Preview

My Lai Massacre Dbq

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
307 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
My Lai Massacre Dbq
Document Analysis # 4: Competing Visions: Who was Responsible for the My Lai Massacre? On March 16, 1968 the massacre of My Lai took place when 75 troops marched into the village of My Lai and killed over 500 civilians. This unfortunate blemish on America is still being debated today, unsure of where to place the blame. Do they place it with Lt. William Calley for giving the command to his troops, or to Lt. Calley’s commanding officers who from which Calley was just acting out orders, or to the American people for there continued protest of the war. I feel Calley is to blame since it was his responsibility to protect the civilians in My Lai from the Vietcong not be the one in which the villagers were scared by. Once he realized that the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In march, 1968, the Charlie Company, were told that Viet Cong guerrillas took cover in the Quang Ngai village of My Lai. The overpass of shoulders entered one of the four helmets, My Lai 4, and they were on a mission. This took place on March 16 (morning) and was on an assignment for a search and destroy. They found helpless villagers, mostly women, old men, and children, rather than the guerrillas, whom they were expecting to see. After, according to the United States Army, 347 deaths were occurred. Others estimate more than 400 combining the killed and injured and the Vietnamese government lists 504 killed in total from My Lai and My Khe. Earlier that year, the Vietnam Veterans were against the War organization, that led by John Kerry. John Kerry sponsored hearings in Detroit, where the veterans were testing if they had taken part in or heard of other stories. Everything that happened at My Lai had more and more public, that in 1971, they were beginning to lose their public…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army overtook China's capital, Nanking and slaughtered 300,000 Chinese civilians. The Japanese army raped and looted hundred of thousands of people using inhumane and barbaric methods. This event is referred to today as one of the worst atrocities during WWII in the Asian theatre. The actions led by the Japanese exemplified China's weak military as well as their insufficient government, allowing for other countries to take advantage of later opening China into spheres of influence. Due to the Nanking Massacre, China culturally became more ethnocentric, politically decimated any friendly relationships with the Japanese, and became economically isolated. The invasion of Nanking began when the Japanese Imperial Army marched into Shanghai; the Japanese expected the battle of Shanghai to be quick and effortless, even stating…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Vietnam War was not short of its share of controversies and opposition; However, March 16, 1968 marked a particularly dark moment for both Vietnam and the U.S. military. The barbaric torture, rape, and murder of around 400 unarmed civilians by Charlie Company in ‘Pinkville’, though initially covered up, left an extensive paper trail gathered at length and compiled by James S. Olson and Randy Roberts in My Lai: A Brief History with Documents. Olson and Roberts include testimonies from the tardy investigation of key participants as well as survivors to paint an accurate image of the events leading up to, during, and after the massacre, and attempts to objectively examine the question of culpability. Michael Bilton and Kevin Sim do not veil…

    • 2693 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    During dehumanization, Chinese Military members as well as women were intentionally killed and rape. “During the massacre over 20,000 women were raped by the Japanese soldiers during the six weeks of the Nanking Massacre. Most were brutally killed afterwards. The Japanese soldiers even raped girls less than 10 years old and women over 70 as well as pregnant women and nuns. The soldiers even forced incents on families. Anyone who resisted any of these were killed immediately” (Viklund). Furthermore, the Japanese High Command made plans to create a giant underground system of military prostitution one that would draw into its web hundreds of thousands of women across Asia.The plan was to lure, purchase, and kidnap 80,000 to 200,000 women. When…

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amritsar Massacre Dbq

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On April 13, 1919, in Amritsar, India, a great tragedy occurred that day. The massacre that killed at least 379 people and the wounding of at least 1,200 others was committed by the British general Reginald Dyer (Cavendish). Many protests and riots preceded the massacre and resulting from them were the arrests of two leaders by the British ("Amritsar Massacre"). This caused many Indians to form mobs, which looted businesses and killed five British people (Cavendish). General Dyer was sent to Amritsar to restore order in there ("Amritsar Massacre"). What happened after he got there is why you, the Jury, are all in court today to decide General Dyer’s fate.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hersh, Seymour M. My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and Its Aftermath. New York, NY:…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As a result, Lieutenant Calley was court-martialed in 1971 on his war crimes. In his trial Calley stated that he was only following the orders of Captain Earnest Medina. Medina however denied giving any orders to murder any civilians, and said that Lieutenant Calley should have used common sense. Calley was sentenced to life in prison for murder, but having earned sympathy from President Nixon, was moved to house arrest. After numerous appeals he was released in three years. Medina was found not guilty in his trial after Haberle's photos and other crucial evidence were kept from the jury. Captain Medina was later unremorseful for his actions and stated publicly that the murdered Vietnamese civilians were responsible for land mines which killed American…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hamburger Hill, also known by ‘Hill 937’ or ‘Ap Bia Mountain’, refers to a battle fought between May 10th and 20th of 1969 in the Vietnam War (Sorely et al). American troops fought to defend a relatively insignificant hill in the South of Vietnam. The object of the attack was to eliminate enemy forces and to obtain enemy weaponry (Vowell et al). It gained significance mostly because when the casualties were reported in the United States, they were misrepresented, resulting in a public outcry (Summers et al). The monetary and human cost that was expended during the battle with what seemed to be very little gain for the South Vietnamese or the Americans enraged those whose taxes and loved ones were paying the price.…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton wrote about the tragic massacre of Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers. The My Lai Massacre allegedly occurred on March 16, 1968, however, due to military conspiracy and cover ups the issue remained hidden for a full year. Brought to court on charges in 1969 and 1970. Even though 14 of the high ranking officials had charges against them only one was convicted, which issued alarm and questions. The massacre was documented by soldiers and reports The army commanders assumed all the innocent civilians would be at the market and those remaining would be Vietcong related individuals. Orders were given to Charlie Company that summarized told to destroy the village and all in it. The My Lai Massacre was what is described as a sanctioned massacre “acts of indiscriminate, ruthless, often systematic mass violence, carried out by paramilitary personnel while engaged in officially sanctioned campaigns” (Kelman and Hamilton 137). Sanctioned massacres often described by the authors, are massacres ordered by a higher person that are deemed acceptable due to their authority. The article ends with the authors concluding that massacres are due to political forms dehumanizing civilians as just bodies to be…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I was able to reflect on my own culture during the ruling of the Zong Massacre case. In my cultural it is absolutely senseless to think murdering a human could possibly have any justification. The fact that people in the 1780’s could claim slaves as property and file them on insurance is unbelievable. The color of one’s skin should not play into account when it comes to what someone’s life value is. I could not put a price on what an individual’s life is worth.…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kent State Shooting Essay

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Ohio National Guardsmen murdered four unarmed, protesting college students of the Vietnam war. According to Dr. Elaine Wellin, an eyewitness to the many events at Kent State leading up to and including May 4th 12:24 p.m., the…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Rape of Nanking was a tragic time in Chinese history. This event will never be forgotten by the people in the once capital of China. An estimated 300,000 innocent people were killed in a matter of months. The Japanese have never apologized for the disturbing event and to this day the Japanese deny that the massacre ever took place. The Rape of Nanking will never be forgotten for this city has been scared with tragedy since this gruesome massacre. Is this Massacre actually Genocide, or is this just a result of poor command over Japanese soldiers? I believe that this event is in fact genocide, and it was a terrible event in time.…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nanking Massacre 1937

    • 2545 Words
    • 11 Pages

    In December of 1937 the Japanese attacked and invaded Nanking China by beating the Chinese Army. For the next six weeks the biggest atrocities of World War 2 were committed. Women were raped repeatedly; some were even raped until they died. Pregnant women would get mutilated, men and young boys were killed by the bayonet, and Chinese soldiers were shot and hung all over the City. The Japanese deny the accusations and say the Massacre never happened.…

    • 2545 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The My Lai massacre occurred during the Vietnam war in 1968, and saw the murder of between 347 and 504 innocent, unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S Forces, most were women and children. Originally 26 U.S soldiers were charged for their actions but only one platoon leader Charlie Company was convicted. Charlie was given a life sentence, but only served three and a half years under house arrest. Hugh Thompson was a helicopter pilot from an aero-scout team, was flying above and saw many death and wounded civilians, he witnessed an unarmed women being kicked…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Khojaly Massacre

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 1991 the small village of Khojaly, situated in the Nagorno Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, had a population of just 6,300 people.The Khojaly Massacre was the killing of hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijna civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by theArmenain.The death toll provided by Azerbaijani authorities is 613 civilians, including 106 women and 83 children. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had escalated into a war By 1992. In February 1992 the capital of Karabakh Stepanakert was blocked and bombardment by Azerbaijani forces. The town of Khojaly had the region's only airport.Khojaly was shelled by Armenian forces during the winter of 1992. On the night of February 25, 1992, Armenian armed forces, with the support of the Soviet Union, began their assault on Khojaly. Only one path of escape was left open and civilians fled their town. Part of the population started to leave Khojaly soon after the assault began and there were armed people from the town's among some of the fleeing groups. Because tanks attacked. In all, 613 persons were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people. War crimes is a crime punishable under international criminal law for violation of the laws of war.…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics