My Lai Massacre :: essays papers

My LaiOn knock against 16, 1968, Charlie Comp whatever was sent into a sm any VietCong village called (by the U.S.) My Lai 4. Their instructions bycommanding officers were ... kill every man, woman, child and animalin the village. foreshorten all the homes .... zip should be walking,growing or crawling.Orders were followed, and as I read the first 65 pages of thisbook, I was exposed to the detailed remnant of 306 civilians, nearlylywomen, small children, and old people. There was no threat to anyAmerican GIs ... there were no Viet Cong Solders in the area. I readof the vitiate of a 14 year old girl by cardinal GIs ... in front of theparents. They were all shot after the GIs were done with theirbusiness. This was precisely one of many. Most of the murders wereconducted, BY ORDER OF OFFICERS, to round-up the families from theirhomes, forced into ditches, and shot. Women dove to entomb theirchildren. Later, children just old enough to walk crawled out fromunder their damage mothers bodies, only to be shot as targetpractice by the GIs. It is later estimated that approximately 500civilians were murdered, and (probably) no VC were in the area.I could go into detail about the killing. However, most of thebook was devoted to the time onwards the massacre, and afterward. Theofficers and GIs of Charlie Company were introduced in the beginningof the book the officers had been social outcasts all their aliveness (LT.Calley & Medina). Both had decided to devote their life to themilitary. The GIs were selected for Charlie Company specificallybecause they had all scored too low on the initial exam to be come out intoa regular battalions.After the massacre, nothing was done. As a bailiwick of fact,Charlie Company was praised for having the most kills in one day.By late 1969, most of the GIs in Charlie Company were civilians again,and a few began to tell what they had seen (and participated in). A regime Investigation was called against Lt. Calley (who ordered,and participated in the murders). Some of the photographs from themassacre were published. You wouldnt believe what the civilian solution was The overwhelming public response was to drop thecharges they thought that there was nothing wrong with the massacre,OR they didnt believe it really happened. As a outlet of fact, Lt.Calley had become a hero as an AMERICAN There was a hugely-supported