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My Lai Massacre: A Once Hidden Tragedy

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My Lai Massacre: A Once Hidden Tragedy

The American people do not like to be left in the dark when it comes to important information about their country. They expect that any problems or actions that their country takes should not be kept secret. Keeping secrets is exactly what their country did when the My Lai Massacre transpired. The My Lai Massacre occurred during the United State’s involvement in the Vietnam War. This devastating massacre was part of the reason the Vietnam War was so controversial. There were countless bloody tragedies during the Vietnam War, but this unnecessary and brutal violence was something that will never be forgotten. The Mai Lai Massacre is one of the cruelest war crimes the United States has ever committed, …show more content…

The soldiers initiated a ruthless and unobservant killing spree. To the soldiers everyone was an enemy. They killed old men, women, and children. Without a second thought they murdered women with babies wrapped tightly in their arms. Not only did they kill but also soldiers raped younger women in the village or mutilated innocent citizens bodies. The rampage continued until according to the United States 347 civilians were murdered. According the Vietnamese, the massacre killed 504 innocent villagers. The madness stopped only with the help of pilot Hugh Thompson. Hugh was part of the group of soldiers who were present, but he did not participate in the killing. He saw the scene from above in his helicopter. Thompson was not sure what had exactly been occurring below him, but he knew he must intervene. He flew down into the hamlet and turned his guns on his fellow soldiers to save a group of Vietnamese civilians. He recued eleven Vietnamese soldiers with two helicopters before heading back to his base to report and end the killing ("The My Lai

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