about what had
taken place at My Lai, Ronald Ridenhour, who was
a soldier with the 11th Brigade, began to check
out the story by confirming the soldiers stories
with other soldiers and official documents.
In March 1969, Ridenhour composed a letter
detailing what he had heard about My Lai and sent
the letter to President Nixon, the Pentagon, the
State Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and
members of Congress.
Famous Trials

17
The Investigation

General Westmoreland, one recipient of the
letter, could not believe that his men would
engage in mass murder and ordered an immediate
inquiry.
Over the next few months, evidence was amassed,
and it was evident that war crimes had been
committed.
On September 5, 1969, Calley was charged with
109 counts of murder, and his Court Martial began
on November 12th.

18
Charges and a Pardon

On March 29, 1970, Lieutenant Calley was found
guilty of the murder of at least 33 oriental
human beings, occupants of the village of My Lai,
whose names and sexes are unknown, by means of
shooting them with a rifle.
Calley was dishonorably discharged and sentenced
to life in Leavenworth Prison.
The sentence was reduced to 20 years by President
Nixon.
In 1974, after serving just three years, Calley
was pardoned by Nixon.
Today, Calley, who was married in 1974, works in
the jewelry store of his father-in-law in
Columbus, Georgia.

19
Lasting Effects of My Lai

Two weeks after the Calley verdict, a public
opinion poll reported for the first time that a
majority of Americans opposed the war in Vietnam.
The incident in My Lai also caused the military
to re-evaluate its training and handling of
non-combatants.
Still present in the military mind. Commanders
sent troops in Desert Storm into battle with the
words , No My Lais--you hear?

20
Bibliography