Unfortunate event occurred at Pink Vile when the Charlie Company was there. The Geneva Convention was clearly violated when captain Medina and Lt. Calley were giving orders to shoot innocent civilians. There was a year cover up of the My Lai Massacre in the time military forces were looking for excuses to justify their actions. Why was Lt. Calley the only one held accountable and was his punishment fair? Who should have been held accountable for the events that have happened at My Lai?…
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…
According to Document 3, Account of the Boston Massacre, “A townsman with a cudgel struck him over the hands with such force…” This writing means that the colonists had clubs to fight back against the British and protect themselves. Although the British had much more powerful weapons, such as guns, the colonist were able to bring much harm to them as well. In Benjamin Edes’, Account of the Boston Massacre, a colonist “aimed a blow at the Captain’s head which grazed his hat and fell pretty heavy upon his arm”. A massacre is defined as an event where a large amount of people are killed and the victims cannot defend themselves. The fact that the colonists had clubs to defend themselves, proves the point that this event was not a massacre. As mentioned…
On March 16, 1968, members of Company C, also known as Charlie Company, of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division working under the command of Captain Medina and Lieutenant Calley entered the South Vietnamese village of My Lai and systematically murdered between 347 and 504 innocent non-combatant civilians. A series of investigations in the year following the incident led to the arrest of one officer who was released after only serving three and one half years under house arrest. How did it happen that a massacre of such a great scale ended with little to no repercussions for those involved? Who was really to blame for the massacre: the men on the ground or the higher ups? I believe…
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.…
Hersh, Seymour M. My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and Its Aftermath. New York, NY:…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
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…
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.…