The Vietnam War was not one of America’s finer moments in history for obvious reasons but there was a specific moment during the war that casts an even darker cloud over the conflict, that was the Mỹ Lai Massacre.
The Mỹ Lai Massacre was a true war crime which saw the mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968. Whats so shocking about it is that it was orchestrated by U.S. Army soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division. these soldiers were meant to stand against such acts but sadly lost their way as the war went on.
This films presents the unfortunate truth which is that the experiences of Charlie Company leading up to this particular event and the circumstances encountered made this tragedy seem almost inevitable for all but a few who tried their hardest to stop it. Here we see how the Army tried to cover up the massacre as we examine the investigation which followed. We also hear from several surviving soldiers themselves as they describe their experiences and how they dealt with it in later life.
The investigation lead to 26 soldiers being charged with criminal offences but in the end only Lieutenant William Calley Jr., a platoon leader in C Company, was convicted.
These soldiers should have been hung
Tip of the iceburg. Mass rape and mass killing of unarmed civilians was the norm in The American War.
My Lai only made the headlines because in that instance they got caught.
This kind of thing was commonplace in The American War – just ask the Vietnamese who survived it.
Wow this documentary really hits home I knew the Vietnam war was messed up but this really shows how big of a shit show that war really was for both sides.