My Lai Massacre Analysis
Historical Empathy Essay
My Lai Massacre – As an American Soldier
[Type the author name]
Word Count: 1,099
The My Lai Massacre occurred on the 16th of March, 19681. Lieutenant William Calley led the 1st Platoon of the Charlie Company. Captain Ernest L. Medina gave Lt. Calley orders and in turn Lt. Calley gave the ground troopers ours. A lot of us did not entirely agree with our orders however we could not argue. I did not know it at the time; however, Lieutenant Calley was under direct orders from Captain Medina2. We thought Lt. Calley would show some sort of mercy. We were all scared and wanted to help the people that were being slaughtered in Pinkville. On that day, there were no sightings of the Vietcong (VC).
For almost …show more content…
two months we had been travelling through villages on ‘seek and destroy’ missions only to see our men killed and slaughtered by the Vietcong. Snipers, mines, and booby traps – men would lose limbs and die – we were all terrified. We had been trained in Hawaii, in the jungles. We had become confident in the art of jungle combat and warfare however when we’d reached Vietnam we were no match to anyone. We were embarrassed and angry at our training and ourselves because we could not fight effectively. We had been wounded, our pride destroyed and our friends had been slaughtered right in front of our eyes. We were extremely upset.
Lieutenant Calley led us to Pinkville. Our orders were to ‘search and destroy’ the 48 VC that were believed to have been in the village. Captain Medina had talked with all of us, the night before, telling us that we were to be ‘especially aggressive’ and told us that no civilians would be present. We were told that we would be outnumbered two to one. We were scared to enter Pinkville as past experiences would say we would not make it out alive. Despite this we were all ready to avenge our fallen comrades. Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson went out on the morning of March 16th on a scout mission to draw out the VC and inform the ground troops of the Charlie Company where the enemy was located3. At 7.40 am he noticed several VC troops. His door gunners fired at them however were unsure as to whether they were eliminated. They didn’t see any VC members for the entirety of the day.
While Chief Warrant Officer Thompson was we moved to the western edge of the village. We were anxious and all of us anticipated the worst. We did not want to die. I do not believe a lot of people do. Helicopters landed outside the village and declared the landing zone ‘hot’ – meaning that the enemy was there and ready to attack. We became restless, eager to gun them down.
At around, 7.50a.m., we started heading into the village. We rounded up civilians and guarded them. A lot of my comrades began killing civilians with no reason. I was shocked and terrified that the men I knew would be capable of doing that. I shouted for them to stop but they had vengeance in their eyes. Near, 8.00a.m., I overheard Captain Medina radio to the operation centre that 15 VC had been killed. None of us on the ground had spotted one. Our own Captain was lying. Our men were shooting women, babies, old mean and toddlers all for the fun of it. They had gone mad. The women were sexually abused and the children were threatened. I will never forget watching one of my friends shoot a toddler, running away with its mother, holding her hand.
A big group of civilians were herded into a ditch and were guarded. Lt. Calley later gave the order for them to be killed. There were between 75 and 150 people present in that ditch. The Third Platoon added to the madness by burning down homes, slaughtering livestock and destroying crops. They rounded up a group of women and children and shot every last one of them.
I let civilians escape and helped them to flee. I hated what was happening and despised Captain Medina, Lt. Calley and the rest of my platoon for being so vicious and cruel. None of these people were armed. None of our men had been injured and yet they were still slaughtering these innocent people.
I saw helicopters armed and ready to attack should we need back up however one stood out. This helicopter seemed to stay idle in the air. I watched it as it descended to the east of the village. It ascended quickly afterward and moved towards the northeast where around 12-15 civilians were hiding. I sprinted towards the helicopter and dodged fire from my comrades. Lieutenant Stephen Brooks was speaking with Chief Warrant Officer Thompson and was refusing to help the refugees. Thompson and I were disgusted. We ushered the civilians into the helicopter and Thompson flew them to safety. During this time soldiers began sexually abusing a girl of around fifteen and a group of around 10 women and children were murdered.
The cruelty went on for hours and the destruction was unbelievable. Thompson and I helped more villagers however we could not save them all. In that whole day only 10 suspects were caught. Two of those were killed after interrogation. At around, 10.00p.m., on the night of March 16th 1968, Warrant Officer Thompson, some other soldiers of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoons, and I reported the cruelty in My Lai that day. I heard that on the 29th of March, 1971, Lt. Calley was found guilty of premeditated murder4. I rejoiced at this news. However, I have forever been identified as a soldier who was apart of the My Lai massacre. I have been ridiculed, judged as an outcast, discriminated against and emotionally abused. Never have I been so ashamed to be an American soldier.
Bibliography
1.
Americanswhotellthetruth.org.
Hugh Thompson Jr. | Americans Who Tell The Truth
In-text: (Americanswhotellthetruth.org 2008)
Bibliography: Americanswhotellthetruth.org. 2008. Hugh Thompson Jr. | Americans Who Tell The Truth. [online] Available at: http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/hugh-thompson-jr [Accessed: 19 Aug 2013].
2. American Experience.
WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS
In-text: (American Experience n.d.)
Bibliography: American Experience. n.d.. WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/mylai-biographies/ [Accessed: 25 Aug 2013].
3. American Experience.
WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS
In-text: (American Experience 2010)
Bibliography: American Experience. 2010. WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/mylai-massacre/ [Accessed: 25 Aug 2013].
4. Mintz, D.
Digital History
In-text: (Mintz n.d.)
Bibliography: Mintz, D. n.d.. Digital History. [online] Available at: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm [Accessed: 18 Aug
2013].
My Lai Massacre – As an American Soldier
[Type the author name]
Word Count: 1,099
The My Lai Massacre occurred on the 16th of March, 19681. Lieutenant William Calley led the 1st Platoon of the Charlie Company. Captain Ernest L. Medina gave Lt. Calley orders and in turn Lt. Calley gave the ground troopers ours. A lot of us did not entirely agree with our orders however we could not argue. I did not know it at the time; however, Lieutenant Calley was under direct orders from Captain Medina2. We thought Lt. Calley would show some sort of mercy. We were all scared and wanted to help the people that were being slaughtered in Pinkville. On that day, there were no sightings of the Vietcong (VC).
For almost …show more content…
two months we had been travelling through villages on ‘seek and destroy’ missions only to see our men killed and slaughtered by the Vietcong. Snipers, mines, and booby traps – men would lose limbs and die – we were all terrified. We had been trained in Hawaii, in the jungles. We had become confident in the art of jungle combat and warfare however when we’d reached Vietnam we were no match to anyone. We were embarrassed and angry at our training and ourselves because we could not fight effectively. We had been wounded, our pride destroyed and our friends had been slaughtered right in front of our eyes. We were extremely upset.
Lieutenant Calley led us to Pinkville. Our orders were to ‘search and destroy’ the 48 VC that were believed to have been in the village. Captain Medina had talked with all of us, the night before, telling us that we were to be ‘especially aggressive’ and told us that no civilians would be present. We were told that we would be outnumbered two to one. We were scared to enter Pinkville as past experiences would say we would not make it out alive. Despite this we were all ready to avenge our fallen comrades. Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson went out on the morning of March 16th on a scout mission to draw out the VC and inform the ground troops of the Charlie Company where the enemy was located3. At 7.40 am he noticed several VC troops. His door gunners fired at them however were unsure as to whether they were eliminated. They didn’t see any VC members for the entirety of the day.
While Chief Warrant Officer Thompson was we moved to the western edge of the village. We were anxious and all of us anticipated the worst. We did not want to die. I do not believe a lot of people do. Helicopters landed outside the village and declared the landing zone ‘hot’ – meaning that the enemy was there and ready to attack. We became restless, eager to gun them down.
At around, 7.50a.m., we started heading into the village. We rounded up civilians and guarded them. A lot of my comrades began killing civilians with no reason. I was shocked and terrified that the men I knew would be capable of doing that. I shouted for them to stop but they had vengeance in their eyes. Near, 8.00a.m., I overheard Captain Medina radio to the operation centre that 15 VC had been killed. None of us on the ground had spotted one. Our own Captain was lying. Our men were shooting women, babies, old mean and toddlers all for the fun of it. They had gone mad. The women were sexually abused and the children were threatened. I will never forget watching one of my friends shoot a toddler, running away with its mother, holding her hand.
A big group of civilians were herded into a ditch and were guarded. Lt. Calley later gave the order for them to be killed. There were between 75 and 150 people present in that ditch. The Third Platoon added to the madness by burning down homes, slaughtering livestock and destroying crops. They rounded up a group of women and children and shot every last one of them.
I let civilians escape and helped them to flee. I hated what was happening and despised Captain Medina, Lt. Calley and the rest of my platoon for being so vicious and cruel. None of these people were armed. None of our men had been injured and yet they were still slaughtering these innocent people.
I saw helicopters armed and ready to attack should we need back up however one stood out. This helicopter seemed to stay idle in the air. I watched it as it descended to the east of the village. It ascended quickly afterward and moved towards the northeast where around 12-15 civilians were hiding. I sprinted towards the helicopter and dodged fire from my comrades. Lieutenant Stephen Brooks was speaking with Chief Warrant Officer Thompson and was refusing to help the refugees. Thompson and I were disgusted. We ushered the civilians into the helicopter and Thompson flew them to safety. During this time soldiers began sexually abusing a girl of around fifteen and a group of around 10 women and children were murdered.
The cruelty went on for hours and the destruction was unbelievable. Thompson and I helped more villagers however we could not save them all. In that whole day only 10 suspects were caught. Two of those were killed after interrogation. At around, 10.00p.m., on the night of March 16th 1968, Warrant Officer Thompson, some other soldiers of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoons, and I reported the cruelty in My Lai that day. I heard that on the 29th of March, 1971, Lt. Calley was found guilty of premeditated murder4. I rejoiced at this news. However, I have forever been identified as a soldier who was apart of the My Lai massacre. I have been ridiculed, judged as an outcast, discriminated against and emotionally abused. Never have I been so ashamed to be an American soldier.
Bibliography
1.
Americanswhotellthetruth.org.
Hugh Thompson Jr. | Americans Who Tell The Truth
In-text: (Americanswhotellthetruth.org 2008)
Bibliography: Americanswhotellthetruth.org. 2008. Hugh Thompson Jr. | Americans Who Tell The Truth. [online] Available at: http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/hugh-thompson-jr [Accessed: 19 Aug 2013].
2. American Experience.
WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS
In-text: (American Experience n.d.)
Bibliography: American Experience. n.d.. WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/mylai-biographies/ [Accessed: 25 Aug 2013].
3. American Experience.
WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS
In-text: (American Experience 2010)
Bibliography: American Experience. 2010. WGBH American Experience . My Lai | PBS. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/mylai-massacre/ [Accessed: 25 Aug 2013].
4. Mintz, D.
Digital History
In-text: (Mintz n.d.)
Bibliography: Mintz, D. n.d.. Digital History. [online] Available at: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/vietnam/vietnam_mylai.cfm [Accessed: 18 Aug
2013].