"No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic" –Nixon. My Lai, a small village in Southern Vietnam, is the site of a mass killing of around 347 to 504 unarmed civilians. The victims included men, women, children, and infants. After the horrific events, the support for the war in Vietnam dropped significantly. On October 15, 1969, millions of Americans engaged in the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam. The massacre was a critical moment, and it initiated the end of the United States contributions in the war. The My Lai Massacre serves as a reminder of the United States involvement, the awful tragedies of war, and the global effect of the massacre.
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On March 16, 1968, the first platoon investigated My Lai, a small village in Southern Vietnam with around 700 residents (Stock 6). The village was searched for Viet Cong soldiers, until gunfire went off. The high tension in the village caused the soldiers to fire at will, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians. Rumors of the incident at My Lai spread through the army’s chain of command. Ronald Ridenhour, a former soldier with direct knowledge of the incident in My Lai, reported the information to government officials. William Laws Calley, the leader of the first platoon, was ordered out of Vietnam, and brought to Washington DC to discuss the indictments against him for his involvement in My Lai. The army’s plan was to keep the incident quiet, however, a young journalist, Seymour Hersh, investigated the full story of the My Lai massacre. On November 12, 1969, Hersh explained the story on AP Newswire and the story quickly spread throughout the
On March 16, 1968, the first platoon investigated My Lai, a small village in Southern Vietnam with around 700 residents (Stock 6). The village was searched for Viet Cong soldiers, until gunfire went off. The high tension in the village caused the soldiers to fire at will, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians. Rumors of the incident at My Lai spread through the army’s chain of command. Ronald Ridenhour, a former soldier with direct knowledge of the incident in My Lai, reported the information to government officials. William Laws Calley, the leader of the first platoon, was ordered out of Vietnam, and brought to Washington DC to discuss the indictments against him for his involvement in My Lai. The army’s plan was to keep the incident quiet, however, a young journalist, Seymour Hersh, investigated the full story of the My Lai massacre. On November 12, 1969, Hersh explained the story on AP Newswire and the story quickly spread throughout the