1968: The My Lai Massacre

On November 16, 1969, the 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre of between 347 and 504 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by US soldiers was first reported. From the article:

"1968: The My Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968, one of the most shocking episodes of the Vietnam War took place in what became known as the Mỹ Lai Massacre. American soldiers massacred between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians in South Vietnam. The unarmed victims were massacred by U.S. Army soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division. The victims included men, women, children, and infants. Other atrocities were committed on some of the victims including raped and mutilation of the bodies of the deceased. The incident would not come to public attention until over a year later, and it generated global outrage when it became public.

Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division, arrived in South Vietnam four months earlier in December 1967. Their first three months in Vietnam passed without any direct contact with North Vietnamese-backed forces, but by mid-March the company had suffered 28 casualties involving mines or booby-traps. During the Tet Offensive in January of 1968, attacks were carried out in Quảng Ngãi by the 48th Local Force Battalion of the National Liberation Front (the Viet Cong). U.S. military intelligence formed the opinion that the 48th NLF Battalion was taking refuge in the village of Sơn Mỹ, in Quảng Ngãi Province. The belief was that the Viet Cong were being hidden in a number of specific hamlets within that village designated as Mỹ Lai 1 through My Lai 6.

In March 1968, the U.S. Military Assistance Command began a search-and-destroy operation against the 48th NLF Battalion. Task Force Barker, a battalion-sized unit of 11th Brigade, was assigned to the job. Charlie Company from the 20th Infantry was led by Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Barker. The men of Charlie Company had suffered 28 casualties since their arrival. Just two days before the massacre the company had lost a popular sergeant to a land mine.

Task Force Barker planned to seek out and destroy those from the 48th NLF Battalion believed to be hiding in the Sơn Mỹ village area. Colonel Oran K. Henderson, the 11th Brigade commander, told his officers to "go in there aggressively, close with the enemy and wipe them out for good". Lt. Col. Barker ordered the 1st Battalion commanders to burn the houses, kill the livestock, destroy food supplies, and destroy the wells. On the night before the attack, Captain Ernest Medina told his men that nearly all the civilian residents of the hamlets in Sơn Mỹ village would have left for the market by 07:00 and any who remained would be NLF or NLF sympathizers. Some platoon leaders testified that they were ordered to kill all guerrilla and North Vietnamese combatants and "suspects", including women and children. They were also ordered to burn the village and pollute the wells.

On the Saturday March 16 at 07:30 a.m., around 100 soldiers from Charlie Company led by CPT Ernest Medina, landed in helicopters at Sơn Mỹ. They were not fired upon after landing, but they believed there were Vietcong guerrillas hiding underground or in the huts. 1st Platoon led by Second Lieutenant William Calley and 2nd Platoon led by Second Lieutenant Stephen Brooks entered the hamlet of Tu Cung at 08:00, while the 3rd Platoon commanded by Second Lieutenant Jeffrey U. Lacross remained outside. On approach, both platoons fired at people they saw in the rice fields and they began to be killed. Fifteen or twenty people, mainly women and children, were kneeling around a temple with burning incense. They were all killed by being shot in the head.

A large group of approximately 70–80 villagers was rounded up by 1st Platoon in Xom Lang, and then led to an irrigation ditch to the east of the settlement. All detainees were pushed into the ditch and then killed on the order of Lieutenant Calley, who was also shooting. Women were murdered as they were trying to shield their children. Some of the women held their babies in their hands. Calley reportedly shot children who tried to escape the massacre. Livestock were shot as well. When a helicopter landed nearby, a pilot asked Calley if he could provide any medical assistance to the wounded civilians in Mỹ Lai. Calley testified that he told the pilot that a hand grenade was the only available means that he had for their evacuation. At around 11:00, Captain Medina radioed to cease fire.

Charlie Company did not met any enemy opposition at Mỹ Lai. Over the next day, both companies were involved in additional burning and destruction of dwellings, as well as mistreatment of Vietnamese detainees. According to
William Thomas Allison, a professor of Military History at Georgia Southern University, "By mid-morning, members of Charlie Company had killed hundreds of civilians and raped or assaulted countless women and young girls. They encountered no enemy fire and found no weapons in My Lai itself".

Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr., a helicopter pilot, saw dead and wounded civilians as he was flying over the village of Sơn Mỹ. His crew made several attempts to radio for help for the wounded. Thompson asked Sergeant David Mitchell of the 1st Platoon if he could the wounded civilians. Mitchell replied that he could "help them out of their misery". As the helicopter took off, Thompson saw Mitchell firing into the ditch. He also witnessed an unarmed woman being kicked and shot at point-blank range by Captain Medina. Thompson landed and told his crew that if the soldiers shot at the Vietnamese while he was trying to get them out of the bunker that they were to open fire on these soldiers. Thompson reported what he had seen to his company commander, Major Frederic W. Watke.

After Thompson made his official report of the civilian killings, he was interviewed by Colonel Oran Henderson, the commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade. Senior American officers canceled similar planned operations by Task Force Barker against other villages in Quảng Ngãi Province. Despite Thompson's report, Colonel Henderson issued a Letter of Commendation to Captain Medina on March 27 1968.

The U.S. Army's chose not to undertake a definitive body count of noncombatants in Vietnam. The number of civilians killed at Mỹ Lai is estimated at between 347 and 504. The memorial at the site of the massacre lists 504 names, with ages ranging from one to 82. The official U.S. estimate is 347.

A March 16, 1968 official press briefing reported: "In an action today, Americal Division forces killed 128 enemy near Quang Ngai City. Helicopter gunships and artillery missions supported the ground elements throughout the day." In late April, Henderson issued a written report claiming that some 20 civilians were inadvertently killed during the operation.

Colin Powell, then a 31-year-old Army major serving as an assistant chief of staff of operations for the Americal Division, was charged with investigating a complaint from an enlisted man about the incident. In his report, Powell wrote, "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between Americal Division soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Powell's was later criticized for "whitewashing" the atrocities of Mỹ Lai.

Specialist 5 Ronald L. Ridenhour, a former door gunner from the Aviation Section, sent a letter in March 1969 to thirty members of Congress urging them to investigate the incident. Most recipients of Ridenhour's letter ignored it, but Congressman Mo Udall and Senators Barry Goldwater and Edward Brooke did not. Udall urged the House Armed Services Committee to conduct an investigation.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh broke the Mỹ Lai story on November 12, 1969, on the Associated Press wire service, after interviewing a number of soldiers including Lieutenant Calley. Time, Life and Newsweek all covered the story, and CBS televised an interview with Paul Meadlo, a soldier in Calley's unit during the massacre. The Cleveland Plain Dealer published explicit photographs of dead villagers killed at Mỹ Lai.

In November 1969, Lieutenant General William R. Peers was appointed by the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff to conduct a thorough review of the My Lai incident. Peers's final report was presented on March 17, 1970. The report was highly critical of top officers at brigade and divisional levels for participating in the cover-up, and the Charlie Company officers for their actions at Mỹ Lai. Peers's report read in part as follows:

"The 1st Battalion members had killed at least 175–200 Vietnamese men, women, and children. The evidence indicates that only 3 or 4 were confirmed as Viet Cong although there were undoubtedly several unarmed VC (men, women, and children) among them and many more active supporters and sympathizers. One man from the company was reported as wounded from the accidental discharge of his weapon. A tragedy of major proportions had occurred at Son My."

On November 17, 1970, a court-martial charged 14 officers, including Major General Samuel Koster, the Americal Division's commanding officer, with suppressing information related to the incident. Most of the charges were later dropped. Brigade commander Colonel Henderson was the only high ranking commanding officer who stood trial on charges relating to the cover-up of the Mỹ Lai massacre. He was acquitted on December 17, 1971. During the trial, Lieutenant Calley consistently claimed that he was following orders from his commanding officer, Captain Medina. Calley was convicted and sentenced to life in prison on March 29, 1971, after being found guilty of premeditated murder of not fewer than twenty people.

On March 31, 1971, President Richard Nixon made the controversial decision to have Calley released from armed custody at Fort Benning, Georgia, and put under house arrest pending appeal of his sentence. Calley's conviction was upheld by the Army Court of Military Review in 1973 and by the U.S. Court of Military Appeals in 1974. Calley's sentence was reduced by the Convening Authority from life to twenty years. Calley would eventually serve three and one-half years under house arrest at Fort Benning. In September 1974, he was paroled by the Secretary of the Army, Howard Callaway. Callaway told The New York Times that Calley's sentence was reduced because Calley honestly believed that what he did was a part of his orders.

In a separate trial, Captain Medina denied giving the orders that led to the massacre, and was acquitted of all charges. Several months after his acquittal, Medina admitted he had suppressed evidence and had lied to Colonel Henderson about the number of civilian deaths. Major General Koster was demoted to brigadier general and lost his position as the Superintendent of West Point. His deputy, Brigadier General Young, received a letter of censure. Both were stripped of Distinguished Service Medals which they had been awarded for service in Vietnam.

Of the 26 men initially charged, Lieutenant Calley was the only one convicted."