Calley, William 1943-

ARMY OFFICER

My Lai and the Vietnam War.

The trial of Lt. William Calley for the murder of unarmed Vietnamese civilians in My Lai raised many difficult issues for the American people over the conduct of the Vietnam War. The massacre was cited by many as a war crime and genocide, demonstrating the immorality of the American war effort. Others defended Calley, saying that he was a soldier doing his duty in a brutal war. They said that it was unfair to punish Calley without also punishing the whole army as well as the society that had placed him in Vietnam and taught him to kill.

The My Lai Massacre.

On 16 March 1968 Lieutenant Calley led his platoon into My Lai, South Vietnam, along with two other platoons of Charlie Company. They had expected to meet heavy Vietcong resistance, but they reached the village without a challenge. Finding only women, children, and old men in the village, they nonetheless went in...

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