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What Was The Effects Of The Mai Lai Massacre

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On March 16, 1968, the Mai Lai Massacre took place in a small village in Vietnam. More than five hundred people were murdered by soldiers under the control of William Calley. Afterward, throughout the entire town only three weapons were recovered from the villagers. In fact, other than that, they were not armed. One of the officers even claimed he did not see a single military aged man in the entire village. This event was horrific for the village families and for the families that had to find out their family members were slaughtered. Throughout America, many people opposed vietnam war and this event furthered the division between the people and the soldiers. Not only did it affect the people here at home, but it also affected the soldiers. …show more content…

An article states, “The Soldiers killed four students and wounded at least nine others.” (Appleby 791) Soon after this event there were two African American males murdered on Jackson state College in Mississippi. These were only a couple of acts that took place following the Mai Lai Massacre. The War Powers Act was passed and it established limits on executive powers it had to be passed through the president. The Massacre divided the united States even more making the American people turn their backs to the U.S. government. Soon many people began to rebel against the government by leading protest against the wars that were happening overseas. They began to oppose the war further than they had in the beginning. The rebellious acts mainly occurred on college campuses where many students were murdered or shot …show more content…

I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry. (Press 1)” The events that occurred made many believe he was the scapegoat and took blame for everyone else's actions. Although some claimed he was the scapegoat he was still charged with the murder of the villagers along with many other men. He soon admitted to the crimes claiming he was told to do this to the villagers by his commander. After the Mai Lai Massacre many of the citizens of Mai Lai were moved to a more secluded village because they wanted to avoid another attack. In an article a reports claims, “A group of National Liberation Front soldiers approached Mylai 2(Known As Tucung). They made the soldiers there flee then they tore down the town down from gate to the camp( Teitel 1).” The second town the Mai Lai were moved to was demolished as well by the American soldiers. Many other surrounding towns fell victim to the

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