My Lai Massacre Research Paper

"This is what you've been waiting for -- search and destroy -- and you've got it.” This quote, spoken by one of the superior United States officer, is what started the My Lai Massacre. The My Lai Massacre was a time of terrible violent outbreak in the Vietnam War in 1968. It was a time of great pain, and showed the United States a lot about the soldiers. Nothing would ever be the same after the My Lai Massacre. On March 16 of 1968, a group of soldiers charged the My Lai Hamlet believing it to be a sight of the Viet Cong. These soldiers were part of a group called the Charlie Company and some believe that they attacked due to amount of soldiers lost in that area in previous weeks. Lieutenant William Calley ordered his men to start firing, even though there had been no visible threat (Vietnam Online). This attack killed most of the South Vietnamese population- including 500 unarmed women, children, and elderly. …show more content…
They were able to cover it up for an entire year, until it was discovered in November 1969. A journalist by the name of Seymour Hersh was interviewing a vietnam war veteran, Ron Ridenhour, when the information was leaked. Ridenhour was not part of the group that attacked My Lai, but he was friends with some of the men, and heard their stories. After he spoke with Hersh, he went to Congress to have them investigate further. After many efforts to investigate, a trial was called. The Lieutenant claimed that he was ordered by his boss to open fire, but there was only enough evidence to convict Calley (Vietnam Online). In March of 1971, Lieutenant William Calley was charged with murder. He was assigned a life sentence, but was able to get out on parole in 1974 (My Lai Massacre). Many people believed that William Calley was “as much a victim of people he shot,” while others believe that he disregarded the welfare of the people, and that it was unfair to blame just one man