A Massacre by US Army (6of7) Four Hours In My Lai, Viet Nam

West Europeans have not yet stopped atrocites against Asians and rest of the world and they preach on Human Rights, give lectures on how to conduct humanitarian operations, while they continued massacres from Viet Nam to Iraq, possibly North Korea in the near future. Should the rest of the world forget the dark memories of Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan and let them continue atrocities against humanity or make them accountable and bring them to war tribunal? Confessions of murder, rape by former US Army reveals US aggressions on innocent civilians.

The My Lai Massacre, was the mass murder conducted by U.S. Army forces on March 16, 1968 of 347 to 504 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam, all of whom were civilians and some of whom were women, children, and elderly people.

Many of the victims were sexually abused, beaten, tortured, and some of the bodies were found mutilated. The massacre took place in the hamlets of Mỹ Lai and My Khe of Sơn Mỹ village during the Vietnam War. While 26 US soldiers were initially charged with criminal offenses for their actions at My Lai, only William Calley was convicted. He served three years of his life sentence.

When the incident became public knowledge in 1969, it prompted widespread outrage around the world. The massacre also reduced U.S. support at home for the Vietnam War. Three U.S. servicemen who made an effort to halt the massacre and protect the wounded were denounced by U.S. Congressmen, received hate mail, death threats and mutilated animals on their doorsteps. Only 30 years after the event were their efforts honored.

The massacre is also known as the Sơn Mỹ Massacre (Vietnamese: thảm sát Sơn Mỹ) or sometimes as the Song My Massacre. The U.S. military codeword for the hamlet was Pinkville

Background

Charlie Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (the Americal Division), arrived in South Vietnam in December 1967. Their first month in Vietnam passed without any direct enemy contact. Nevertheless, by mid-March the company had suffered 28 incidents involving mines or booby-traps which caused injuries and five deaths
During the Tet Offensive of January 1968, attacks were carried out in Quảng Ngãi by the 48th Battalion of the NLF (National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, commonly referred to by the Americans as the Viet Cong or Victor Charlie). U.S. military intelligence postulated that the 48th NLF Battalion, having retreated, was taking refuge in the village of Sơn Mỹ, in Quang Ngai Province. A number of specific hamlets within that village — designated My Lai 1, 2, 3, and 4 — were suspected of harboring the 48th.

U.S. forces planned a major offensive against those hamlets. Colonel Oran K. Henderson urged his officers to "go in there aggressively, close with the enemy and wipe them out for good."Lieutenant-Colonel Frank A. Barker ordered the 1st Battalion commanders to burn the houses, kill the livestock, destroy foodstuffs, and perhaps maybe to close the wells.

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[TheDrunkenCelt]

But seeing things from both sides would be smart

[grannman]

have you forgotten VC/NVA = Hue Massacre, Dak Son Massacre, 36,000+ assassinations, My Canh restaurant bombing etc.

and I'm not even American.