My Lai Essay

accumulating pain on a complaining victim. In the article “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” authors Herbert C. Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton contend that orders conduct crimes of obedience. In My Lai, Charlie Company were ordered to obliterate the village because the Viet Cong was supposed to be there; however the village was filled with unarmed civilians. Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. was the only person charged with the murders of the My Lai crimes because he violated Military Code; however the

Matthew Lippman provides that the Lai Massacre violated the international humanitarian law of war. The Lai Massacre and the Vietnam War raises critical questions about how America conduct war and its military leadership in Vietnam. The massacre of innocent unarmed civilians illustrates the horrendous war crime committed by American soldiers. Lippman discusses how the United States tried to keep the events of My Lai Massacre from the public. The My Lai Massacre makes me wonder if this was only one

Dielle Ghislaine Ochotorena American Studies 1/2 Destructiveness of Obedience Alot of people like to believe that the world is generally all good or all evil; however, in reality they are the yin and yang of the human condition, and they are the labels we put on things that either appeal to us or don’t. The biblical story of Lucifer, who before he was banished from Heaven, was God’s favorite angel. Lucifer in the story, defied God which was the ultimate disobedience to authority in everyone’s

The Vietnam War, is widely regarded as a conflict that divided public opinion in the United States and influenced civilian perceptions on international relations. The conflict lasted for over twenty years and began after a policy of communism was introduced in the North after the withdrawal of French imperialists. The American government was highly concerned with the spread of communism in Asia (known as the Domino Theory) and wanted to end the possible political threat. Over time, the war has

women, and elderly citizens in the village of My Lai were raped, killed, and had their homes and livelihoods destroyed by Charlie Company because of the orders given by one man. Lieutenant William Laws Calley Junior. Calley grew up in a very conservative town where he eventually enlisted in the Army after several unsuccessful endeavors. Later he went through OCS and became a Platoon Leader for Charlie Company. His military career leading up to My Lai was relatively lackluster; he did not have the

The Vietnam War is a tough pill to swallow, whether you were part of it, heard stories of it or only learned about it by watching ' 'Forrest Gump ' ', it is an alienating subject to most of the people on this earth. And while most of us, hopefully, will never find out what war feels like, smells like or how it is to get out of it, Tim O 'Brian 's account makes it relateable to us how dreadful it is how it is to be in a war zone. O 'Brian frequently uses repetition in his story. He frequently mentions

scene “we see unfolding before us is My Lai…in the making…a context that closely mirrored the Vietnam experience of many American GIs (Davidson & Lytle p443).” In reality this event was marked as the “My Lai massacre” in which many women and innocent infants were killed by the US army soldiers of “Charlie Company”. Although, the scene is altered and does not show what exactly happened at My Lai, its Stones version and point of view of how the event at My Lai happened. It should not be discredited

four could represent. It could be the number of planes that took off from an airport today, or the amount of days until a soldier comes home to his family, if he ever does. In particular, this number represents a group of people killed during the My Lai Massacre on March 16th, 1968. This very sad day occurring during the Vietnam War. This war was a brutal execution of an entire village by the American Charlie Company 11th Brigade (Cornwell). Was it ethical for these soldiers to listen to the commanding

explain why Dawson and Downey executed the “Code Red”? This is precisely similar to the argument Kelman and Hamilton present in their article “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience”. According to these authors, “American military law assumes that the subordinate is inclined to follow orders…” (Kelman, Hamilton 270). The soldiers in My Lai, although possibly interpreting the orders differently than intended, ultimately did what their commanding officer ordered. The Marines in the film

conquer the Vietnamese people. Nevertheless, the American people felt increasingly dissatisfied with the Vietnam War and the progress that was being made, or the lack thereof. Events like the Tet Offensive, Walter Cronkite’s message to the people, the My Lai Massacre, and the Kent State Shooting all contributed to this feeling of discontentment rising in the American people. Because the war was at such a stalemate, the Vietcong (Vietnamese soldiers based in North Vietnam) decided to attack U.S. troops