March 16 - My Lai Massacre

This Day in History: 16 March 2020

 

16 March 1968

 

52 years ago, today, a group of American soldiers brutally killed around 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, a cluster of small villages located near the north coast of South Vietnam. This crime was kept secret for nearly two years, and later became known as the My Lai Massacre. The soldiers, from Charlie Company, had received word that Viet Cong guerrillas had taken cover in the Quang Ngai village of Son My, and so entered one of the village's four hamlets, My Lai 4, on a search-and-rescue mission. Instead of finding guerrilla fighters, they saw unarmed villagers, mostly consisting of women, children and old men.

 

Despite the absence of a threat, the soldiers had been advised prior the attack that all who were found in My Lai could be considered Viet Cong, or sympathisers, so were commanded to destroy the village. They raped and tortured the villagers before killing them; they dragged dozens of people, including children and babies, into a ditch, before executing them with automatic weapons. The massacre only ended when an Army helicopter pilot, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, landed between the soldiers and the retreating villagers. He threatened to open fire if they continued to attack. These events were covered up by powerful army officers until journalist Seymour Hersh broke the story of the tragedy.

 

Want to find out more about the horrific My Lai Massacre? Click here for more details, or here for a video with information on the matter.