Shortly before 7:30 am on March 16, 1968, Son My village was shelled by U.S. artillery. A few were horrified but many were not. William Laws Calley Jr.[1] (born June 8, 1943) is an American war criminal, a former United States Army officer convicted by court-martial for the premeditated killings of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. [39], Calley appealed the Fifth Circuit's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it declined to hear his case on April 5, 1976.[40]. Some defended the soldiers because they were fighting for their country.

Thompson’s door gunner, Lawrence Colburn, and his crew chief, Glenn Andreotta, manned their weapons as Thompson hailed other helicopters to join him in ferrying the civilians to safety.

I am very sorry."[44].

[35] Calley once more appealed his conviction to Judge Elliott. 90 terms.

The Odyssey: Order of stops. By the time Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, arrived in Vietnam in December 1967. Kendrick, Oliver, "Coming to Terms with the Past: My Lai", CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, South Korea's "Vietnam Expeditionary Forces", United States Army Court of Military Review, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, "WSB-TV newsfilm clip of a reporter John Philp conducting street interviews with civilians and soldiers outside the commissary following the conviction of Lieutenant William Calley for his role in the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, Fort Benning, Georgia", https://nation.time.com/2013/08/18/field-of-dishonor-famous-american-court-martials/slide/lieut-william-calley/Katz, "I Had Prayed to God that this Thing Was Fiction...", "United States, United States v. William L. Calley, Jr", "Notable Trials and Court Cases - 1963 to 1972: William Calley Court-Martial: 1970", "Ex‐G.I. Calley's evaluations described him as average as an officer. Calley said: "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai," Calley told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus on Wednesday. They were all classified as the same, and that's the classification that we dealt with over there, just as the enemy. An example of an atrocity by a man concerning babies: One soldier admitted to killing babies which clung to their mothers because they were 'about to attack', A pilot witnessed the massacre and saved nine civilians including five children, It was kept secret for a year by the American government but journalists spoke to a soldier who hears rumours of the massacre and printed the story. 49 terms. ... APUSH Chapter 27.

[17] Another witness, Leonard Gonzalez, told of finding seven women, all naked, all dead killed by several M-79 grenade launcher rounds. Although they encountered no resistance, the soldiers nonetheless killed indiscriminately. Calley Jr. graduated from Miami Edison High School in Miami and then attended Palm Beach Junior College in 1963. The preparatory barrage was intended to clear a landing area for Charlie Company’s helicopters, but its actual effect was to force those civilians who had begun leaving the area back to My Lai in search of cover.

[31], A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's ruling and returned Calley to custody on June 13, 1974. Army. [16] Meadlo thus took the stand and recounted that as he stood guard over some 30 villagers that he, along with Private Dennis Conti, had gathered at a defoliated area at the hamlet's southern tip, he was approached by Calley and told, regarding the civilians, "You know what to do with 'em". [43] Calley worked at his father-in-law's store, and became a gemologist. I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. Believing that civilians had already left the area for Quang Ngai city, he directed that anyone found in My Lai should be treated as a Viet Cong fighter or sympathizer. William Laws Calley Jr. (born June 8, 1943) is an American war criminal, a former United States Army officer convicted by court-martial for the premeditated killings of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.Calley was released to house arrest under orders by President Richard Nixon three days after his conviction. On February 27, 1974, Judge J. Robert Elliott granted a writ of habeas corpus and set Calley free on bail. He dropped out in 1964. He used a black-and-white camera for official Army records but shot in colour on his personal camera. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. [33], Calley appealed his conviction to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Through which national park does the Continental Divide. His father, William Laws Calley, Sr., was a United States Navy veteran of World War II. The Marines pleaded guilty at special courts-martial, in each of which it was stipulated they had not known the soldiers had been officers. Vietnamese citizens photographed during the My Lai Massacre, March 16, 1968.

Whether this order was actually given is disputed; Medina was acquitted of all charges relating to the incident at a separate trial in August 1971.[19]. How did the American people react to the massacre? What effect did the massacre have on America? [4], Calley underwent eight weeks of basic combat training at Fort Bliss, Texas,[5] followed by eight weeks of advanced individual training as a company clerk at Fort Lewis, Washington. March 2000. Intelligence suggested that the 48th Batallion had taken refuge in the My Lai area (though in reality, that unit was in the western Quang Ngai highlands, more than 40 miles [65 km] away). Sgt. 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. [12], Calley's trial started on November 17, 1970.

Calley was the only one of the 26 officers and soldiers initially charged for their part in the My Lai Massacre or the subsequent cover-up. Many of the black-and-white images depicted soldiers questioning prisoners, searching possessions, and burning huts; although the destruction of property violated U.S. military command directives, such actions were typical of a search-and-destroy mission and did not provide direct evidence of war crimes. The sole U.S. casualty had occurred when a soldier shot himself in the foot while trying to clear a jammed weapon. Start studying My Lai - Vietnam War. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

It divided the American people.

[42] According to Voter Records for Alachua County Florida, Calley has resided in Gainesville Florida since 2018. Michel Ray earned a B.A. Who: Nixon What: Killing of twenty-two Vietnamese civilians by U.S. forces during a search-and-destroy mission When: 1968 Where: USA Why: Back It was the military prosecution's contention that Calley, in defiance of the rules of engagement, ordered his men to deliberately murder unarmed Vietnamese civilians, even though his men were not under enemy fire at all. In these letters Ridenhour described some of the atrocities by the soldiers at My Lai that he had been told about.