2006-11-25 13:51:23 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
I was a senior in high school when this story broke. The following quotes are for those who do not know what "My Lai" was.
"On the eve of the attack, U.S. military command advised Charlie Company 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 they could assume that all who remained behind were either Viet Cong or active Viet Cong sympathizers. They were instructed to destroy the village."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
The Viet Cong used tunnels under the huts during the night and basically blended in with the South Vietnamese population during the day. The order Calley was given (kill the population after 7 a.m. because the "real villagers" would be at the market) was a bad order.
"On 4 May 2004, (Colen) 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.'"
(emphasis by responder)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
CALLEY, A LOWLY LIEUTENANT, WAS THE SCAPEGOAT FOR THE MY LAI ATROCITY. (emphasis by responder) Out of 26 people arrested for My Lai, ONLY Lieutenant Calley was found guilty. Why weren't there convictions of the person(s) of higher rank who gave the orders?
Does any of this sound similar to the arrests made of the low ranking military who were involved in the torture / harassment of Iraque prisoners of war?
2006-11-25 15:12:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The soldiers who disobeyed orders and tried to protect the civilians of My Lai were originally court-martialed, but found innocent with no apology (the Pentagon refused to admit they had made a fatal error). Those same soldiers were recently decorated with high honors for their courage at that time, so our society -does- feel differently about the massacre. But I don't know if the Pentagon has ever admitted their guilt...if not, then more progress is needed.
2006-11-25 14:04:28 · answer #2 · answered by perelandra 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Though one of the most tragically horrific acts in American history, present day society has largely forgotten about My Lai and is shamefully indifferent to it.
2006-11-25 13:58:44 · answer #3 · answered by Paulo 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think that most of present day society have no idea of what you are talking about, unfortunately.
2006-11-25 14:00:02 · answer #4 · answered by schoolot 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Very little. I'd guess that 9 out of 10 people would not be able to identify what that was, or who William Calley was.
2006-11-25 14:21:59 · answer #5 · answered by Ace Librarian 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most people don't remember although the actions of the occupiers in Iraq have been a reminder
2006-11-25 17:30:25 · answer #6 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋