The Moment When Humanity Died in Vietnam: My Lai Massacre

The My Lai Massacre, which took place during the Vietnam War, has been cited for years as evidence of how humanity went out of control and how badly things got worse in the name of the war and the dehumanization.

Why Did the My Lai Massacre Happen?

In the early morning hours of March 16, 1968, U.S. Army soldiers entered the hamlet Vietnamese village of My Lai 4 on a search-and-destroy mission in an area controlled by Viet Cong forces called "Pinkville." American soldiers did not encounter any enemy soldiers. Despite this, they set fire to the huts in the hamlet one by one. They committed the crime of gang rape of the girls and women living there. They massacred approximately 500 unarmed civilians on the spot, including 50 children under the age of four.

My Lai village was located in Quang Ngai province, believed to be a stronghold of the communist National Liberation Front (NLF), or Viet Cong (VC), during the Vietnam War. For this reason, Quang Ngai province was frequently targeted and bombed by jets and bombers by the US Army and the South Vietnamese Army, and the entire region was heavily poisoned using the deadly herbicide Agent Orange. They wanted to wipe the region off the map and destroy it.

An order given by the Charlie Company Commander is shown as the starting point of this massacre that took place on March 16, 1968. The commander ordered his company's soldiers that everyone in this area was Viet Cong or active Viet Cong sympathizers, so they should destroy the village. So why and how could this order be given?

Let's examine a little how this order was given: Charlie Company was a company that had served in that region from time to time before the incident. It was a company that suffered loss of soldiers due to mines and booby traps. In addition, this company lost about 28 soldiers in attacks and ambushes involving Viet Cong snipers, and about 100 soldiers were injured for this reason. It was even rumored that a soldier was skinned alive by one of the Viet Cong soldiers. Therefore, the soldiers in Charlie Company were burning with revenge against the Viet Cong. However, tactically, Viet Cong soldiers in the field persistently avoided direct contact with US soldiers. After the debacle of the Tet Offensive, which the Viet Cong carried out over a wide area, the Viet Cong returned to guerrilla tactics and continued to fight, avoiding direct confrontation with the US forces.

By January 1968, Charlie Company was one of three U.S. Army companies assigned to destroy the 48th Battalion, a particularly effective Viet Cong unit operating in Quang Ngai province. Throughout February and early March, Charlie Company had suffered many casualties due to mines and booby traps. Despite this, it was not possible to capture the 48th Battalion and confront them.

Army intelligence units reported that the 48th Battalion had taken refuge in the My Lai area (in fact, this Viet Cong unit was known to have taken up residence in the western Quang Ngai mountains, some 40 miles from Charlie Company's location). At a mission briefing on March 15, Capt. Ernest Medina, commander of Charlie Company, told his men that the opportunity was finally before them to engage the enemy that had eluded them for more than a month. He said this, supposedly believing that the Viet Cong civilians had already left the area to go to the city of Quang Ngai and that there were no civilians in the area except the 48th Battalion. Therefore, he instructed his soldiers that if some civilians continued to stay in the My Lai area, they should know that they would be treated as Viet Cong fighters or sympathizers, and that everyone would be targeted, without distinguishing between civilians and soldiers. Under these rules of engagement, soldiers were free to fire on anyone or anything. Furthermore, Charlie Company soldiers were ordered to destroy crops and buildings and kill livestock.

At photo; South Vietnamese babies, children, girls and women brutally murdered by US soldiers in the My Lai Massacre.

How Did the My Lai Massacre Happen?

Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on March 16, 1968, the village of Son My was pounded by intense artillery fire from US artillery. The purpose of these artillery fire was to clear the landing area required for general purpose helicopters carrying Charlie Company soldiers. On the other hand, the main result of the artillery fire was to prevent the escape of civilians who were trying to leave the area at that time. The only reason to prevent civilians from leaving the area was to use civilians as shields.

Minutes later, Charlie Company's 1st Platoon, under the command of a lieutenant; They were dropped by helicopters at an area near the west of the hamlet, known locally as Xom Lang but commonly marked as My Lai on U.S. military maps.

At 7.50am the remainder of Charlie Company also landed in the area and Lieutenant William Calley led the 1st Platoon east along My Lai. Although they encountered no resistance, American soldiers indiscriminately massacred the civilians they encountered. Over the next hour, groups of women, children and elderly men gathered in one area. They shot and killed them one by one from close range. Meanwhile, some American soldiers did not hesitate to rape many girls and women waiting to die. Charlie Company's 2nd Platoon also moved north from the drop zone, and they took pleasure in killing dozens of people in their path. The company's 3rd Platoon came from behind and took over the task of clearing the area. They destroyed the uninhabited buildings of the hamlet and slaughtered those who were hiding in the buildings as soon as they found them. Unable to slow down, at 9:00 in the morning, Calley ordered the execution of approximately 150 Vietnamese civilians who were driven into an irrigation canal, and that no one should be left behind. Now the Charlie Company soldiers were no longer human. They listened to their commanders and hunted Vietnamese civilians like partridges. When the hunt was over, not a single Vietnamese civilian was left living in My Lai.

Rescue Pilot Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr.

While the massacre was taking place on the ground in My Lai, helicopter pilot Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. and his two-man team were among those who witnessed the massacre firsthand. On March 16, 1968, Thompson Hiller was flying an OH-23 Raven reconnaissance helicopter, as he had done on other days in Vietnam. He was assigned to B company, known as the “Warlords”. This company was serving under the 23rd Infantry Division. His helicopter was tasked with transporting soldiers on a mission to clear a suspected Viet Cong presence in a series of villages in Quang Ngai Province.

While the massacre was taking place, Hugh Thompson was flying his Hiller OH-23 Raven model reconnaissance helicopter at low altitude over My Lai. With its small size and crew of three (pilot, crew chief and door gunner), the OH-23 Raven could move quickly and easily fly a profile close to the ground. While navigating the region with low maneuvers, he could detect enemy movements and easily stay away from conflict zones whenever he wanted. With this feature, this agile helicopter did a very good job in Vietnam. This was just one of the missions Thompson had carried out since his arrival in Vietnam around Christmas 1967. He went on dozens of such missions.

That morning, Thompson took off in his OH-23 Raven and made his first flight over the village, which the U.S. Army marked “My Lai 4.” This was where, unbeknownst to him, the worst atrocities would be committed. During his flight, Thompson determined that there was no enemy fire on him from the ground and that the Viet Cong presence in the region was almost non-existent.

Shortly thereafter he spotted two Viet Cong guerrillas a short distance outside the village. With the support of his helicopter and his accompanying helicopter, two UH-1D Huey combat helicopters, he made a show of force and persuaded 2 Viet Cong to surrender. The two men were then taken prisoner and flown by helicopter to a forward station for interrogation and processing. While picking up the two surrendered men, he noted on his map the location of two other wounded Viet Cong men nearby. Wounded Viet Cong men were not dangerous because they could not move or fight. He notified other soldiers by marking their location with a green smoke signal. Also, according to signaling language, a green smoke signal also meant that the men needed help.

At photo; Hiller OH-23 Raven helicopter seen with Pilot, Crew Chief and Door Gunner.

After returning to My Lai 4 while continuing his reconnaissance flight over the area, he realized that the two Viet Cong he had previously marked were now dead. At first he thought it was strange, but then he started exploring around the village. He saw an injured woman in a rice field about 200 meters south of My Lai 4. He thought this was an unintentional civilian casualty resulting from American troops fighting the Viet Cong in the area, so he fired another green smoke signal and started to ride away in his helicopter.

While continuing his reconnaissance flight, he saw an American officer approaching the woman near the place where he had just released green smoke, and he began to watch her from the air. He later identified this officer in his statement as Captain Ernest Medina, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. As Thompson maintained his low-lying position, he saw Captain Medina nudge the woman with his boot to confirm she was alive. He was then shocked to see Captain Medina lean forward and shoot him. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Thompson then came upon a nearby irrigation ditch. When he looked down, he saw that the ditch was filled with the bodies of many civilians. At that moment, he realized that what he saw in the rice field was a massacre taking place on a large scale throughout the village. He couldn't understand why this was done. However, his conscience began to dictate that he could not remain a spectator to this incident. He had to report this massacre. For this, he needed to have a witness to support the official report he would submit at the end of the mission.

For this reason, he wanted to warn and inform Dan Millians and Brian Livingstone, the pilots of the two UH-1 Huey helicopters making an escort flight from above.

He radios the pilots of the other two helicopters guarding him for the record: “It seems to me that there are a lot of murders going on down there. Wrong things are happening here. There are corpses everywhere. There is a ditch full of corpses that we see. "There is something wrong here," he warned over the radio.

Personal Decision to Take Action

Suddenly he noticed movement among the corpses in the ditch. He found that some of the civilians he thought were dead were still alive. However, since the soldiers of the company that carried out the massacre were close to the ditch, they found it necessary to land the OH-23 Raven helicopter on a flat land nearby. He abandoned his helicopter and took action to land in the ditch. The landing helicopter attracted some attention and an army sergeant named David Mitchell approached. Thompson asked him how they could help the injured. He was shocked when Mitchell suggested relieving them of their suffering instead. Leaving the sergeant behind, Thompson realized that he was in a position to ensure that the sergeant failed to achieve his goal.

However, just then, the platoon leader (1st Platoon, C Company) First Lieutenant William Calley approached the area. As Thompson later reported, the following conversation took place between them:

Pilot Thompson: "What's going on here, Lieutenant?"

Troop Commander Calley: “This is my job.”

Thompson: “What is this? Who are these people?"

Calley: “I'm just following orders.”

Thompson: “Orders? Whose orders?

Calley: “Just following…”

Thompson: "But these are people, unarmed civilians..."

Calley: “Look Thompson, this is my show. I'm in charge of this place. This is none of your business."

Thompson (sarcastically): “Yeah, great job!”

Calley (threatening): "You'd better get back in the helicopter and mind your own business."

Thompson: "You haven't heard the end of this!"

Thompson realized that Lieutenant Calley was his senior officer and had made a serious, personal threat not to intervene. Thereupon, he returned to his helicopter without making any more noise. Enraged by what was happening and not feeling strong enough to stop the incident immediately, Thompson took off in his helicopter and hit the road. While flying in the area, Specialist Glenn Andreotta, the crew chief aboard the OH-23 Raven, reported to Thompson that he saw Lieutenant Calley kill several wounded still alive in the ditch. Thompson's door gunner, Specialist Lawrence Colburn, said similar things.

Saving Lives by Standing Against Atrocity

While cruising in his helicopter, Thompson spotted a group of 10 Vietnamese women and children who later fled My Lai. They were running to escape from the brutality and hide in a small ditch where they believed they could protect themselves. A U.S. Army infantry team followed behind them on foot, clearly intent on increasing the number of civilian casualties. Thinking the world had gone crazy, Thompson quickly landed his helicopter near the ditch. He turned to his two crewmen and, realizing the risk he was taking in trying to intervene, gave the following order: “I'm going there now. You two protect me now! If these raving soldiers open fire to kill me or these people, do not stop, respond and open fire on them. Promise me that you will do this!" he said. They also nodded yes.

Thereupon, Thompson then got off his helicopter and took action as the soldiers were running towards the civilians, hoping to intervene and save their lives. Demanding that Thompson step aside, he was challenged by 2nd Platoon leader First Lieutenant Stephen Brooks. But even though Lieutenant Brooks was his senior officer, Thompson remained where he was. He would later state in his statement that the conversation between them took place as follows:

Thompson: “Hey listen, stop firing. I will try to get these people out of this place of refuge. Now keep your men away from here.”

Brooks: "Yes, we can help you get them out of that ditch. With a grenade!"

Thompson: “Keep your men out of here. I think I can do better than this."

Lieutenant Brooks somehow backed down. At Thompson's request, he withdrew his team and they continued on their way without threatening those civilians. Thompson then called two support helicopters (UH-1 Huey) to the area by radio to evacuate the Viet Cong civilians, who took shelter in him, from the trench where they took cover. A helicopter had to make two trips for this evacuation. Because the second helicopter waiting in the air was kept in the air for fire support in case of any real conflict. Thompson remained with the civilians until everyone was transported to safety, despite the possibility that other American troops on the ground who might threaten him might arrive in the area and harm the civilians and himself. The civilians rescued by Thompson were taken to a nearby American artillery base.

Reporting and Ending the Massacre

After the evacuation of civilians was completed, Thompson returned to his helicopter. He realized he was low on fuel and took off. Still, he landed his helicopter to transport an injured 4-year-old child for medical care. He returned to his base with the child.

Once there, instead of refueling and returning to My Lai 4 as per his orders, he reported the massacre to his superiors. He absolutely begged them to intervene. He gave the details because he witnessed the events personally. Thompson's verbal report had a shocking effect on the senior officers present. Thompson's impassioned report was delivered to Lt. Col. Frank Barker, the overall commander of the operation on the ground.

Lieutenant Colonel Barker radioed Captain Medina at My Lai 4 and requested an urgent report on what was happening. When Captain Medina received the radio call, he felt that this brutal massacre, which he had initiated on his own orders, had to end. He responded to his commander informing him that he would investigate the situation. He then turned off the transmitter, turned to his men and ordered, "Stop the killing now."

Conviction Decisions After the Massacre

As a result of his report, Thompson was called to describe what he saw to the senior commanders who oversaw all of the 20th Infantry's operations in Vietnam. Thompson found himself in front of Col. Oran Henderson, commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade. Colonel Henderson was a Commander with oversight responsibility over Lieutenant Colonel Barker. Thompson confidently delivered a detailed, comprehensive and uncompromising report without hesitation.

Hearing the details of what had happened, Colonel Henderson ordered Lieutenant Colonel Barker to cancel the task force's follow-up missions to other surrounding villages in Quang Ngai Province. The Colonel's order that day would probably save the lives of hundreds more civilians.

Because Captain Medina and the others "interpreted" the orders they received in their own way, it seemed likely that similar massacres would be repeated many times in the coming days. According to later assessments, Captain Medina's understanding was that he wanted the American military to kill all civilian populations in the area who were seen as part of Viet Cong operations. He argued that this was why he acted this way.

Despite the extraordinary disturbing nature of the atrocities, it took the U.S. Army more than a year and a half to launch the investigation. Curiously, despite overwhelming evidence, the Army wanted to confine itself to prosecuting only a handful of those responsible for the so-called My Lai Massacre. Captain Medina was, in a sense, 'protected'. His orders were ignored. The focus was solely on Lieutenant Calley. Calley was ultimately convicted for the atrocities committed that day. But even this conviction was not as severe as it should have been. Lieutenant Calley's sentence was reduced because he "obeyed orders." Already some evidence has been deemed "corrupted" by Congressional depositions taken under the promise of immunity.

Although the claim that the evidence is "corrupted", especially in World War II. Although it would not withstand serious legal scrutiny in light of the precedents established during the trials of Nazi and Japanese war criminals after World War II, the U.S. Army decided not to pursue the investigation any further. The politically charged nature of the Vietnam War and the intra-U.S., Given the intensity of the ongoing protests in the United States, the My Lai Massacre has come to be seen as a polarizing, political event. For this reason, since questioning the massacre would mean questioning the United States in Vietnam, it was deemed better to ignore it.

In the photo is Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. (April 15, 1943 - January 6, 2006) Seen in his U.S. Army military uniform.

Thompson had completed most of his remaining tour in Vietnam. During this time, he was sent home because his spine was broken due to a helicopter accident. The helicopter crash was the result of a conflict. During his duty in Vietnam, he was shot from under his helicopter a total of five times. He managed to survive every time. Each time he volunteered to return to duty and was willing to serve at the front. He continued to do difficult tasks. However, when his back was broken, it did not seem possible for him to continue.

Despite the extraordinary flights he made with his helicopter under fire in Vietnam and the courage he showed during missions, Thompson's stance in My Lai and his courage to show off civilians were the most important thing for him. He would comment in later years: “These poor people were looking to me for help, and there was no way for me to turn my back on them at that moment.”

In 1998, Hugh Thompson was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest military award within the scope of non-combat operations, as a symbol of the lives he saved. At the medal ceremony, Maj. Gen. Michael Ackerman told him: "What guided Thompson and his entourage to do what they did was the ability to do the right thing, even at the risk of their personal safety." Major General Ackerman also stated that Thompson and his team "set the standards that all soldiers must meet."

Conclusion

Today's U.S. Army doctrines, perhaps citing Thompson's actions that day, do not fail to emphasize the standards of moral conduct that American soldiers must follow, even in combat and in domestic training.

On the other hand, despite the regulations, rules and guidelines, some American soldiers unfortunately continued to commit similar war crimes in other wars they participated in after the Vietnam War. I believe that many conscientious soldiers who think like Thompson are needed to stop these unscrupulous people.