My Lai Massacre Research Paper

Major events have crafted the United States and other nations into what they are today. Going from world wars in the 1940’s, to civil rights movements in the 1960’s, to extravagant national debt today, have all played a part in shaping our nation. Being from rural Mississippi, world news being made here is uncommon. We see all of our major news from televisions or newspapers, and this “news” is all happening elsewhere, far from here. Whether it is a good thing that we do not make the big news or not, the fear of uncertain events still lingers. From shootings in schools to bombings in cities, we are fortunate for being seemingly far from these dangers. Even though no physical effects pertain to me, mental pain and fear stays and leaves doubt

On March 16, 1968, a unit of the United States military was ordered to advance into a village called Son My in northern Vietnam. It was there that a mass execution of unarmed civilians took place. One may wonder how the United States could do something so seemingly inhumane after considering what the Nazis did only twenty years prior to the Vietnam War. However, in the context of a tense situation, there are particular factors that will affect one’s decision-making skills. Factors such as uncertainty, routinization, gradual escalation, and dehumanization of the victim are all possible components in affecting one’s obedience.

Society is based upon those who lead and those who follow. Typically people will go as far as harming innocent people in order to please authority. Events such as mass genocides and massacres, happen due to people’s strong willingness follow authority they will perpetrate these horrendous acts. From the outside perspective, it seems as though these events should be obviously avoidable. However, it is difficult to imagine being in the position of either going against personal morals or following authority. Milgram decided to test the theory of how far a person will go to satisfy authority. Although society is skeptical to accept the validity of Milgram’s results, the event that occurred in My Lai proves his results.

On March 16, 1968, over 300 unarmed civilians were killed in South Vietnam during an indiscriminate, mass murder event known as the My Lai Massacre. Conducted by a unit of the United States Army, the My Lai Massacre ranked one of most appalling atrocities carried out by US forces in an already savage and violent war. All victims involved were unarmed civilians, many of which were women, children, and the elderly. Victims were raped, tortured and beaten, even mutilated before being killed. The massacre was forever seared into the hearts and minds of the American people as the day “the American spirit died.”

Before we ask about My Lai Massacre, we need to know what is My Lai Massacre the My Lai massacre is My Lai massacre has indiscriminately shot unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. The genocide was the duty of an officer of Charlie Company in the United States to lead a team in search of Vietnam. Their teams occupied a place called My Lai and slaughtered civilians under the direction of the high commander. Charlie Company entered South Vietnam in December 1967. In the first month there was no fighting, but in mid-March, five members of the team were killed by booby traps. Moreover, Vietnam’s 48th Battalion attacked US forces in the South Vietnam. The place of the incident occurred not far from where civilians live. This time, the US military was very angry and determined a massive counterattack the villages. Colonel Oran K Henderson orders Charlie Company to commit a massacre. The civilians who lived there were mainly woman, children and the elderly. American soldiers cruelly murdered and mocked them after receiving get permission. In the massacre more than 500 civilians were slaughtered and many women were raped and murdered. They attempted to conceal the events they had committed and led to an antisense sentiment that further divided the United States during the Vietnam War. However, some US military testimonies make their world known to their cruelty, including genocide and rape. In this paper, I will write down things about the behavior of the US

Some individuals know to obey their superior, unless they want to be faced with consequences. However, there are occasions individuals choose to be disobedience because they believe it is the right thing to do for the certain situation that they are faced with. This could in an individual being terminated, dishonorably discharged, or suspended. Knowing the outcome of being insubordinate, individuals are usually obedient, even when they are in a situation that is morally wrong. Kelman and Hamilton, in their article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” examine how Lt. Calley's unquestioning obedience resulted in the massacre of many women and children. Theodore Dalrymple, in his article, “Just Do What The Pilot Tells You,” asserts that there is a balance between when one should be obedient to orders or one should not be. A movie, A Few Good Men, shows two U.S. Marines, Dawson and Downey, being charged for the murder of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and Lt. Daniel Kaffee represents them as their lawyer. Nicholas Leveillee, in his article, “The Role of Obedience in Society,” asserts that one needs to find a balance between obedience and insubordination, so individuals can maintain their individuality and a stable society. Adam Cohen, in his article, “Four Decades After Milgram, We’re Still Willing to Inflict Pain,” asserts that an

The unfortunate event that took place on April 19, 1995 was a day that would change history throughout the nation in an unimaginable way due to the tragic circumstances that unfortunately unfolded. The Oklahoma City Bombing impacted the United States greatly because something of such devastation had never before occurred in this way up until that point in American history. This in fact would be an event that no one anticipated, no one knew anything of, but it would certainly be an eye opening day and a call for change.

The Oklahoma City Bombing was a significant event in the history of terrorism in the United States. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a powerful vehicle-borne explosive device in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, and hundreds of people were injured. Roughly one third of the federal building was destroyed, and many neighboring buildings were also destroyed or damaged. The bombing was considered the deadliest domestic terror attack in U.S. history (FBI, "Terror"). As a result, the way people viewed bombings and terrorism in general greatly changed.

An Atlanta mother called 911 for help, when police entered the home they found a family massacre, now the mother of five children is behind bars for the deadly stabbing attack on her family.

Confused by the explosions and machinegun fire coming from both sides, many reporters couldn’t quite tell who had the upper hand. The confusion left many reporters with the assumption that the enemy had taken over the embassy, even though it was an obvious win for American forces. It wasn’t long until a picture of three U.S. soldiers fighting for their life alongside two of their dead brothers was plastered onto the front page of the New York Times. American televisions and newspapers were being filled with the horrible images of the Vietnam War. For many Americans, this was their first glimpse at war, and it was gruesome. Even though the event at the embassy were less catastrophic than the reporters made it seem, the footage of U.S. troops fighting for their own embassy shocked many

Throughout history, crime has always plagued the world. People in positions of power and/or the government has tried to control these issues by implementing new policies and making new laws. Despite the attempts, many people in the world reject it, thereby, committing crimes. In the past, some crimes were not regarded as significant problems unlike, how they are perceived in this day-and-age. An example of this would be taking weapons on board an aircraft. In the past, it was still illegal to bring weapons on your flight, yet, people were not as anal about it. After 9-11, when the War on Terrorism started, TSA became the “Fort Knox” of all security checks. You now need to go through body scanners, metal detectors, and sometimes are forced to be pat down. Trying

On the morning of March 16th the company moved in. They were instructed by Lieutenant William Calley to shoot every living thing in sight, from animals to babies, for the animals would feed the Vietcong and the babies would one day grow up to be them. From many soldiers’ accounts, non-of the people shot that day seemed to pose any threat to the American soldiers. In fact, women, children and old men made up a huge majority of the victims. Barely any weapons were found and according to most of the soldiers the Vietnamese people were trying to cooperate but there was the barrier of language. When the soldiers yelled things in Vietnamese they weren’t even sure if they were saying the right thing because Vietnamese is a language based on inflection in the voice. LT Calley ordered his soldiers to kill all of the Vietnamese in massive slaughters. They were herded into big groups, and some groups were forced into ditches and then fired upon. “The few that survived did so because the were covered by the bodies of those less fortunate.” (Linder) After the massacre was over there was an extensive cover-up, the commanders even reported My Lai as a success with 123 enemy deaths and some weapon recoveries. It wasn’t until a man named Ronald Ridenhour,

Soldiers are trained to always follow orders, and to never question orders. But that belief is somewhat illogical. Soldier's are to obey any lawful order given. But the training involved, the often chaotic nature of battle, and the need to follow authority to maintain survival can lead to a very blurred vision of what is right or wrong. One's animalistic instincts may take over. Sometimes there are such situations when you've stepped over the line. Such as the horrendous act that took place on March 16, 1968 in the village of Son My.

On the morning of June 5th, people who were relatives of those who were injured or killed in the massacre began to make their way into the square. All were shot by soldiers. Eventually order is restored to Tiananmen square but protests were going to elsewhere in China now. There were large protests in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. Many other countries even joined in the rally and protested with black bands around their arms to represent the people from Beijing. To this day there is still little known about exactly how many people died on the 4th, many say as little as one thousand to as many as ten thousand, but there is no exact death count anywhere to be found. (Chan, 2009)

To succeed politically within South Vietnam itself the United States had to ‘win the hearts and minds of public’. However the atrocities which had struck Vietnam, caused disarray with the public of Vietnam, one case where this is true was the Massacre at My Lai in March 1968; this was the killing of 300 villagers mainly women and children who were raped, murdered, and mutilated; this was carried out by American soldiers who thought the villagers were supposedly harbouring Vietcong. Lieutenant William Calley was charged with the crime but only served