My Lai Essay

Introduction to My Lai The 7th of August 1964 saw the start of the Vietnam War where fatalities escalated as war arose. This once civil war since 1954 became an international Cold War as the US conducted military operations to the now, politically unstable Southeast Asia overrun by the Viet Cong. This turn in the civil war, saw one of the world’s most infamous events, The My Lai Massacre take place. December 1967, the 23rd Infantry Division’s fist battalion’s C Company, also known as Charlie Company

red ordered ended up killing Private Santiago. The case against Dawson and Downey was sitting on the fact that the two soldiers simply followed an order. This is not unlike the My Lai massacre described in the article, “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience” by Herbert C. Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton. The My Lai massacre was a deadly attack on what was supposed to be the Vietcong, but turned out to be only villagers. The article talks about blind obedience done through the steps of authorization

In 1964, U.S involvement in Vietnam strengthened subsequent to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Charlie Company is a unit from the United States Marine Corp, consisting of 3 platoons that Captain Ernest Medina, nicknamed “Mad Dog,” led. Before the My Lai Massacre, Charlie Company landed in Vietnam in December 1967. On March 14th 1968, Charlie Company ran through a trap during a field patrol, killing a popular sergeant named George Fox and injuring several GI. Captain Ernest Medina prepared a speech

American soldiers arrived in My Lai on March 16, 1968. These soldiers were members of the Charlie Company, which was a division within the army. The Charlie Company had been in Vietnam a few months before they were called to My Lai. Americans were fighting against North Vietnam alongside South Vietnam. “They (Charlie Company) were on a search and destroy mission to root out 48th Viet Cong Battalion thought to be in the area” (A&E Networks). The Charlie Company encountered numerous amount of

basics such as how to tell the Vietcong from non-combatants, instruction in basic patrol techniques, how to call in fire support and how to handle prisoners. Charlie Company had gotten information saying that the Vietcong, 48th Battalion would be in My Lai recovering from battle and gaining a surplus of troops, and as the men in Charlie Company had not met their enemy head on they were ready for an all-out battle to avenge their fallen friends and comrades. The mission was to eliminate all Vietcong

to work. Events during the war, such as the My Lai Massacre, made the American public question the motives of the government and eventually led to hundreds of anti-war groups and protests to arise. In 1988, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducted several tests on Vietnam veterans to fully

the Cold War developed into great animosity spurring from the clashing beliefs of Democracy and Communism. 20 years later, U.S. intervention combats Communism’s spread in The Vietnam War. Although the U.S. thought it was necessary to intervene the My Lai Massacre along with other horrific incidents of violence, Communism’s spread and the major disapproval of the war effort characterized the Vietnam War as a failed attempt by the United States to avert unification by Communist nationalist forces in

Then there was trust that the Americans lost from their government because they kept certain incidents hidden, which happened in a town called My Lai. Then there was The Great Society were programs that had a goal to eliminate poverty and racial injustice and money for those programs were being taken to give to the war. The draft, distrust because of My Lai and taking away money from the Great Society programs all made a negative impact on Americans and the way the Americans continued with their daily

loved to escape the war. He possibly thought about her too much which is why he took the blame. But in all reality, Lavender was shot while using the bathroom and that’s that. The only blame for that would be the war itself. In the video 60 Minutes: “My Lai Massacre”, a report on a very brutal attack on a Vietnamese village by U.S Soldiers, Hugh Thomson is a hero for saving many Vietnamese civilians from an awful fate. More than 150 women and children were marched

was surrendered, marking the end of the war (Winthrop, 861-865). As the soldiers returned home they had to adapt from a war in which over one million people were killed. There were no banners or celebrations, and as the news of events such as the My Lai Massacre spread, they were seen as ruthless killers. When these soldiers risked their lives every minute for a reason they were not told and seemingly was purposeless, and then returned to a