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Cause And Effect Of My Lai Massacre

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On the morning of March 16th 1968, over 500 Vietnamese civilians, including unarmed men, women, children and elderly, were brutally slaughtered in the village of My Lai by the Us military soldiers of the Charlie Company, a unit of the Americans division 11th Infantry brigade, under the leadership of Captain Ernest Medina. The My Lai massacre was seen as one of the most brutal events to have happened in American military history and is a clear demonstration of the corruption that is within the American military. Senior officers, such as Medina, attempted to try and cover up what had occurred in My Lai but failed to do so. The massacre was later revealed after an investigation was ordered and conducted, due to Ron Ridenhour, “a former member …show more content…

Lieutenant Calley was found guilty and “sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Within three days he was out of prison, pending appeal, he spent the next three years under house arrest; he was paroled after completing one third of his sentence.” Calley was the only one penalized for the events that took place My Lai, he played a big part in the massacre and “gave explicit orders to kill and participated in the execution of unarmed villagers standing in groups and lying in ditches.” , yet he only received a minor sentencing considering he was a key offender in the events that occurred, where 500 innocent civilians were slaughtered unlawfully. Many "Anti-war Americans saw Calley as a scapegoat for a corrupt military; those in favor saw him as a dedicated soldier who had only been carrying out orders.” Captain Ernest Medina on the other hand received no sentences and even avoided getting charged. Medina had a big part in the massacre, he worked up his soldiers, making them believe this was their chance to avenge their comrades who were killed in the war, thus he ordered them to kill every person in the village, and "intentionally gave the impression that everyone in My Lai would be their enemy” , which clearly wasn't the case. Medina was guilty for both participating in the massacre as well as trying to cover it up, he made no effort try and stop his men even when he was aware of the brutality that was taking place. The Military Manuel even clearly states "that a military commander may be responsible for war crimes committed by subordinates or persons under his control" , yet his charges were dismissed and the senior officers, captains and soldiers involved were accused but later found not guilty. It was clear that justice had not been served for My

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