1. What is your reaction to this article? 2. Why did the different outcomes of the Vietnam War contribute to government distrust by American citizens? 3. Why would events like the My Lai Massacre contribute to a growing movement for pacifism?
1. What is your reaction to this article? 2. Why did the different outcomes of the Vietnam War contribute to government distrust by American citizens? 3. Why would events like the My Lai Massacre contribute to a growing movement for pacifism?
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1. What is your reaction to this article?
2. Why did the different outcomes of the Vietnam War contribute to government distrust by American citizens?
3. Why would events like the My Lai Massacre contribute to a growing movement for pacifism?
![The Vietnam War: A Case Study, My Lai Massacre
Context on the My Lai Massacre before you read this article: The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of
violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the
people women, children and old men-in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the
My Lai massacre. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a
firestorm of international outrage.
Read the Letter That Changed the Way Americans Saw the Vietnam War
BY LILY ROTHMAN MARCH 16, 2015 7:00 AM EDT
It was late April of 1968 when Ronald Ridenhour "first heard of the Village of My Lai and what had allegedly happened there."
Thus began the letter that he sent to several government officials, including President Richard Nixon, in March, 1969. What
followed was an account of the March 16, 1968, massacre at (the village of) My Lai. "Ridenhour did not witness the incident himself,
but he kept hearing about it from friends who were there...He was at first disbelieving, then deeply disturbed."
That letter would soon change the way American citizens thought and talked about the war in Vietnam. This is how Ridenhour
described what had happened at My Lai:
One village area was particularly troublesome and seemed to be infested with booby traps and enemy
soldiers...It was a notorious (well-known) area...One morning in the latter part of March, Task Force Barker
moved out from its firebase headed for [My Lai]. Its mission: destroy the trouble spot and all of its
inhabitants.
When "Butch" (my friend) told me this I didn't quite believe that what he was telling me was true, but he
assured me that it was and went on to describe what had happened. The other two companies that made up
the task force cordoned (sealed) off the village so that "Charlie" Company could move through to destroy
the structures and kill the inhabitants. Any villagers who ran from Charlie Company were stopped by the
(surrounding) companies. I asked "Butch" several times if all the people were killed. He said that he
thought they were men, women and children. He recalled seeing a small boy, about three or four years old,
standing by the trail with a gunshot wound in one arm. The boy was clutching his wounded arm with his
other hand, while blood trickled between his fingers. He was staring around himself in shock and
disbelief at what he saw. "He just stood there with big eyes staring around like he didn't understand; he
didn't believe what was happening. Then the captain's RTO (radio operator) put a burst of 16 (M-16 rifle)
fire into him." It was so bad, Gruver said, that one of the men in his squad shot himself in the foot in
order to be medivaced (sent out due to a medical emergency) out of the area so that he would not have to
participate in the slaughter. Although he had not seen it, Gruver had been told by people he considered
trustworthy that one of the company's officers, 2nd Lieutenant Calley had rounded up several groups of
villagers (each group consisting of a minimum of 20 persons of both sexes and all ages). According to the
story, Calley then machine-gunned each group. Gruver estimated that the population of the village had
been 300 to 400 people and that very few, if any, escaped.
After hearing this account I couldn't quite accept it. Somehow I just couldn't believe that not only had
so many young American men participated in such an act of barbarism, but that their officers had ordered
it.
...In the fall of 1969, one of the leaders of the platoon implicated in the massacre - Calley - was charged with murdering civilians;
other charges against other soldiers and officers followed...many of the soldiers there argued that they had just been following
orders...(At the time) polls found that many Americans either did not believe Ridenhour's account or thought that such killing was a
natural result of war.
Several trials did move forward, however. In 1971, Calley was found guilty. (Other trials for those present continued, but Calley was
the only one convicted.)](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F7c6a3dff-6729-485c-933e-bf615eefedb6%2F1d91d881-9231-4862-8de4-4f6f106e07ad%2Ff2m8gr_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:The Vietnam War: A Case Study, My Lai Massacre
Context on the My Lai Massacre before you read this article: The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of
violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the
people women, children and old men-in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the
My Lai massacre. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a
firestorm of international outrage.
Read the Letter That Changed the Way Americans Saw the Vietnam War
BY LILY ROTHMAN MARCH 16, 2015 7:00 AM EDT
It was late April of 1968 when Ronald Ridenhour "first heard of the Village of My Lai and what had allegedly happened there."
Thus began the letter that he sent to several government officials, including President Richard Nixon, in March, 1969. What
followed was an account of the March 16, 1968, massacre at (the village of) My Lai. "Ridenhour did not witness the incident himself,
but he kept hearing about it from friends who were there...He was at first disbelieving, then deeply disturbed."
That letter would soon change the way American citizens thought and talked about the war in Vietnam. This is how Ridenhour
described what had happened at My Lai:
One village area was particularly troublesome and seemed to be infested with booby traps and enemy
soldiers...It was a notorious (well-known) area...One morning in the latter part of March, Task Force Barker
moved out from its firebase headed for [My Lai]. Its mission: destroy the trouble spot and all of its
inhabitants.
When "Butch" (my friend) told me this I didn't quite believe that what he was telling me was true, but he
assured me that it was and went on to describe what had happened. The other two companies that made up
the task force cordoned (sealed) off the village so that "Charlie" Company could move through to destroy
the structures and kill the inhabitants. Any villagers who ran from Charlie Company were stopped by the
(surrounding) companies. I asked "Butch" several times if all the people were killed. He said that he
thought they were men, women and children. He recalled seeing a small boy, about three or four years old,
standing by the trail with a gunshot wound in one arm. The boy was clutching his wounded arm with his
other hand, while blood trickled between his fingers. He was staring around himself in shock and
disbelief at what he saw. "He just stood there with big eyes staring around like he didn't understand; he
didn't believe what was happening. Then the captain's RTO (radio operator) put a burst of 16 (M-16 rifle)
fire into him." It was so bad, Gruver said, that one of the men in his squad shot himself in the foot in
order to be medivaced (sent out due to a medical emergency) out of the area so that he would not have to
participate in the slaughter. Although he had not seen it, Gruver had been told by people he considered
trustworthy that one of the company's officers, 2nd Lieutenant Calley had rounded up several groups of
villagers (each group consisting of a minimum of 20 persons of both sexes and all ages). According to the
story, Calley then machine-gunned each group. Gruver estimated that the population of the village had
been 300 to 400 people and that very few, if any, escaped.
After hearing this account I couldn't quite accept it. Somehow I just couldn't believe that not only had
so many young American men participated in such an act of barbarism, but that their officers had ordered
it.
...In the fall of 1969, one of the leaders of the platoon implicated in the massacre - Calley - was charged with murdering civilians;
other charges against other soldiers and officers followed...many of the soldiers there argued that they had just been following
orders...(At the time) polls found that many Americans either did not believe Ridenhour's account or thought that such killing was a
natural result of war.
Several trials did move forward, however. In 1971, Calley was found guilty. (Other trials for those present continued, but Calley was
the only one convicted.)
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