Essay on The My Lai Massacre

It was April 19, 1995 at 9:03 that the lives of thousands were affected by one single

In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support

On Tuesday, April 20 1999, Columbine High School located in Columbine Colorado an unfortunate massacre happened and many teens lost their lives. The two students responsible for this incident were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. These two senior students were responsible for killing twelve students and one teacher; they were also responsible for injuring an additional twenty one students on their rampage. A few other students were injured while trying to escape the school. Columbine is considered the fourth deadliest school massacre in history. It was said to be that there was not one target but everyone was a target on Eric and Dylan’s rampage through the high school

Since the initiation of the Tet Offensive, the 48th Battalion of the National Front of the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF –

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

Calley and Charlie Company, we find out that the truth was worse than the stories. From the facts from the trial, we learn that there were anywhere from 343 - 504 fatalities and. that "[t]he crimes visited on the inhabitants of Son My Village included individual and group acts of murder, rape, sodomy, maiming, assault on noncombatants and the mistreatment and killing of detainees," ( Col. Wilson as qtd in Vietnam 562). You might think that what happened in My Lai was the worst of it all, but O'Brien says that, "Wreckage was the rule. Brutality was S.O.P." (566). Because the war was so confusing and because the soldiers couldn't tell who the enemy was, many felt that, "the army had no solution but to kill people, uniformed or not, old or young, male or female, proven Viet Cong or not," (Fussell 654). To me this is how some tried to justify killing but still some just couldn't make themselves feel as if they were justified.

Intel had determined that everyone in the village was either Vietcong or a sympathizer. More than 500 women, children, and old men were killed (American Experience). Regardless of the devastation caused in the small hamlet, the public most likely would never have known about the event if it weren’t for two men, Ron Ridenhour and Ron Haeberle.

Many of the documents were similar talking about the orders that were given. Herbert Carter and Hugh Thompson talked highly

North Vietnamese General Chu Huy Man and his headquarters element planned operations in the central highlands area of South Vietnam. His objectives were to attack American forces and control the western plateau consisting of Kontuam, Pleiku, binhdinh, and Phubon Provinces. The campaign began in the fall and by the end of October 1st Calvary Division was going the offense against General Man’s 32n d and 33rd Regiments following failed

     On March 16, 1968, in the Quang Ngai region of Vietnam, specifically My Lai, the United States military was involved in an appalling slaughter of approximately 500 Vietnamese civilians. There are numerous arguments as to why this incident even had the capacity to occur. Although some of the arguments seem valid, can one really make excuses for the slaughter of innocent people? The company that was responsible for the My Lai incident was the Charlie Company and throughout the company there were many different accounts of what happened that reprehensible day. Therefore there are a few contradictions about what had occurred, such as what the commanding officers exact instructions for the soldiers were. Even

On November 5, 2009 at approximately 1:30 p.m., a gunman opens fire inside the base's Soldier Readiness Center at U.S. Army Base, Fort Hood, Texas. Soldier Readiness Center, is where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening (http://search.proquest.com). During the shooting the gunman killed 13 and wounded 31 others. The gunman was shot and wounded by base police during the incident. This was the first time that an attack like this has happened in a military base on U.S. soil. All the soldiers and civilians inside of the Soldier Readiness Center were unarmed at the time of

November 14, 1965, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Soldiers rushed off to execute an assault by helicopters into the Ia Drang Valley of South Vietnam’s Central Highlands, where the first major battle began in the Vietnam War. The People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched multiple assaults to the outnumbered American forces, resulting in many casualties. The 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry were dropped off in Landing Zone X-ray to seek and destroy the enemy almost immediately, not knowing that they are within close proximity of three PAVN regiments. A platoon led by Lieutenant Herrick separated from the company and was soon surrounded by the North Vietnamese after chasing an encountered enemy. Lt. Herrick was among the Soldiers that got killed in the engagement,

On March 16, 1968. Charlie Company was ordered to enter the Hamlet of My Lai to clear out the Viet Cong's forty-eighth battalion that was believed to be in the vicinity. The soldier's mission would be to engage the forty-eighth battalion and destroy the village of My Lai. The attack was to begin at seven-thirty in the morning. Military leaders believed the women and children would be out of the village heading for the local market by this time, leaving only the Viet Cong. The soldiers were ordered to explode brick homes, set fires to thatch homes, shoot livestock, poison wells, and destroy the enemy.

Only three days later, a sister battalion engaged in a similar battle only two and a half miles away at Landing Zone Albany. After the battle at LZ X-Ray, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Calvary was ordered to retreat to LZ Albany while B-52's dropped 200 tons of bombs on the Chu Pong Mountain above LZ X-Ray. Before they reached their destination, however, the troops captured two North Vietnamese soldiers. But while the American soldiers interrogated the prisoners, the North Vietnamese launched a surprise attack against U.S companies. Artillery and air support prevented a mass slaughter at Albany. Nonetheless, by the time the battle ended on November 19th,

The United States Army Special Forces (U.S. SF) conducted a joint operation with the United States Air Force (U.S. Air Force), with support from the United States Navy (U.S. Navy), to rescue American Prisoners of War (PoWs) in Son Tay Prison in Northern Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The actual date of the operation took place on November 20, 1970 but the actual mission planning process occurred between May and August of the same year. The United States identified approximately 500 American Prisoners of War that the North Vietnamese Army (N.V. Army) held in captivity. More so, several intelligence reports indicated the N.V. Army tortured prisoners and kept them in terrible conditions. As a result, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Earle G. Wheeler authorized the creation of a working group to address the issue and develop appropriate solutions. Essentially, the