William Calley

The American soldiers were unaware they had done anything wrong at the time aside from a few, who objected to participating in the Massacre at all. It was not until after the slaughter of the people in My Lai that some of Charlie Company began to have doubts. At one point during the massacre, Lieutenant Calley had ordered the death of a group of Vietnamese another American soldier, Paul Meadlo, had been comforting. He had been told to “take care of them,” and a fellow soldier in Charlie Company reported Meadlo was “actually playing with the kids…and giving them candy.” When he was later told by Calley to kill them he was horrified, but carried out the order. It is testified by one soldier that Meadlo “started to cry.” (S.M Hersh 2015, para 10). This exchange was the catalyst of his parting words when Meadlo was airlifted out of My Lai after stepping on a land mine. He told Calley, “God will punish you for what you made me do!” (S.M Hersh 2015, para 5). The end of the massacre resulted in the commanders of Charlie Company censoring the amount of blood shed and ensuring the silence of those present. A helicopter pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving Vietnamese lives. This was true, but the context it was presented in was false: instead of documenting the event where he put…

On the morning of March 16, 1968 in a small village called My Lai in the Quang Nai province of Vietnam, small families of mothers, young children, and elderly were naively enjoying their breakfasts and chattering amongst themselves. Not long after, soldiers of the Charlie Company commanded by Lieutenant William Calley Jr. invaded the hamlet in a search and destroy mission (Robertson 465). American soldiers relentlessly and mercilessly attacked unarmed, unresisting Vietnamese families. The air…

were multilated with the signature “C company” carved into their chest. One soldier testified later, “I cut their throats, cut off their hands, cut out their tongues, scalped the. I did it. A lot of people were doing it and I just followed. I lost all sense of direction.” Hugh Thompson, a helicopter pilot, had come in order to rescue the Vietnamese women and children from the slaughter. At first the death of only 20-28 civillians was reported by C company’s commanding officer, Ernest Medina. In…

Do not talk back to your elders. Ask permission to use the restroom. Do the dishes. Take the dog out. Following orders is a task humans are taught in their adolescence. By disobeying such orders, coming from either our parents or from our principal, the consequences may vary between taking TV time away all the way to being suspended from school. These are orders to accomplish one thing precisely: obedience. In the film, A Few Good Men, Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson, and Pfc. Louden Downey, were…

The characterization and public appeal of the members involved determine the public reaction and allow for the government to make their decision. In the case of William Calley, he was described to be “undistinguished…college dropout…insecure” (Hamilton 132) and justified his frequent orders with “I’m the boss” (Hamilton 132). Calley’s portrayal as in an inefficient and impulsive leader of the company allowed for the justification of the cruelties at My Lai. While the direct orders for the search…

interpretation of what should be done (Nelson, class lecture, 2017). This was a common theme during the My Lai massacre. In the morning, when all troops landed at My Lai, they expected heavy gun fire and a hard-fought battle. Intel had said by 7 A.M. all women, children, and elderly would be at the market, leaving the village occupied by the Viet Cong. However, when they got there the women and children were just finishing up breakfast and beginning to work in the fields (Kelman & Hamilton,…

In Death of a Salesman by, Arthur Miller, Willy has a desire to be a good father to his son were his dad was not. Willy believes that if he can instill the correct values into Biff so he can be like himself or more successful. The problem Willy is confronted with is that he cares too much as if he is trying to emulate his life in Biffs. Compared to Willy Charley takes a position of hands off while still teaching Bernard to be a good student and by working hard because it will pay dividends later…

knowing what celebrities went through to get there. With that being said, what do you value most in life? Is it the little things that can be by the past or the important things? In life people tend to put so much value on the little things. For example, like William Carlos Williams hold his red wheelbarrow to so much standards. He feels as though so much depends upon it. When we focus on the little things, we tend to get side-tracked as William Carlos Williams shows in his “Red Wheel” poem and…

simple man was William Carlos Williams. He was born in America as a Puerto Rican-American who then with hard work and determination became a well-practiced doctor. He however is better known for his works of poetry that challenged the traditional way of writing poetry. In Williams’s book of poetry, The Wedge, is prefaced by an introduction that introduces his readers to his controversial ideas concerning poetry and what it should represent in today’s modern times. He wants his readers to break…

commentary. In terms of poetry, authors often switch between the two throughout their bodies of work. William Carlos Williams is an imagist poet whose personal poetic philosophy as expressed in various essays and interviews demonstrates a clear choice for using the poetic form to make social political commentary. In particular, Williams poem This is Just to Say is no exception to Williams’ method of using the poetic form for political…