Calley's Honour

Calley’s Honor
How the Southern Culture influenced the public opinion on the court-martial of Lieutenant Calley

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………….....3
Chapter One………………………………………………………………………………………....……... 6 Public opinion………………………………………………………………………................. 6 Southern Culture………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Chapter Two………………………………………………………………………………………….......... 12 My Lai................................................................................................... 12 Public Reaction…………………………………………………………………………........... 14 The Calley Court Martial……………………………………………………………........... 17
Chapter Three……………………………………………………………………………………............ 21
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………............. 27
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………........... 29

Introduction

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai.”

These are the words spoken by former Lieutenant William Calley at a public appearance at the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus in August 2009. During his stay Calley was subjected to multiple questions about what happened in My Lai and he was forced to defend his actions. The critical tone of these questions is not something he has had to deal with in the direct years after the conviction for his involvement in what happened in My Lai. This is because the American public saw him as a victim, not as a criminal, and opposed the court that punished him. This is a strange phenomenon, considering the feeling of horror many people get when reading about the My Lai massacre. In March 1968 Charlie Company was commanded by their Captain, Ernest Medina, to destroy a village called My Lai in South Vietnam, whose inhabitants were considered Viet Cong guerrillas or sympathizers. In reality the village consisted mostly out of women, children and seniors. When the villagers tried to run,

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