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VocabWilliam Calley JrPinkvilleErnest MedinaSeymour HershBlind Loyalty

Essential QuestionWhy did the My Lai Massacre happen?

What was My Lai?March 16, 1968.Search and destroy missionLed by Lieutenant William Calley JrOverlooked by captain Ernest Medina

Mass killing of between 347 and 504 civilians in South Vietnam Livestock was killed and all resources such as water and rice were made unusable.It aimed to eliminate a Vietcong Stronghold.

Why did it happen?Ernest Medina told his men that nearly all the civilian residents of the hamlets in Sn M village would have left for the market by 07:00.Any who remained would be North Vietnamese army sympathizers or participants. They carried out the mission at around 7:30 a.m.

The entire Son My area was a stronghold of the Viet Cong. American units there had taken repeated casualties from snipers, land mines, and booby traps. (Psychologically impaired)The U.S. soldiers hadn't made any significant contact with the enemy.They were told that it was their chance to get revenge on the Vietcong.

At Calley's trial one defense witness testified that he remembered Medina instructing to destroy everything in the village that was "walking, crawling or growing.

VIETCONG?-None of the people killed were VC militants. -They weren't able to prove that anyone was a supporter either.

Vietcong militants rigging some claymoresWhere did the VC go?Did the VC know about an attack or was it an American mistake? How could a military have attacked a town that had no targets in it?

VIDEO

VocabLT.William Calley JR former United States Army officer found guilty of murdering 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre.Pinkville The U.S. military codeword for the alleged Viet Cong stronghold in the area that contained My Lai and My Khe.Ernest Medina Captain Medina was in charge of the Charley Company. Medina was ultimately found not guilty of all charges such as murder in 1971.Seymour Hersh Man who first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War.Blind Loyalty being loyal to a person or cause despite the damage the person or cause does to himself or herself or others. Trusting somebody no matter what.

REFLECTION QUESTION Did My Lai achieve anything at all? Why or why not?