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Born in 1943

American soldier who led the My Lai Massacre

William Calley is one of the Vietnam War's most infamous figures. In 1968 he led American troops in an attack that led to the slaughter of hundreds of defenseless Vietnamese peasants in My Lai, a small farming village. In many people's minds, this massacre stands as the single most horrible event of the entire war.

Joins the army after early struggles

William Laws Calley, Jr., grew up in a comfortable neighborhood in Miami Shores, Florida, where his father worked as a machinery salesman. Calley—who acquired the nickname "Rusty" as a child—was a poor student who had occasional discipline problems in school. He attended high school at Florida Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1962. He enrolled in Palm Beach Junior College in Florida but dropped out...