";s:4:"text";s:16925:"Michael Bilton, Writer: It's quite clear that in Hawaii they excelled themselves in the jungles. And, when they were medevacing him out, the last thing he yelled at Calley, was, "God got me. It was just complete carnage there that day. We were there for each other, and that was the problem. We wanted to see it for ourselves. That was the intelligence he had been given, and he had no reason to question it. We thought wonderful, they're getting out of the way let's continue our recon, we were off, or out of that particular area for ten, fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. [154], Richard L. Strout, the Christian Science Monitor political commentator, emphasized that, "American press self-censorship thwarted Mr. Ridenhour's disclosures for a year." Fred Widmer, Radio Operator: Once the first civilian was killed it was too late, period. You can't fight a booby trap. Daniel Rooney They threw me into a ditch full of dead bodies. YouTube. Quaker service workers in the area gave testimony in May 1972 by Martin Teitel at hearings before the Congressional Subcommittee to Investigate Problems Connected with Refugees and Escapees in South Vietnam. After the initial sweeps by 1st and 2nd Platoons, 3rd Platoon was dispatched to deal with any "remaining resistance". To survive, I lay under my mother's stomach as the ditch filled with blood. Lawrence Colburn, Helicopter Gunner: The morning of My Lai, Hugh Thompson and I came on station at about 7:30, and it was crystal clear. Somebody got hurt, you went to help, regardless. It had to be believable. Thomas Turner, Team Leader: Bobby Wilson was in my squad. Some are quite gung-ho, some are quite interested in making a name for themselves. The documentary helped to enlighten the American public on the experiences of the men who were in My Lai that day in 1968. There were many times when the American soldiers would set up operations around this area and raid and shoot. Calley got away with it - and all the other people who were involved got away with it also. The story of the My Lai Massacre, its cover up, and the subsequent investigation involves hundreds of people. And we had to contact every one of them and try to arrange for them to come to Washington and testify. I just went over there to do my job. [16] Sơn Mỹ was located southwest of the Batangan Peninsula, a VC stronghold throughout the war. The meaning which was quite clear, we were under fire. Tina Nguyen One man from the company was reported as wounded from the accidental discharge of his weapon. The mood was sort of somber, but there's an edge of excitement; we know that we're going into something big and we're gonna deal with them. He first observed a member of 1st Platoon strike a Vietnamese man with a bayonet. Nick Kolias Sơn Mỹ village was included in the area of operations of TF Barker. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored. Do Ba, My Lai Villager: I lifted my head up and saw a helicopter landing in the rice fields. [95][96], In a separate trial, Medina denied giving the orders that led to the massacre, and was acquitted of all charges, effectively negating the prosecution's theory of "command responsibility", now referred to as the "Medina standard". Thompson testified that he then told Brooks to "just hold your men right where they are, and I'll get the kids out." We took a poncho and we spread it out. You know, it was in the press and talking about it in school, and we had a real strong curiosity. Veanne Cao [52] As the DFC citation included a fabricated account of rescuing a young girl from My Lai from "intense crossfire",[53] Thompson threw his medal away. It had to be very strong. Greg Olsen, Machine Gunner: It wasn't long after that we started taking more casualties. Michael Bilton, Writer: Inquiries start to be made of the American Military. And I thought at the time, "Well, that's disobeying an order, he can do anything he wants to me.' Jerome Walsh, Investigator, Peers Commission: Captain Medina would just call him a little shit or something. [20] In turn, LTC Barker reportedly ordered the 1st Battalion commanders to burn the houses, kill the livestock, destroy food supplies, and destroy and/or poison the wells. We don't know. "My Lai Officer Apologizes for Massacre": Calley Apologizes for 1968 My Lai Massacre, "Ex-Vietnam lieutenant apologizes for massacre", "Calley expresses remorse for role in My Lai massacre in Vietnam", "Mỹ Lai Survivor Disappointed in Calley's 'Terse Apology' for War Atrocities", Calley admits slayings on Capt. But they made me out a villain, they have stamped me with a brand as we go marching on...". He recollected that women were allegedly saying "No VC" and were trying to shield their children. While in some respects, what took place at My Lai has to be considered a tragic day in the history of our nation, the greatest tragedy of all will be if political expediency dictates the compromise of such a fundamental moral principle as the inherent unlawfulness of the murder of innocent persons, making the actions and the courage of six honorable men who served their country so well, meaningless.'. The helicopter pilot turned to us and told us that we were coming into a hot LZ. Thomas Turner, Team Leader: We were down by a river and walking on the rice paddies, and were we going down to this village that was kinda in the corner of the river and we started taking sniper fire. And the only way we're going to know what happened is to talk to everybody that was there that will talk to us. Aubrey Daniel, Army Prosecutor: If the orders for that operation included unarmed, unresisting men, women, children and babies, it was illegal. I dragged my kids, but they still hit us, kicked us. They were all burned. Pilot Testifies Senior Officers Knew Something Amiss On Day Of Massacre. James S. Olson, Historian: The pictures become almost ubiquitous. Testified that he informed COL Henderson about killings of civilians in My Lai as reported by helicopter pilots. [95], In August 1971, Calley's sentence was reduced by the Convening Authority from life to twenty years. [9] Currently, the event is referred to as the Mỹ Lai Massacre in the United States and called the Sơn Mỹ Massacre in Vietnam. Mr. Thompson wanted me to come up and meet him, and report what we'd seen to Colonel Henderson. It was a place on a map of Vietnam, and there had been an operation there. But the solution to that problem was to drain the sea. Where is this place Pinkville? There shouldn't be any innocents there and I think there was even questions asked is 'how would we know if they're innocent or not?' [7][8] Later, when the U.S. Army started its investigation, the media changed it to the Massacre at Songmy. [22] He was asked whether the order included the killing of women and children. Fred Widmer He's entitled to be treated humanely. He was not charged with the massacre. Pham Dat Greg Shea, On-Line Editors Not in the military. I just let my father walk around there and they went over there and shot him. He also thought that flying a helicopter would be a very exciting profession. Jeff Sias & Bryan Papciak, Handcranked Productions, Archival Research [156][47], Following the massacre a Pentagon task force called the Vietnam War Crimes Working Group (VWCWG) investigated alleged atrocities by U.S. troops against South Vietnamese civilians and created a secret archive of some 9,000 pages documenting 320 alleged incidents from 1967-1971 including 7 massacres in which at least 137 civilians died; 78 additional attacks targeting noncombatants in which at least 57 were killed, 56 wounded and 15 sexually assaulted; and 141 incidents of U.S. soldiers torturing civilian detainees or prisoners of war. Thomas Turner It was murder; I'm ashamed of myself for not trying to do something about it. No change of clothes hardly. If a man was running, shoot him, sometimes even if a woman with a rifle was running, shoot her. ... a tragedy of major proportions had occurred at Son My. Calley would eventually serve three and one-half years under house arrest at Fort Benning including three months in a disciplinary barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. As relayed at the time by Stars and Stripes magazine, "U.S. infantrymen had killed 128 Communists in a bloody day-long battle. She raised her hand up. The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. Nicholas Capezza – Chief Medic; HHQ Company; William Doherty and Michael Terry – 3rd Platoon soldiers who participated in the killing of the wounded in a ditch. Kenneth Hodges, Squad Leader: You train a man to soldier, you take him out of civilian life, you teach him to be a soldier, you train him to kill, you train him to follow orders, you express to him the importance of following orders, and you train him to kill. There were rounds zinging kind of all around. Harry Stanley, a machine gunner from Charlie Company, said during the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division inquiry that the killings started without warning. SP4 Lawrence C. La Croix – Squad Leader; testified favourably for Captain Medina during his trial. They just did not like strangers coming in among them and then exercising military power. He estimated the number of killed civilians as 567. The film includes interviews with soldiers at the massacre, and the later trials of those involved. Jonathan Schell, Writer: Great areas of the province had been declared Free Fire Zones. Every day I try to make it easy. The Cotton Mill, Post Production I wanted to tell him, "Please lie down, Dad. James S. Olson, Historian: The machinery of justice starts moving and so it's not gonna be kept inside the Army and finally Haeberle decides to sell those pictures. Fred Widmer, Radio Operator: Weber was the first member that we lost. Several months after his acquittal, however, Medina admitted he had suppressed evidence and had lied to Henderson about the number of civilian deaths. I think we had it in our minds that we were not gonna get pinned down out there. [31], According to the operational plan, 1st Platoon, led by Second Lieutenant William Calley, and 2nd Platoon, led by 2LT Stephen Brooks, entered the hamlet of Tu Cung in line formation at 08:00, while the 3rd Platoon, commanded by 2LT Jeffrey U. Lacross,[32][33] and Captain Medina's command post remained outside. It's just like if you had a wound, and they would stick something in that wound and go a little bit deeper. Charges against him of dereliction of duty and false swearing brought by the Army were dropped. And Medina specifically said, "Don't go past the wire, because there's an old Korean compound up there and it's heavily mined." A lot of people had been interviewed. When I'm reminded, I suddenly remember the pain, a chapter in the book opens. 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