The Vietnam War (1954-75) occurred during the Cold War, a period of tense rivalry between the USA and the Soviet Union. As the war progressed, American involvement in Vietnam grew with the Communist forces. The American troops were seen as overly aggressive, with soldiers trained to only perceive the Vietcong as ‘the enemy’, and to employ “search and destroy” tactics (Sanders 5). This resulted in numerous deaths on both sides and many exhausted soldiers suffering from low morale both physically and emotionally, seen foremost in Americans (Sanders).
Although atrocities were committed by both sides, the My Lai Massacre was perhaps the most brutal. On March 16th, 1968, the US Army ‘Charlie Company’ division entered the Son My village led by Captain Medina and the 1st Platoon leader, Lieutenant Calley (Oliver). According to the soldiers, Medina ordered “the killing of every living thing in My Lai”. As a result, more than 300 unresisting and unarmed civilians were assembled and killed violently (Oliver 37). These civilians believed to be supporters of the Vietcong included men and women of all ages who were beaten, sexually assaulted, and shot, their bodies mutilated. Although a helicopter pilot named Hugh Thompson attempted to shield the civilians, the majority were killed mercilessly (Digital History).
The 11th Brigade covered up the massacre by reporting that 128 Vietcong were killed, seen as an impressive number exterminated in 24 hours (Digital History). When Thompson claimed that civilians were killed, Medina stated that 20-28 civilians died unintentionally in My Lai, which was confirmed by Colonel Henderson (Herring). This event was exposed a year later when a helicopter gunner wrote letters to the US Congress detailing the mas...
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...ia, 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
Kohls, Dr. Gary G. “The My Lai Massacre Revisited.” Global Research. 16 Mar. 2009. n.pag. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
Moyar, Mark. “Vietnam: Historians at War.” National Association of Scholars. (2008): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
“Teaching With Documents: The War in Vietnam- A Story in Photographs.” National Archives. n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Oliver, Kendrick. “Atrocity, Authenticity, and American Exceptionalism: (Ir)rationalizing the Massacre at My Lai.” Journal of American Studies. 37 (2003): 247-268. Print.
Oliver, Kendrick. “Coming to Terms with the Past: My Lai.” History Today 56.2 (2006): 37-39. Print.
Sanders, Vivienne. The USA and Vietnam 1945-75. London: Hodder Education, 2007. Print.
“My Lai photographer Ron Haeberle exposed a Vietnam massacre 40 years ago today in The Plain Dealer.” Cleveland.com. n.p. 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Appy’s book is valuable to its readers in showing how Vietnam became the template for every American war since, from novelties like the invasion of Grenada to the seemingly never-ending conflicts post-9/11. But before all that, there was Vietnam, and, larger lessons aside, Appy’s book is a fascinating, insightful, infuriating and thought-provoking study of that conflict, from its earliest days
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Another atrocity that occurred during this war was the My Lai Massacre. This was the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam during March 16, 1968. Around November 1969, the world saw this and was outraged with the killings of innocent civilians prompting and giving the public more reasons to stop the war. Although the war was very unpopular, men and women were still fighting and dying for America. Heroes such as Captain John W, Ripley of Dong Ha, Medal of Honor recipients, and overall troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice were forgotten for a brief period.
Kelman, Herbert C., Hamilton, V. Lee. “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience”. Writing & Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 266-277. Print.
"Overview of the Vietnam War." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
The incident is described by social psychologist Herbert C. Kelman and sociologist V. Lee Hamilton in the article “The My Lai Massacre: a Crime of Obedience.” Lt. William Calley, charged with 102 killings, claims to have followed orders from his superiors, only accomplishing his duty, which is also a theme throughout the movie, A Few Good Men. After presented with a request from William Santiago, a marine on his base, to be transferred, Jessup refuses. The film depicts, through Colonel Jessup's authority, the refusal to obey a reasonable request as well as the pride one possesses when fulfilling his duty and baring superiority.
Hynes, Samuel Lynn. "What Happened in Nam." The soldiers' tale: bearing witness to modern war. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: A. Lane, 1997. 177-222. Print.
Olson, James S., and Randy Roberts. My Lai: A Brief History With Documents. Boston: Bedford, 1998
Memories of World War II play a very important role in the world today, especially in East Asia. These memories are not simple but complicated factors that created many of the controversial issues that exist today. Two of the main issues that revolve around East Asia are the Nanjing Massacre and the comfort women issue. People have debated over the truth of the Nanjing Massacre and the comfort women issue, and people on different sides have not come to an agreement on the historical facts. Daqing Yang’s “The Malleable and the Contested, Joshua Fogel’s “Nanjing Atrocity and Chinese Historical Memory ” discusses the issues in detail, and Chungmoo Choi’s “The Politics of War Memories toward Healing”.
The 1986 during the Vietnam war, the slaughter at My Lai Massacre “is an instance of a class of violent acts that can be described as sanctioned massacres (Kelman, 1973): acts of indiscriminate, ruthless, and often systematic mass violence, carried out by military or paramilitary personnel while engaged in officially
...nd innocent villagers of My Lai, it was a time when American’s questioned their own as being “bad guys” or “good guys”. Were America’s tortuous and cruel acts to be considered patriotic or dishonorable? Some Americans, with bitter feelings for all the American lives lost in the Vietnam War, gave credit to Lieutenant Calley for leading troops in participating in such an atrocious event. History shows that there is still much debate on some facts of the massacre and many stories and opinions, although we will never know the facts exactly, what we do know is that America will never forget this tragic event, it will be talked about in American History for many years to come, and the Vietminh hearts will always fill with sadness when they think of the many lives that were lost on that tragic day in history, their minds will always have unspeakable memories of that day.
Dunnigan, James F., and Albert A. Nofi. Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War. New
Turse argues that what happened at My Lai was not a one occurring event but one event in a series of event that took place in Vietnam. In his monograph, he talks about the massacre at Trieu
“Photographs like the one that made the front page of the most newspapers in the world in 1972- a naked South Vietnamese child just sprayed by american napalm, running down a highway toward the cameras, her arms open, screaming with pain-- probably did more to increase the public revulsion against the war than a hundred hours of televised barbarities”(476)
The paranoia and fear of death never left them. The My Lai Massacre occurred in 1968, when the village of My Lai was completely destroyed, although it did not contain a single enemy troop. Over a hundred villagers were slaughtered. It became clearer to Americans how soldiers were losing control, and how there was no easy way to win this war.