Table of Contents
What did the My Lai massacre symbolize to Americans?
The mass murder of civilians at the hands of US troops in a South Vietnamese village in 1968 made My Lai a byword for American war atrocities and forced the US to look inward. The US Army covered up the killings and painted the event as a victory.
Why was the My Lai massacre cover up?
After the Tet Offensive in early 1968, a majority of the American public came to view the war as a mistake, and the subsequent cover up of My Lai served to deepen people’s despair that the war could ever be won.
How long did William Calley serve?
Calley served three years of house arrest for the murders….
| William Calley | |
|---|---|
| Years of service | 1967–1971 |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal) |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War • Mỹ Lai massacre |
How did people react to My Lai?
The nation’s reaction to My Lai mirrored its attitudes toward a war that by November 1969 had become markedly unpopular. The press properly expressed horror at the revelations, but it also treated My Lai ethnocentrically as an American story. Some blamed the war itself rather than the men of Charlie Company.
What happened at My Lai in 1968?
My Lai Massacre, also called Pinkville Massacre, mass killing of as many as 500 unarmed villagers by U.S. soldiers in the hamlet of My Lai on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.
What happened at the Battle of Hue in Vietnam?
A grieving widow crying over plastic bag containing remains of husband, who was killed in February 1968, found in a mass grave near Hue. Credit… The Battle for Hue, part of the Tet offensive, started with an assault by communist forces in the wee hours of Jan. 30, 1968.
What happened at the Battle of my Lai?
On March 16, 1968, less than a month after the events in Hue, American soldiers entered the hamlet of My Lai and killed between 300 and 400 of its inhabitants, including children, old men and women.
Is the Hue Massacre still relevant?
Unlike the My Lai massacre, which is mentioned in most general books about the war and is analyzed in dozens of specialized books published from the 1970s to the present, the events in Hue have not received any serious study and have largely, if not completely, faded from American memory and scholarship.
How did the Tet Offensive change the course of the war?
However, within the Tet Offensive there was one battle that was the most stressful and tactically challenging in all of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Hue. As the Tet Offensive would change the course of the war, the horrific and stressful Battle of Hue would be the turning point in America’s involvement in Vietnam.