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Analysis of the My Lai Massacre
Analysis of the My Lai Massacre
America's role in the Vietnam War
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The Sad Truth
In March 1968, the worst incident of cruelty against Vietnamese citizens throughout the entire Vietnam War took place. A squadron of Americans soldiers ended the lives of nearly all who lived in a small southern vietnamese community called My Lai. No one knows the exact death toll caused by the American soldiers, but it is presumed to be around 500 people. Everyone killed was unarmed, and 0 shots were fired by any Vietnamese during the slaughter. Most of the Soldiers did not care who they killed, so many children,women, and elderly people were slaughtered. Important military personnel were able to hide the truth of this terrible event until about a year later when a soldier began to telling others about what really happened. His
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The investigation caused 14 United States officers to be charged of war crimes related to the My Lai tragedy, but only one of these men was convicted. These unjust killings and cover-up even further fueled the wide disapproval of the vietnam war among Americans nationwide (History.com).
The small My Lai congregation was believed by the United States to be a stronghold of Viet Cong forces, so the area was often bombed by the U.S. prior to the mass killing. Lieutenant William Calley led a group called Charlie Company on a seek and destroy mission after receiving word that the Viet Cong took over a nearby village. Prior to this event, Charlie Company endured many losses during a previous fight called the Tet Offensive, so many in the Charlie Company’s unit were extremely emotionally unstable because they saw many of their close friends previously die or suffer horrible injuries because of the Viet Cong soldiers. Upon arrival, Charlie Company
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soldiers and the devastated remaining villagers whom were all running away. Thompson had to threaten to fire upon his own men to persuade them to stop the unjust killing. Because high ranking officers knew the public would react terribly to knowing the truth of the events in My Lai, many military officials did everything they could to hide what had occurred. Everything was going as planned until a man named Ron Ridenhour broke the silence and began trying to get the truth of the event to the public. Ridenhour was a soldier in Vietnam not present at My Lai, but he had heard the true story from those who were. He wrote to President Richard Nixon, the , State Department, Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many congressmen. No one replied. Ridenhour eventually was interviewed by an investigative journalist named Seymour Hersh. Hersh released the story in November of 1969, and it caused a great mixture of feelings nationwide. Some thought that we should support the troops no matter what they do, and some condemned the acts completely. This interview helped prompt the Army to thoroughly investigate the My Lai massacre and determine who helped try to hide the truth. The man in charge of finding the answers to these questions was Lieutenant General William Peers. Him and his associates revealed their findings March of 1970 . They initially determined that at least
Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16, 1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period.
Kelman, Herbert C., Hamilton, V. Lee. “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience”. Writing & Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 266-277. Print.
On the thirtieth of January, 1968, as the sun set over South Vietnam, nothing seemed out of place. A cease fire had been declared in observation of the Tet holiday and the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces welcomed the break. The latter half of 1967 had been filled with violent, bloody and perplexing battles for the anti-communist troops. For the last three months the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) were launching regimental sized suicide attacks against remote U.S. outposts near the Cambodian border. The losses for both sides were mounting and morale was dipping due to the perceived stale mate. The peace was exactly what was needed, but it wouldn’t last. Shortly after midnight North Vietnam would launch the largest offensive
As time passes, people move on, memories fade, anger and fear often subside. This could be one reason why the information reported on any war becomes sanitized over time. It’s not that the information reported is inaccurate, but the connection to the wartime era being reported diminishes as time elapses and the number of survivors declines. Even if we cannot personally feel their emotions, survivors can still bestow important facts about their personal involvement that historical accounts do not always provide. But unfortunately, not many survivors are still alive from the World Wars.
the guards began mistreating the prisoners, not physically, but emotionally and psychologically, taking advantage of the power and authority appointed to them by the experimenter (Zimbardo 109). Crimes of obedience and mistreatment to other human beings are not only found in Milgrim’s and Zimbardo’s experiments. In 1968, U.S. troops massacred over 500 villagers in My Lai. The incident is described by social psychologist Herbert C. Kelman and sociologist V. Lee Hamilton in the article “The My Lai Massacre: a Crime of Obedience.” Lt. William Calley, charged with 102 killings, claims to have followed orders from his superiors, only accomplishing his duty, which is also a theme throughout the movie, A Few Good Men. After presented with a request from William Santiago, a marine on his base, to be transferred, Jessup refuses. The film depicts, through Colonel Jessup 's authority, the refusal to obey a reasonable request as well as the pride one possesses when fulfilling his duty
The Laotian government officials directing this massacre have not been detained due to lack of evidence (Sommer P.4). The Hmong have been singled out for persecution by the communists in Laos because of their link to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (Malakunas, 2000). The CIA hired, armed and trained about 40,000 Hmong soldiers between 1961 and 1975 to fight the Secret War in North Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). The Hmong soldiers fought in Northern Vietnam stopping Vietnamese soldiers from getting to the American soldiers in Southern Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). In North Vietnam, the soldiers saved thousands of American soldiers by stopping cargo and travelling military (Malakunas, 2000).
On March 16, 1968, in the Quang Ngai region of Vietnam, specifically My Lai, the United States military was involved in an appalling slaughter of approximately 500 Vietnamese civilians. There are numerous arguments as to why this incident even had the capacity to occur. Although some of the arguments seem valid, can one really make excuses for the slaughter of innocent people? The company that was responsible for the My Lai incident was the Charlie Company and throughout the company there were many different accounts of what happened that reprehensible day. Therefore there are a few contradictions about what had occurred, such as what the commanding officers exact instructions for the soldiers were. Even with these contradictions the results are obvious. The question that must be posed is whether these results make the American soldiers involved that day “guilty”. There is the fact that the environment of the Vietnam War made it very confusing to the soldiers exactly who the enemy was, as well as providing a pent up frustration due to the inability to even engage in real combat with the enemy. If this is the case though, why did some soldiers with the same frustrations refuse the orders and sit out on the action, why did some cry while firing, and why then did one man go so far as to place himself between the Vietnamese and the firing soldiers? If these men who did not see the sense in killing innocents were right with their actions, then how come the ones who did partake were all found not guilty in court? The questions can keep going back and forth on this issue, but first what happened that day must be examined.
Millions were killed and lost everything, including money, family, and dignity. However, it has taught many lessons. We can study it today to make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
War has always been an essential ingredient in the development of the human race. As a result of the battles fought in ancient times, up until modern warfare, millions of innocent lives have ended as a result of war crimes committed. In the article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” Herbert C. Kelman and V.Lee Hamilton shows examples of moral decisions taken by people involved with war-related murders. This article details one of the worse atrocities committed during the Vietnam War in 1968 by the U.S. military: the My Lai Massacre. Through this incident, the question that really calls for psychological analysis is why so many people are willing to formulate , participate in, and condone policies that call for the mass killings of defenseless civilians such as the atrocities committed during the My Lai massacre. What influences these soldiers by applying different psychological theories that have been developed on human behavior.
...nd innocent villagers of My Lai, it was a time when American’s questioned their own as being “bad guys” or “good guys”. Were America’s tortuous and cruel acts to be considered patriotic or dishonorable? Some Americans, with bitter feelings for all the American lives lost in the Vietnam War, gave credit to Lieutenant Calley for leading troops in participating in such an atrocious event. History shows that there is still much debate on some facts of the massacre and many stories and opinions, although we will never know the facts exactly, what we do know is that America will never forget this tragic event, it will be talked about in American History for many years to come, and the Vietminh hearts will always fill with sadness when they think of the many lives that were lost on that tragic day in history, their minds will always have unspeakable memories of that day.
Turse argues that what happened at My Lai was not a one occurring event but one event in a series of event that took place in Vietnam. In his monograph, he talks about the massacre at Trieu
Regardless of the guiltless people, the US troops continued to investigate and demolish (American Atrocity: Remembering My Lai). House after house, family after family, the soldiers burned down buildings, beat and raped young girls and women, and murdered basically anyone in sight. Varnado Simpson, a squaddie who was sent to My Lai, indicated in December 1969: “Everyone who went into the village had in mind to kill. We lost a lot of buddies and it was a VC stronghold. We considered them either VC or helping the VC.” Though exact quantities remain hearsay, it is alleged that as many as 500 people comprising of women, children and the elderly were murdered in the My Lai Massacre (American Experience: TV 's Most-watched History Series).
The United States is one of the only countries with the continuing problem of mass murder. 58 people lost their lives and more than 50 were injured when a man opened fire at an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas on October 1st, 2017 (Hanley 6). This is one of countless massacres that have occurred in the United States. It is no surprise when one turns the TV on in the morning and a “News Flash” story pops up on the latest shooting. Gregory Kate of USA Today states that there has been greater than 200 events of mass murder in the past 10 years. It is no secret that guns are an easily accessible weapon in the United States, and in numerous other countries that is not the case. Most people can obtain a firearm with a simple, online background check on a computer. Within minutes the check is completed. Kate states the only people to be declined would be: "felons, fugitives, drug addicts, the mentally ill, illegal immigrants, some legal immigrants, people
In Vietnam, friendly fire was common. The United States soldiers often shot innocent civilians. When the U.S viewed the brutality of the war and the torture of countless Vietnamese citizens through journalism, the President knew the public’s reaction was to such a point that he would never get re-elected, therefore he didn’t run, and his party lost the election.
The paranoia and fear of death never left them. The My Lai Massacre occurred in 1968, when the village of My Lai was completely destroyed, although it did not contain a single enemy troop. Over a hundred villagers were slaughtered. It became clearer to Americans how soldiers were losing control, and how there was no easy way to win this war.