William Calley, the face of one of the worst war crimes in U.S. Army history, died earlier this year, though it was acknowledged only recently.
In 1968, Lt. Calley led a platoon of the 11th Infantry Brigade into Son My, an archipelago of South Vietnamese settlements, including the hamlet of My Lai. They were on a search-and-destroy mission to root out Viet Cong soldiers. They found none. Instead, over the next several hours, American soldiers torched homes, slaughtered livestock, gang-raped women and girls, and murdered between 350 and 504 defenseless civilians, including old men, women, children, and infants. Calley’s passing reminds Americans to remember this dark day.
Historical memory is a moral responsibility. With an event like the My Lai massacre, a part of this responsibility is the refusal to let the errors of our national past recede into oblivion. This includes not just the atrocity itself, but also the circus of cover-ups, denials, blame-shifting, lies, and unjust exonerations that characterized the initial American response. For his part, Calley was neither the most senior officer involved at My Lai nor was he the only soldier brought to trial. He was, however, the only one convicted. But after being sentenced to life in prison, he served only three days behind bars before President Richard Nixon ordered his release. He ultimately served only three years of house arrest. Taken together, the events before, during, and after My Lai signaled failures at every level of the military hierarchy, from the commander in chief to the lowliest private. Recognizing these failures led to the realization that U.S. troops needed better training in the rules of engagement and the legal implications of combat action. They also needed deeper formation in moral leadership and personal character.
But Calley’s story is not the only truth we must remember about My Lai.
Continue reading at WORLD here.
Comment by Tim Ware on August 13, 2024 at 9:31 pm
I do not agree that My Lai was one of the worst war crimes in American history. Those of an exponentially bigger magnitude include the firebombing of Dresden, the millions of Iraquis killed in two basically remote-controlled bombings of Iraq, those killed in Libya, Afghanistan, Bosnia, et. al., the untold numbers of Ukranians and Russians being killed in the proxy war, and the Palestinians being killed with American supplied and financed weaponry.
The list just goes on and on.
Comment by MikeB on August 13, 2024 at 9:49 pm
TimW
Here we go again, first the antisemitism, now you are blaming Russia invading Ukraine on America?
The Russian use of banned Chemical weapons, the execution of civilians the complete targeting of civilians…
That’s somehow an American caused problem but Dresden wasn’t a German caused problem?
Putin murdered people with radioactive poisons, sledgehammering etc…
What crazy side are supposed to be supporting, you make all these claims about you hating on America but then you go all in on racist murderous Russia?
Comment by Tim on August 13, 2024 at 11:02 pm
This is an excellent article, and I appreciate it making me aware of Hugh Thompson.
I think as Christians our finest hours or our worst failures are when we find ourselves on that Jericho Road and there’s a victim lying there and we have to decide what to do. Surely few in history have ever done so at so great a personal risk as Thompson and his men did here.
Comment by Dan W on August 14, 2024 at 6:35 am
I worked with a lot of Vietnam Veterans over the years. None of them fit the Hollywood stereotype. One of my favorite bosses served in Vietnam, he was drafted right out of high school. On a job interview after leaving the Army, he was asked if he had any experience. He told the interviewer “I’m a hell of an artilleryman.” He did not get the job, but enrolled in tech school on the G.I. Bill, right after this. He was a very good HVAC tech, and a great manager. May he rest in peace. May they all rest in peace.
BTW, I knew guys that dropped a lot of bombs on Europe during WW2. None ever regretted their service.
Comment by George on August 16, 2024 at 8:49 pm
Lt. Calley is the direct result of what happens when you scrape the bottom of the barrel for leadership. The rich man’s kid got out of the draft or at least found an easy two year resting place if he was drafted. Those with connections or having college deferments also found a way out. I joined in 1969 and I met up with scores of guys who should never have been drafted or allowed to join. It was sad. Some of these fellows were just not very intelligent or capable of rational thinking. Now I’m talking about enlisted soldiers but I’m sure the officer ranks suffered just as well. The worst wars are the ones that seem to never end.
Lt. Calley should never have been allowed to ever leave Leavenworth. Should have died there. He was a murderer. So were many of the politicians who sent us there. War is money and money is the mother’s milk of American politicians. Sorry, but as a conservative Christian, I believe in telling it like it is. That means telling the truth. Nothing has changed. Look at Afghanistan. History is a repetitive class that no generation seems to ever learn from. Ever!
Comment by abxchange on August 16, 2024 at 10:22 pm
I wish everyone could read what George wrote. I graduated in 1969, and 7 boys were killed from my school bus, alone. These were absolutely innocent, beautiful guys, all of them. I dated one, who was taken out with a rocket. He had written to me of how bad he felt for one of his friends he enlisted with, who was shot. (also from our bus) His friend is still, alive, thank God. My own sons enlisted. One enlisted in National Guard, but served in Kosovo at 20. I read that it took Hillary two weeks to talk Bill into getting into that war. From my limited knowledge, It seemed we were siding against Christians. Milosovich died in prison for defending his people. My opinion is, that if you serve under evil leadership, it’s hard to be on the right side. If you served under a Bush, a Clinton, or the Obama including Biden, it is a terrible risk. Trump’s military must feel more empowered, because he will have your back.
Comment by Tim Ware on August 17, 2024 at 12:43 am
I always felt sorry for Calley. He was never the problem, he was merely a symptom of the problem. We can demonize him in an effort to fool ourselves and let the degeneracy of our leadership, indeed the degeneracy of our entire society, off the hook, but despite our best efforts to deny it, the fact remains that America has been a murderous evil throughout the world to so many people. Satan and his deceptions have certainly been active in so many theaters of American military slaughter…all in the name of “god,” democracy, or whatever slogan the media tells people to parrot. The whole thing is repulsive and disgusting, getting more so by the minute with the continuing slaughter in Gaza, the continuing slaughter in Ukraine and Russia, and the farcial media side-show of Trump and “Harris.”
Comment by MikeB on August 17, 2024 at 11:33 am
TimW
Again you parrot Putin’s talking points like a snake.
Do you renounce Putin and his actually starting the war in Ukraine? Is he not at least as evil as anything the US has done?
Yes many of us are not fans of American adventurism. But you blame America for Ukraine?
Explain to me how helping Ukraine is Evil, but not helping Gaza is Evil?
Ukraine is fighting off a racist psychopath, Gaza attacked first.
The USA stands to gain a potential ally in Ukraine, Gaza is already aligned against the USA.
I don’t think you are honestly representing who you support here. It’s not God…
Comment by Roger on August 17, 2024 at 4:24 pm
I did not know Calley, had to be called off of his intintions at My Lai, until I read this article. I have always thought that his Superiors had placed a lot of pressure upon him, and the rigors of war had gotten to him. Many times our troops have been led to believe a camp / Hut was filled with the enemy and it became abandoned before it was hit by our forces, and it was filled with women and children. I agree with some of the first comments.