Lt, William Calley and the My Lai Massacre
Lieutenant William Calley and the My Lai Massacre
Very few things in our world bring about resentment, bewilderment, and anger as easily as the massacre of innocent civilians. It seems that the history of the Vietnam War includes some well known instances that involved the massacre of innocent people. This could be for many reasons, stress, anger, U.S. sentiments towards the war, and even plain hatred of the massacred people. The most infamous account of the slaughtering of civilians took place in a village called My Lai, this is the story of the man that ordered and took part in the massacre, Lieutenant William Calley. This paper will look at his early days before the war, his life as a soldier and the My Lai atrocities, plus, the aftermath of the events seen throughout the U.S.A. The 1960 's, as most people know, were a tumultuous time in American history. By the late 1960 's opposition to the Vietnam War was at a boiling point, and one event truly helped in killing most remaining positive ideas about the war, the My Lai massacre. The one person most associated with the massacre and the only soldier convicted for the atrocities that took place was a Lieutenant named William Calley. On the eighth of June, 1943 the most notorious person involved with the My Lai massacre was born (www.trail-ch.org). William "Rusty" Calley was born into a good home in Florida; before he committed the war crimes in My Lai he had no record of deviant behavior or criminal activity, he was a "typical American" (www.crimelibrary.com). It is of note to mention that many people thought and still think he was a scapegoat for the whole event. Although, with over 400 questioned witnesses and over 20,000 pages of reports and most everyone stating the same facts, that Lt. Calley ordered and participated in the killings, it could be difficult to prove the scapegoat theory (http://news.bbc.co.uk). But its not quite the scapegoat in that sense, during this time the morale of
Very few things in our world bring about resentment, bewilderment, and anger as easily as the massacre of innocent civilians. It seems that the history of the Vietnam War includes some well known instances that involved the massacre of innocent people. This could be for many reasons, stress, anger, U.S. sentiments towards the war, and even plain hatred of the massacred people. The most infamous account of the slaughtering of civilians took place in a village called My Lai, this is the story of the man that ordered and took part in the massacre, Lieutenant William Calley. This paper will look at his early days before the war, his life as a soldier and the My Lai atrocities, plus, the aftermath of the events seen throughout the U.S.A. The 1960 's, as most people know, were a tumultuous time in American history. By the late 1960 's opposition to the Vietnam War was at a boiling point, and one event truly helped in killing most remaining positive ideas about the war, the My Lai massacre. The one person most associated with the massacre and the only soldier convicted for the atrocities that took place was a Lieutenant named William Calley. On the eighth of June, 1943 the most notorious person involved with the My Lai massacre was born (www.trail-ch.org). William "Rusty" Calley was born into a good home in Florida; before he committed the war crimes in My Lai he had no record of deviant behavior or criminal activity, he was a "typical American" (www.crimelibrary.com). It is of note to mention that many people thought and still think he was a scapegoat for the whole event. Although, with over 400 questioned witnesses and over 20,000 pages of reports and most everyone stating the same facts, that Lt. Calley ordered and participated in the killings, it could be difficult to prove the scapegoat theory (http://news.bbc.co.uk). But its not quite the scapegoat in that sense, during this time the morale of
Bibliography: Into the Darkness. (2007). Retrieved on Feb, 3, 2007. Http://www.crimelibrary.com /notorious_ murders/mass/lai/index_1.html. Murder in the Name of War. (1998). Retrieved on Feb, 3, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/64344.stm. The My Lai Massacre. (2005). Retrieved on Feb, 2, 2007. http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai.html. Trial Watch: William Calley. (2007). Retrieved on Feb, 2, 2007. http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/william_calley_89.html