My+Lai+Massacre

My Lai Massacre  On March 16,1968, in the village of My Lai, American soldiers killed more than 400 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, children and the elderly, many of whom were rounded up, pushed into ditches, herded together, and shot to death. In addition, Vietnamese women were raped. Other civilians were clubbed and stabbed. Some civilians were mutilated with the signature "C Company" carved into the chest. One soldier would testify later, "I cut their throats, cut off their hands, cut out their tongues, scalped them. I did it. A lot of people were doing it and I just followed. I lost all sense of direction." With all of these atrocities happening to the Vietnamese civilians. Only one American was injured, a GI who had shot himself in the foot while clearing his pistol.

 The officer in charge later claimed that the villagers were enemy Communist guerrillas, but other witnesses described it as something else. Word about My Lai did not reach the American public until November 1969, when a journalist by the name of Seymour Hersh published a story talking about his conversations with a Vietnam veteran about My Lai, Ron Ridenhour. The My Lai Massacre sparked International rage and the anti-war movement was grew stronger.

 "My Lai Massacre." PBS. PBS, 29 Mar. 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. < __http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai.html>.__

 Whitney, R, Craig.. "1968 THE MY LAI MASSACRE." New York Times Upfront. 25 Feb. 2008: 16. eLibrary. Web. 28 Apr. 2012.