My Lai Massacre :: essays papers

My LaiOn March 16, 1968, Charlie Company was sent into a menial VietCong village called (by the U.S.) My Lai 4. Their instructions bycommanding officers were ... kill every man, woman, babe and animalin the village. Burn all the homes .... postcode should be locomoteing, exploitation or crawling.Orders were followed, and as I read the first 65 pages of this make, I was exposed to the detailed death of 306 civilians, mostlywomen, small children, and experienced people. there was no threat to anyAmerican GIs ... there were no Viet Cong Solders in the area. I readof the rape of a 14 year old girl by twenty GIs ... in front of theparents. They were all cinch after the GIs were d sensation with theirbusiness. This was only one of many. Most of the murders wereconducted, BY fix up OF OFFICERS, to round-up the families from theirhomes, forced into ditches, and shot. Women dove to cover theirchildren. Later, children just old enough to walk crawled out fromunder their mutila ted mothers bodies, only to be shot as targetpractice by the GIs. It is later estimated that approximately 500civilians were murdered, and (probably) no VC were in the area.I could go into detail about the killing. However, most of the loudness was devoted to the time before the slaughter, and afterward. Theofficers and GIs of Charlie Company were introduced in the beginningof the book the officers had been social outcasts all their biography (LT.Calley & Medina). Both had decided to devote their life to themilitary. The GIs were selected for Charlie Company specificallybecause they had all scored too low on the sign exam to be put intoa regular battalions.After the massacre, nothing was done. As a matter of fact,Charlie Company was praised for having the most kills in one day.By late 1969, most of the GIs in Charlie Company were civilians again,and a hardly a(prenominal) began to tell what they had seen (and participated in). AGovernment Investigation was called against Lt. Calley (who ordered,and participated in the murders). Some of the photographs from themassacre were published. You wouldnt believe what the civilianresponse was The overwhelming public response was to drivel thecharges they thought that there was nothing wrong with the massacre,OR they didnt believe it rightfully happened. As a matter of fact, Lt.Calley had become a hero as an AMERICAN There was a hugely-supported